20" To 17" Wheels Any Pros?

[Blue Truck]

Lots of pros, IMHO, and it sounds like you're going to do it. Lots of stuff covered here on fuel mileage, acceleration, durability, cost, aesthetics (subjective, I know) etc. that I agree with on the benefits of 17's, so I won't duplicate it.

I'll add that for me, one of the biggest cons of bigger, heavier wheels is the increased stopping distance. Trucks are already heavier than most cars, so I definitely don't want to handicap my stopping ability. To me, that's a safety benefit. Centrifugal force is your enemy, and rotating weight theoretically should affect stopping difference more than overall vehicle weight. This also applies for acceleration. Did a quick search for testing on braking distances of different weight wheel/tire combos on the same vehicle, but I couldn't find anything. That would be cool to see!

 

[VicViper]

I dropped my 18's with 31" AT3's for 17's with 35"x12.5 General Grabbers.

Can't balance them but I'm happy with how it takes curbs and potholes. Which is mostly why I bought them.

 

[DieselMike29]

Lots of pros, IMHO, and it sounds like you're going to do it. Lots of stuff covered here on fuel mileage, acceleration, durability, cost, aesthetics (subjective, I know) etc. that I agree with on the benefits of 17's, so I won't duplicate it.

I'll add that for me, one of the biggest cons of bigger, heavier wheels is the increased stopping distance. Trucks are already heavier than most cars, so I definitely don't want to handicap my stopping ability. To me, that's a safety benefit. Centrifugal force is your enemy, and rotating weight theoretically should affect stopping difference more than overall vehicle weight. This also applies for acceleration. Did a quick search for testing on braking distances of different weight wheel/tire combos on the same vehicle, but I couldn't find anything. That would be cool to see!

I agree with what you say, however I think stopping distance has much more to do with what TIRES you wear rather than wheel diameter for this reason: our trucks now all have IMHO worthless but mandated 4 wheel anti-lock braking (If you grew up in snow and ice with NO anti-lock brakes like I did, you LEARNED how to pump and feather the brakes when you stopped -- and not have the pedal kick back at you.) [Oh, you also learned to start stopping (NOT just braking) LONG before you actually needed to stop]

That having been said, anti-lock brakes will stop you as safely and quickly (supposedly) as possible, the only thing that makes a difference is the "gripy"ness of the tires. Last century (approximately mid-century) one tire company advertised using "It grips the road" as the slogan. Snow tires and mud tires and all terrain tires and you name it tires EACH have a different ground gripping ability even between different uses within the same brand name.

So, no matter how hard you push the brake pedal (past the point where the brakes are fully applied, that is) the anti-lock function of the brakes keeps the wheels turning enough so the vehicle stops as quickly as possible. Because the anti-lock system reacts to SPEED of the wheel and not to how fast you are stopping, the only thing left to determine how fast you stop is the tire on the rim and what the "gripy"ness of that tire is.

 

[Cardhu]

I dropped my 18's with 31" AT3's for 17's with 35"x12.5 General Grabbers.

Can't balance them but I'm happy with how it takes curbs and potholes. Which is mostly why I bought them.

View attachment 222168

try golf balls. use them like dynabeads. https://dynabeads.ca/truck/light-truck.html


1000's of interco customers can't be wrong.

can alternatively use airsoft pellets, probably a little more than chart states with a kitchen scale. Success varies on Pirate4x4 but i hate vibrations and would try anything.

 

[craiger4233]

new 2019 classic ram warlock owner here and I must say this forum reads much like my former Tacoma forum in that by the end of the thread I can never remember what it started out talking about and I can only say...."Rubber baby buggy bumpers." "Rubber baby buggy bumpers." ROFL