20" To 17" Wheels Any Pros?

[VelocityC6Z]

I think the stock wranglers are among the worst tires I've ever driven. That's just my personal experience.

I had E rates tires in 35 for the 20's and they were way more responsive than the stock wranglers in 33. I had the e's aired up a lot more, still not max tire pressure for them. The wranglers I always ran at the highest pressure.

Everyone's going to have different opinions on tires, the feel, and ride is mostly always subjective lol. I enjoy trying different tires each time I buy new one's, just to see the difference. I know what I like now. But still trying something new each time.

 

['06 Ram 2500]

I stayed with the 17” rim but got wider rims to accommodate the 35’s. Softer ride when aired down to 45 psi. Also installed a 3” lift and overall ride is better compared to the stiff factory springs that bounced a lot on washboard roads. It you want a stiffer ride then air up or you can go to a 18” rim and split the difference. Tires will cost more though.

 

[HDGoose]

Hello. I have OEM 20" matte silver wheels with 275/60/20 Falken Wildpeak AT3W's. Besides tire price, are there any pros to going down in wheel size? I use the truck mainly for vacations and to drive occasionally to work. Soon I will be towing a small bumper pull toyhauler, and hopefully running some more trails. Already basically have 33's and would want at least the same with a 17" setup. The 3.21 gears might limit what i am able to do as well. Any opinions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I have seen too many videos of tire compression to like the lower profile tire on the street. On a race track that are good. Look at most aftermarket rim shops. You will find "deals" sets of 3...

 

[Ronin807]

Hello. I have OEM 20" matte silver wheels with 275/60/20 Falken Wildpeak AT3W's. Besides tire price, are there any pros to going down in wheel size? I use the truck mainly for vacations and to drive occasionally to work. Soon I will be towing a small bumper pull toyhauler, and hopefully running some more trails. Already basically have 33's and would want at least the same with a 17" setup. The 3.21 gears might limit what i am able to do as well. Any opinions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Ronin807]

Hello. I have OEM 20" matte silver wheels with 275/60/20 Falken Wildpeak AT3W's. Besides tire price, are there any pros to going down in wheel size? I use the truck mainly for vacations and to drive occasionally to work. Soon I will be towing a small bumper pull toyhauler, and hopefully running some more trails. Already basically have 33's and would want at least the same with a 17" setup. The 3.21 gears might limit what i am able to do as well. Any opinions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I think Speedometer accuracy will be affected

 

[Tunaman]

Thank you for your response. Lol, id say he made the wrong decision.


Thank you for your response. That is a good list. I agree on the E rated tires. The ones I have now are not.

The load rating will be greater with the 17” rims....

 

[stdyrln]

I went from the factory 20’s to the rebel 17’s and my truck is in a similar use pattern. Outfit for the worst case, and accept you will have to give up some other categories . I went with E range for the trailer towing and a little insurance on the trails. They cost more, and are heavy but now the trucks gvwr is the limiter not the tires. I did the tires and better rotors and pads so I could stop the stupid trailer- on the way home from the first trip someone ran a red and I was happy I was able to stop it which I know it wouldn’t have with the 20’s. Be ready for the worst and at least you will have one less issue.

 

[redvetram]

I’ve got a 2019 Classic that came with the 20” rims. I used to have a 2014 1500 and had a whole set of snow tires on 17” rims. I just ended up getting a second spare that would match the 17” set so now I run 17” in the winter and 20” in the summer with appropriate size spare on board.

Not enough difference in ride to notice, but if I had to choose between one or the other, I’d take the 17’s due to weight and cost of tires

 

[Gary2]

If I could get wheels that looked like what came on this truck in 17" I would of bought them years ago . I hate 20s on a 4x4, its not like its a road racer..

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

If I could get wheels that looked like what came on this truck in 17" I would of bought them years ago . I hate 20s on a 4x4, its not like its a road racer..

Gary2,

I just couldn't NOT compare Big White to Little Black.
Big White not a road racer at all! Although, I have drifted her on a few off ramps. Very slow loss of traction, easy to do)

Little black...hmmmmmm... COULD do road race. Something that short looks like it would be quick to react. A lot quicker than that cruise ship I drive, LOL!

And I am NOT making fun of Little Black...I had one too. A lot littler.....I traded it in when I bought Big White. hahaha.

 

[Mr Rich]

I'll tell ya, I'm kinda tired of the bumpy ride I get with my 18's on desert roads. I was reading that the Power Wagons come with 17's and I think I want to go that route with an all-purpose tire when the time comes...soon.

 

[BOWERSFJ]

I'll tell ya, I'm kinda tired of the bumpy ride I get with my 18's on desert roads. I was reading that the Power Wagons come with 17's and I think I want to go that route with an all-purpose tire when the time comes...soon.

You have one special ass if think it will be able to tell the diff between 17” and 18” on a desert road .... 20 to 17”, yes ... 18” to 17”, no ...


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[Gary2]

Gary2,

I just couldn't NOT compare Big White to Little Black.
Big White not a road racer at all! Although, I have drifted her on a few off ramps. Very slow loss of traction, easy to do)

Little black...hmmmmmm... COULD do road race. Something that short looks like it would be quick to react. A lot quicker than that cruise ship I drive, LOL!

And I am NOT making fun of Little Black...I had one too. A lot littler.....I traded it in when I bought Big White. hahaha.

Ok...... I thought this thread was asking about 17 or 20" wheels on a members 1500 .Ya lost me how did we get to 1500 vs 2500 and a car ?

 

[Bramic71]

LoL!

 

[DieselMike29]

Factory 17's are around 60lbs, factory 20s are around 70lbs.

Speed is an interesting comment. I'd give that to the 20's since you have better handling and steering feel coupled with the higher diameter getting you a slightly higher top speed, though 17's will get you up to speed slightly faster.

Mostly FALSE -- I have a 2015 4X4 Laramie CC that came stock with the 20" wheels and 275/60R20 tires and immediately changed them for the Rebel 17" wheels and Toyo 285/70R16 tires.

The stock 20" rims and tires are ACTUALLY very slightly (0.3") larger in height than the 17" rims and tires. This means the 17" rims and tires are SLIGHTLY smaller in circumference (distance around the tire) than the 20" set; having a smaller circumference means the 17" set goes slower (69.4 MPH) when the 20" set is going 70 MPH. (If my speedometer is showing 70, I am actually doing 69.4 (I can't tell the difference; can you?))

Something that isn't mentioned but should be - you will get better gas/fuel mileage with the 17" wheels because you are turning (and moving) less mass/weight. My instantaneous (calculated at that exact moment, NOT average) fuel mileage at 80 (YES, it is the legal speed limit in some places) is 22 MPG (Yes, I have an EcoDiesel!)

The tires (at least, my Toyos) are slightly wider than the stock Goodyears and so I do get a more "springy"/cushioned ride due to the approximately 1.5" higher/larger sidewall, but the extra width (0.4") seems to make up for the some of the loss of stiffness.

Oh, and yes, the tires are less expensive if they fit 17" rims -- same tire/different rim - larger tire costs more.

The Toyos DO make a bit more noise than the Goodyears, but the difference in tread pattern and design is worth the VERY slight increase in noise of a off road design over a pavement design.

Check out this site to compare the difference in rim/tire size:
https://tiresize.com/comparison/

I don't know if you will have to insert you sizes, but that is where my information comes from.

 

[Tim7139]

Mostly FALSE - The stock 20" rims and tires are ACTUALLY very slightly (0.3") larger in height than the 17" rims and tires.

You type false sir. I said the 20's have a higher diameter, which is another way of saying larger over all height. Please retract your errant allegation of the information you yourself confirmed ;-) .

While your making corrections, according to the on line calculators the the difference with stock wranglers is over 4%. This is in line with my tape measure as I have two sets of mounted 17's and a set of mounted 20's, and my observation of the limited time between swapping tires and updating the tire size with Alpha ODB of the speedo being 4KM/h or 5KM/h out at 100KM/h.

 

[Tim7139]

Something that isn't mentioned but should be - you will get better gas/fuel mileage with the 17" wheels because you are turning (and moving) less mass/weight..

I don't. Don't know why.

Best guess: The stock 17's rotate 26 more times (4% more times) every mile. That may off set the 40lbs decrease in weight of the stock 17's over stock 20's (40lbs on a 4,800+lbs truck is 0.08%).

 

[VelocityC6Z]

Unsprung mass is actually worth a lot more weight and resistance than what you're actually calculating Tim. Look up the effects of reducing unsprung mass, it's significant and will absolutely contribute to mileage, horsepower measures at the wheels, handling, etc,.

 

[BOWERSFJ]

Unsprung mass is actually worth a lot more weight and resistance than what you're actually calculating Tim. Look up the effects of reducing unsprung mass, it's significant and will absolutely contribute to mileage, horsepower measures at the wheels, handling, etc,.

God I luv it when another engineer gets involved ...


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[Flryder]

If you are off roading the 17's are the way to go assuming a similar overall tire diameter. The 17's with a similar overall tire diameter will allow more flex over bumps/rocks off road and allow you to air down in low traction situations.