20" To 17" Wheels Any Pros?

[Bramic71]

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.

 

[huntergreen]

You'll loose a little bit of handling but gain a softer ride. imho, the 17 inch will be better off road.

 

[U&A]

Less rim and more sidewall gives you...

Smoother ride
Takes pot holes a bit safer(no bent rim)
More body sway on turns
More rim protection off road
Better for airing down off road
Makes the tire look bigger
Less responsive handling


Just a quick list off the top of my head

Watch the load index rating. Dont go under your OEM tires load index. If your towing id jump to “E” rated but that is JMO. “E” rated tires are a rougher ride so take that into account


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[Burla]

Less chance your rim grenades when you hit a pot hole. A couple months ago that was exactly what happened to a college kid as he hit a pot hole in front of my house. Funny as hell, as I am helping the guy change his tire, a guy on a chevy pick up with 20's or 22's not sure, hit the same pot hole and also broke a rim. The funny part, this fool couldn't be bothered to change his tire, so he drove off with his flashers on going 5mph. I doubt he made it home because the direction he took the closest home is a mile a way, no way he made that, lol.

I'd go as far to say if you go offroad you need more sidewall. Option to go down in air pressure can be the difference of life or death.

 

[Bramic71]

Less chance your rim grenades when you hit a pot hole. A couple months ago that was exactly what happened to a college kid as he hit a pot hole in front of my house. Funny as hell, as I am helping the guy change his tire, a guy on a chevy pick up with 20's or 22's not sure, hit the same pot hole and also broke a rim. The funny part, this fool couldn't be bothered to change his tire, so he drove off with his flashers on going 5mph. I doubt he made it home because the direction he took the closest home is a mile a way, no way he made that, lol.

I'd go as far to say if you go offroad you need more sidewall. Option to go down in air pressure can be the difference of life or death.

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

Less rim and more sidewall gives you...

Smoother ride
Takes pot holes a bit safer(no bent rim)
More body sway on turns
More rim protection off road
Better for airing down off road
Makes the tire look bigger
Less responsive handling


Just a quick list off the top of my head

Watch the load index rating. Dont go under your OEM tires load index. If your towing id jump to “E” rated but that is JMO. “E” rated tires are a rougher ride so take that into account


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM

Less rim and more sidewall gives you...

Smoother ride
Takes pot holes a bit safer(no bent rim)
More body sway on turns
More rim protection off road
Better for airing down off road
Makes the tire look bigger
Less responsive handling


Just a quick list off the top of my head

Watch the load index rating. Dont go under your OEM tires load index. If your towing id jump to “E” rated but that is JMO. “E” rated tires are a rougher ride so take that into account


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

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

 

[Bramic71]

You'll loose a little bit of handling but gain a softer ride. imho, the 17 inch will be better off road.

The ride now is ok, but can get a little out of whack, when hitting holes at highway speed.

 

[kurek]

Generally lower cost for an equivalent tire too.

 

[Bramic71]

Generally lower cost for an equivalent tire too.

Very true.

 

[Tim7139]

At stock tire sizes 17s are much harder to rub up on curbs.

 

[ram1500rsm]

You can do 285/75/17 with the 3.21's and be ok towing. I like 17 wheels and tires for many reasons: weigth, price, tire has more sidewall, bigger tires at a much better price, much better offroad function and looks. I didn't think twice getting rid of the 20" wheels.

 

[phantomfixer]

I'm a big fan of smaller wheels and more rubber...

 

[Dave2018]

For style, the 20's rule. For ride and speed. the 17's are the best.

 

[Tim7139]

For style, the 20's rule. For ride and speed. the 17's are the best.

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.

 

[kurek]

the higher diameter getting you a slightly higher top speed

I don't know if I'd call redline-in-top-gear the top speed limiting factor on our trucks..

 

[BOWERSFJ]

I don't know if I'd call redline-in-top-gear the top speed limiting factor on our trucks..

You’re correct ... The top speed is programmed into the puter ...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

I just put Falken Wildpeak AT3W's on my 2500. Stock 18" rims originally had 275/70R18 tires. I bought 285/75R18 to give me a 10mm wider tread and a taller sidewall. They measure 34.8" tall. I like more sidewall. It just "looks correct" on a truck IMHO. Lots of extra space to fill in those 2500 wheel openings. Then again, I'm old so, that's all we had back when. I had 36" tires on 15" rims on my '76 K5 Blazer. 12.5" sidewalls looked fantastic! Yes, it bounced.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

PS: with the taller 285x75R18's, my speedo is reading 3 mph lower than what my GPS is quoting at 70 mph.

 

[VelocityC6Z]

20" with passenger tires and 17" C rated light truck tires will have about the same cornering in the same tire height.

There's more to it than just tire height.

I went with 17's over 20's for a better ride, less rotating mass, and cheaper tires. If I want handling and mileage I'll just air my C rated tires up to 50 psi. I'll do that for longer road trips. For my daily driving, I keep them around 30 psi cold.

 

[Tim7139]

You’re correct ... The top speed is programmed into the puter ...

Not with an SSV

 

[Tim7139]

20" with passenger tires and 17" C rated light truck tires will have about the same cornering in the same tire height.

I've helped wear down a few pairs of stock Wranglers in both sizes, and I disagree. Less than an inch of sidewall difference and just over an inch of diameter, but noticeable difference in steering wheel feedback with the 20's, which I prefer.

Lane changes are crisper, and there is more stability when cornering at speed with the 20's. Not as pronounced as when going from stock 17' all season Wranglers to 17' Bridgestone winters, but an improvement.