whats 20" wheels ride like?

[bigarmzz]

just curious what the ride is like with 20" wheels?...i've never drove a vehicle with such low profile tires, and just looks to me that they'd ride like "wagon wheels"...and you'd feel every little bump in the road, ya know? being 40 series tires and all

do you maybe make up for it by using more comfortable lowering shocks?

if so, which lowering shocks would give the best ride with 20"s?

[maxreps]

You're pretty close.. a good friend of mine put 22's on his dodge and it definitely affected the ride quality. If you get big wheels/tires with close to the same overall diameter as your stock ones you WILL notice a harsher ride. The less rubber and more weight right at the hubs is the issue. The extra weight makes it harder for the shocks to dampen the bumps. Not to mention that weight there will affect power to an extent. Hence the reason that folks who race go after ultra light wheels..
It's my opinion, but folks who have big wheels on any vehicle that don't say their ride was affected are blinded by the cool factor. To each his own but non-objective information is not helpful.

[slimneverdies]

Amen brother! Nevertheless 22''s are just so cool. From my experience 20's are about the limit if your trying to keep some sort of comfort on cars and trucks that weight this much.

[LONGHAIR]

The main thing is that you learn to pay attention to the road ahead of you, especially if you are somewhere where the roads are abused by the weather. Potholes and shifted curbs are hard on the tires and wheel as well as the ride quality. Watch were you drive and it is not so bad, but like the others have mentioned, there are other issues. Shocks and brakes being the most important. The added "Un-sprung" weight definately has an effect on both.

[87Lowrider]

For me,

The 20s on the '87 were something that really looked well on the 73-87 trucks.

Since I put them on in November, I really haven't had enough road time to form an opinion but I can say that there is a difference in drivability.

It may be the Firestone Tires (Wide Ovals). I hit a pot hole last month and bent my front left wheel. Now I have to replace it.

So, I'm thinking about 18s up front with taller tires or just taller 20" tires.


Ken

[bigarmzz]

isnt the tallest profile you can get in a 20" tire a 40 series?

thats what worries me here in wva, the potholes...theres lots of them, and i would hate to bend a rim when they cost so much $$

Originally Posted by 87Lowrider

For me,

The 20s on the '87 were something that really looked well on the 73-87 trucks.

Since I put them on in November, I really haven't had enough road time to form an opinion but I can say that there is a difference in drivability.

It may be the Firestone Tires (Wide Ovals). I hit a pot hole last month and bent my front left wheel. Now I have to replace it.

So, I'm thinking about 18s up front with taller tires or just taller 20" tires.


Ken

[Primer70]

You an get up to a 50 series with street style tread, once you get to 60 series & larger they are off road tread designs on 20s. I'm thinking about going to a 255/40-20 ( 28" tall with a 4" side wall ) up front with a 285/45-22 ( 32" tall with a 5" side wall ) in the rear of my Suburban.

My 255/35-20s tires on my Suburban right now don't real ride any different than the 245/60 17s that were on the truck when I bought it, but they do make my big Suburban handle more like a car. I do watch for pot holes to avoid the possibility of bending a rim, but I've driven ground dragging slammed tucks & cars for 19 years, it's second nature for me.

[87Lowrider]

Originally Posted by bigarmzz

isnt the tallest profile you can get in a 20" tire a 40 series?

thats what worries me here in wva, the potholes...theres lots of them, and i would hate to bend a rim when they cost so much $$

Looks like it since I haven't been able to locate anything taller in the tire type I currently have. Mixed emotions on the 18/20 combo too.



At $400 per wheel, you don't want this to happen to you. My deductible is $500. I can file a claim with the state maintenance dept though for reimbursment.

Ken

[1984 swb chevy]

I think that wheel can be fixed.

[DubDubU]

nitto makes the 420s in a 275/55 20, other sizes are 50's or less

[Primer70]

Originally Posted by DubDubU

nitto makes the 420s in a 275/55 20, other sizes are 50's or less

That's a tall tire, 31.90" tall with a 5.95" side wall.

[DubDubU]

the more cushion, the softer the pushin

[N2TRUX]

Everyone PLEASE don't offer advice if you DO NOT know the answer. Just because your friends uncle-inlaws, brothers cousin told you something doesn't mean it's true.

The facts are that low profile tires have less sidewall, and are formulated to have less flex.

The size if the rim has NOTHING to do with the firmness of your ride, the profile of the tire does.

You can run low profile tires on a 15" rim and it will ride like crap. You can even bend a steel wheel if you hit a chug hole with a low profile tire regardless of what size the rim is.

If you want the contemporary look of a 20" wheel and road quality is an issue in your area, consider a 45 or 50 series tire.

There is no reason why you can't run 18's, 20's or even 22's as long as you set your suspension up accordingly.

Anyone that says any vehicle with 22's on it rides bad let me know. I will gladly give them a demo in my wife's Denali XL that will change their opinion.

[bad_burb]

The facts are that low profile tires have less sidewall, and are formulated to have less flex.

The size if the rim has NOTHING to do with the firmness of your ride, the profile of the tire does.

You can run low profile tires on a 15" rim and it will ride like crap. You can even bend a steel wheel if you hit a chug hole with a low profile tire regardless of what size the rim is.

If you want the contemporary look of a 20" wheel and road quality is an issue in your area, consider a 45 or 50 series tire.

There is no reason why you can't run 18's, 20's or even 22's as long as you set your suspension up accordingly.

Well said.

[Russell]

I can say from experience that the weight of a wheel does have some impact on the ride quality of a vehicle -- My 07 K2500 definitely rides far nicer with a set of aluminum wheels vs the winter steel wheels. The tires are the same size, and both wheels are 16 x 7s

[66chevy PROSTREET]

don't put 20's on your wife's car. she will probably curb all 4 of them like my wife did

these are the same od as the factory ones, and it rides harder than hell, but handles like a mo-fo. 285/30/20 in the rear is a large part of the harshness.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by 66chevy PROSTREET

these are the same od as the factory ones, and it rides harder than hell, but handles like a mo-fo. 285/30/20 in the rear is a large part of the harshness.

Those 30 series tires are going to be really harsh, reguardless of rim diameter. Heck that is almost a "semi-pneumatic" tire........LOL
I'm sure that they have all of the sidewall flex of a skid-steer loader too.

[boatpuller]

i have put 20's on two different suv's we have owned. my wife's ford escape didn't ride nearly as well.road noise,road feel, thru the wheel were both amplified.we put 20's on her new h3 and it rode better than the stock 16's.alot of you guy's aren't old enough to remember when radials replaced bias ply's the bias ply's had huge sidewalls. but didn't even compare to radial's.if cadillac let's 22's out the door,i'm willing to bet it "ride's like a cadillac".ever hear that one.their reputation was built on it.large diameter,low profile tires have came a long way's the last few year's.i think tire companies were slow to keep up as they thought it was a passing fad.now,it sure doesn't seem that way.in any of these tire or suspension threads.especially tire size and fitment.if you can get jared78 to respond,i guarantee you won't find a more knowledgeable person.he has sold and installed performance tires for year's in one of the highest volume tire store's in the west.and he has owned and love's these truck's.crawdadfox is another guy that's around tires every day.theses guy's know.hopefully they'll throw in their 2 cent's

oh......and kenny ouch

[crawdadfox]

Stay with a 40 series tire and you will be fine. Are you planning to lower the truck, if so the that will have an effect on ride as does tire size. As pointed out..you have less rubber between the road an the rim so it's easier to damage a wheel if you hit a pothole. This is my old truck that had a 5-6 drop with 295/40/20's and 255/40/20's that had over 60 thousand miles of New Orleans streets...which are the worse in the U.S.. (5 years running in D.O.T pole) and i thought the truck rode great!

[66chevy PROSTREET]

[QUOTE= New Orleans streets...which are the worse in the u.s.[/QUOTE]


i'll challange that here in the acadiana area!

[bigarmzz]

man that truck looks good.....isnt the rear end narrowed or am i thinkin of someone else's ride?

Originally Posted by crawdadfox

Stay with a 40 series tire and you will be fine. Are you planning to lower the truck, if so the that will have an effect on ride as does tire size. As pointed out..you have less rubber between the road an the rim so it's easier to damage a wheel if you hit a pothole. This is my old truck that had a 5-6 drop with 295/40/20's and 255/40/20's that had over 60 thousand miles of New Orleans streets...which are the worse in the U.S.. (5 years running in D.O.T pole) and i thought the truck rode great!

[crawdadfox]

Originally Posted by 66chevy PROSTREET

i'll challange that here in the acadiana area!

Nah...you just think they are bad, New Orleans East has holes that swallow mini trucks! And bigarmzz the rearend was narrowed 2" per side (10" wheel with 3" backspace)

[87Lowrider]

Originally Posted by 1984 swb chevy

I think that wheel can be fixed.

I'm going to check into getting it repaired.. There's a place in Louisville that is a "mobile" wheel repair company. I'll probably take it to them though.


Kenny

[crawdadfox]

Originally Posted by 87Lowrider

I'm going to check into getting it repaired.. There's a place in Louisville that is a "mobile" wheel repair company. I'll probably take it to them though.


Kenny

Thats an easy fix...shouldn't cost more than a hundred bucks.

[Primer70]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

The size if the rim has NOTHING to do with the firmness of your ride, the profile of the tire does.

Exactly. If any body wants the formula to figure out side wall height & over all tire height here it is.

Side wall: tire width times profile divided by 2540 = side wall * 2540 is the same for any size tire *

*Example: 255/40-20
255 times 40 divided by 2540 = 4.015748"

Overall all tire diameter: tire width times profile time 2 divided by 2540 plus rim diameter = tire diameter

*Example: 255/40-20
255 times 40 times 2 divided by 2540 plus 20 = 28.031496"