Time to order wheels! 18's or 20's??

[steves1967]

Measured my rear wheel well last night. I have 7" from wms to the inner fender, and 6" from the wms to the inside lip of the outer wheel well. So I'm thinking either 20 x 11's with 6" back spacing or 18 x 9's with 3 1/2" back spacing. I think either one will get me close to flush with the wheel well. The truck is lowered 5" in the back. I'm going with Detroit Steel Wheels- the Dey Ray wheel so I can keep my stock hubcaps...

[Palf70Step]

I am not a fan of big wheels and thin tire sidewalls, so I would say 18 at the largest.

[MySons68C20]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

I am not a fan of big wheels and thin tire sidewalls, so I would say 18 at the largest.

I love my 18's....more sidewall and you get a nice look.

[desert-rat]

I echo 18s as well. I like sidewall on tires. Rubber band tires don't look good on these trucks.

[jimijam00]

You are nearly flush now, with lots of comfortable sidewall. No larger than 17s.

[sixty8HDC30]

The originals are classic and timeless, they will never not look good.

The wheels you are looking at are trendy and will be dated in just a few years.

Just something to consider.

[steves1967]

I agree that the original 16.5's are cool. But, its just too dang hard to find a decent selection of tires. I like the fat back tire look- I have a drag car that sits on 29.5 x13" slicks.. I'm torn between filling the wheel well and having a gap.

A 20 x 11 with a 295/45/20 will give me 5 1/4" of sidewall and an 11 1/2" wide contact patch.

A 18 x 9 with a 275/55/18 will give me 6" of sidewall and a 10 3/4" wide contact patch.

I think the Del Rays are about as close to factory as I can find- mind you these are 8 lug wheels... not a huge selection.

[steves1967]

Tire Size Comparison

[Warrens69GMC]

I have been looking at 18" myself

[hewittca]

I am going to go against the consensus here and say 20s. I had 22s on my previous truck and they were a bit too big. I think 18s are a bit too small if you are upgrading from the stock 15s or 16s. 20s with a tire like you mentioned would look good I think. Some sidewall to fill the wheel well, but you still get the updated look with the larger wheel. Check out Badger69's truck towards the end of the page here. He has some decent sidewall on his 20s and it looks badass.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by steves1967

I agree that the original 16.5's are cool. But, its just too dang hard to find a decent selection of tires. I like the fat back tire look- I have a drag car that sits on 29.5 x13" slicks.. I'm torn between filling the wheel well and having a gap.

A 20 x 11 with a 295/45/20 will give me 5 1/4" of sidewall and an 11 1/2" wide contact patch.

A 18 x 9 with a 275/55/18 will give me 6" of sidewall and a 10 3/4" wide contact patch.

I think the Del Rays are about as close to factory as I can find- mind you these are 8 lug wheels... not a huge selection.

What about a 20x9 or 20x10 w/a very common OE 275/55-20? Not sure how difficult it would be to find a match for the front. I'm guessing there are some 245 or 255 options.

Detroit Steels will be heavy regardless.

[Mid-Pack]

With the wide rear width you`re looking for, I would go 20". Numerous selection of tire brands carry a 295/45/20, a wide 18" has very limited options. You could even go 285/50/20 to help fill any gap, with a 31.3" diameter.

[Joyridin]

I put 20's. It probably isn't a big deal as long as you get the proper tire height. I have 28" tall on the rear and pretty close to the same up front. The trucks look out of proportion if you go too small on the height.

18's are a lot cheaper, but give it 2 years and you will probably see a huge decline in sizes available.

[TKCR]

I had both on my truck. When I bought it, it had 20’s. I really didn’t like the look, but I dealt with them for several years. When it was finally time to get new, I opted for 18’s with more rubber. I’m so happy I ditched the 20’s. The truck rides so much better. And it looks 110% better!

[hevy_chevy67]

If you like big wheels, go with the 20's. I did 18's on my 69 but wish I had gone to 20's now.

For me, its either 15" with a factory dog dish cap or 20". No half measure haha.

[Accelo]

20"s have my vote.
With Zero offset wheels 275*45's, on the rears..
235 *45 R20 on the front.

No rubbing. Mine truck frame is not notched.
I don't like the rubber band look either.
I don't feel like the 20's with the tires, I have, look that way.
As pointed out the OD of the 20" tire isn't that far from the stock tire.
Depends on your preferences.
8" on front and 9.5" on the rears.
The larger rims do allow for bigger brakes.

(Edited as I Corrected the tire size and added wheel width)
Cheers

[LS short box]

I did 20's all around. I did have 14" C5 ZO6 front disc brakes.

[steves1967]

Originally Posted by LS short box

I did 20's all around. I did have 14" C5 ZO6 front disc brakes.

How wide are the wheels?

[LS short box]

8" in the front and 9" in the back as I recall.

[lok-dawg]

I remember when 20's were considered "big"...