Honest opinions; new style 19"+ wheels and low profile tires.

[CaptHutch66]

Alright guys I'm down to the end and wanted to get some opinions from folks that have them before I make a purchase. Was wanting to go with the newer style 6 lug 5.5 20" wheel and tires (8" front and 10.5" width rear). But I've talked w/several folks who have them on "cars" not trucks and they have told me that they ride like crap, wear tires quickly and if they had to do it over they would go back with a more stock setup and a larger sidewall tire. This will be a "driver" when done so I would like to achieve an optimum setup so as to not have any regrets! As always I appreciate any input! Take care, Hutch

[blackedoutharley]

Basically what you are up against is how much ride you're willing to sacrifice to get a desired look.

The larger the wheel diameter the smaller the sidewall which can affect ride quality considerably. Without the tall sidewalls to absorb some of the bumps they are transmitted through the ride.

On my '04 Silverado going to a 20" wheel and tire combo made the truck handle so much better and to compensate for the ride I went with a QUALITY tire that was about .5" taller than the oem tire, just to maintain some sidewall.

On our trucks, and especially for a daily driver I probably wouldn't recommend anything bigger than 17" for the above reasons. Obviously your choices will be limited by any lowering you have done or suspension mods/conversions which may affect clearance. I would stay away from the 19" stuff just because you limit your tire options.

My '65 C-10 LWB still has 15" wheels on it and I refuse to change it. It is a truck and I use it as such and if I want to dump a half yard of landscaping rock in it I don't want to worry about weather the tires can handle the weight.

You mileage may vary but remember to look at the tire options prior to picking the wheel; nothing worse than finding out you can't get the tire you want because of the wheels you chose or worse yet; what you want won't fit the truck or isn't safe.

[63MOUSE]

i agree with blackedoutharley, i had a set of boyds on my 63 with the rubber band tires hit a pot hole and bent a front rim and cracked a rear, even with the correct air pressure. plenty of meat on the sidewall is a must, i have four boyds wheels in my garage just sitting, what a shame

[Scot_Douglas]

In my opinion, trucks need decent sidewalls to look like, well, trucks.

That's why I chose 245/55R18's for mine.

[kieth]

I stuck with 17' cragers and 265/70 series tires, it got me the old height , a good ride, and a taller gear ratio so my truck would cruise at 1900rpm at 70mph trying to get some fuel mileage.....and the 17s' jump out at you but still have sidwalls for a cushy ride. I stayed away from the 18----19--- sizes because it was hard to find tall tires for that size......(they are not normally used on a pickkup) I think the 17" with 265's looks good but still rides good........Here see what you think.......Kieth

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...496_xE35W-A-LB

[Max1775]

17" is the largest I've had that road well. My last set was 20's on my '07 daily driver and I went back to 17's because they ride so much better. Sidewall flex plays a huge part in ride comfort. Unless you're building a road course truck, I'd leave the big wheels to the tuners and slabs... I'm not found of large rims on older trucks anyhow...

[joedoh]

if you are down between 19s and 20s do 20s, because 19" tires are more expensive than 20" tires.

[Slow Build]

I've had a few trucks with different size tires and wheels on them. As far as ride goes I like a little side wall for comfort and handling. When I finally get to my wheels and tires on my ride I won't get anything with a sidewall aspect ratio lower than 45.

The two trucks that I had that were on (20"& 22") 35 series tires compromised the ride and didn't get the best traction. I'm done with them.

I have never riden on 40 series so I'm not sure about them.

My car came stock with (17") 45 series tires and it feel good and the tire handle and wear well.

I didn't feel a big difference between (15"& 17") 60 and 50 series tires. Both had good rides and handled well.

So I'm going to be looking for something in a 17"-18" wheel when I get to that point. Going with a 19" wheel will really limit you on tire and wheel choices and as said before, if you are choosing between 19" & 20", go 20" it's cheaper.

[glos55]

I think 17's and 18's for a daily driver should be the largest. I have 15'' Vette rally's with 275/60's and it rides great, even with 1.5 cut front coils and jeeps in the rear. Ofcourse I'm dealing with Michigan roads! 18's look great if you have the right stance.

[CaptHutch66]

Thanks for all of the input guys! I'm kinda stuck on the 18" Ultra,Predator286. And by stuck i mean the wife likes these wheels! Just weighing the different options and trying to make the best choice.

[66redw/white]

Originally Posted by Scot_Douglas

In my opinion, trucks need decent sidewalls to look like, well, trucks.

That's why I chose 245/55R18's for mine.

these the new camaro wheels? they look alot like them

[Scot_Douglas]

Yep - 2010 oem stock camaro wheels & tires. Even with the adapters, it was cheaper than buying aftermarket wheels and new tires.

[66redw/white]

i like em alot. i was thinkin of maybe puttin some on my 90 jimmy. they the same back spacin as the 02 camaros were?

[Scot_Douglas]

They're 7.5" wide with a 39mm offset (BS 3.75")

[jocko]

I think the wheel dia is not pertinent to ride quality - but aspect ratio is. It just so happens that the larger the wheels the thinner the profile tires folks usually put on them - thus the impression the ride sucks. Now I'm not suggesting anyone put 75 series tires on a 20" rim, but I'm just sayin... I agree with the comments above - I think 17" is a great compromise - you can still get a decent ride (because you have a doable aspect ratio tire mounted on it) and yet they can look modern or look old school (depending on the rim style). I've seen pretty cool looking 17" rallies and 17" 70-ish camaro repop wheels and it takes a few glances to realize they're 17" since they're a remake of a classic 15" wheel. But then again, if you're going for "bling" with hoops and polish, then 22" all day long. For me, if I ever have a wheel >15" on my 66, well, never mind, that day won't come... Well, maybe, who knows!

[protrash64]

I used Falken 275/40/18's on my SB and it rides really well. I think wheel weight and shocks are important considerations as well as tire sidewall. Lite wheels will help, as opposed to heavy cast types.

I had 275/45/20's on my 'burb and it rode like a dream. Toyo's on that one.

[lakeroadster]

Originally Posted by Scot_Douglas

Yep - 2010 oem stock camaro wheels & tires. Even with the adapters, it was cheaper than buying aftermarket wheels and new tires.

If I hadn't seen a picture of your truck I would have said "2010 Camaro wheels, that would be hideous". But they do look pretty good for a factory wheel. I don't know what 'theme" you are going for on your truck but a set of American Racing TTO's, Cragar S/S's or some slots would be killer, IMO.

In regards to big wheels and low profile tires, another big factor is the tire manufacturer. My wife had a Honda Accord 2 door in the late 1990's. It had the big diameter factory chrome wheels and low profile Michelin tires. When it came time to buy new tires, to save a few bucks, we went with Goodyears. Oh my God it road terrible, very very harsh. The tire guy said the Michelins had a "softer" sidewall. They swapped on a new set of Michelins and it road great once again.

Go figure.....

Some of the newer larger wheels do look good though on our trucks. And some look totally hideous. It simply depends on the style of the wheel and the amount of rubber you mount on them. Being a fan of huge sidewall on any muscle truck or car I have never cared for the "big wheel - rubber band tire" look.

For my truck I had to go with the old school 15" period correct wheels with big and little's. Old dog's and new tricks don't mix. Well maybe a set of Cragar Tricks

[jcrawl]

I went with 20 inch rims and tires but i did not go with low pro tires so the ride is not bad if you ask me considering i still have the orig 3/4 ton springs to deal with. i got 305 45's in the back and that gives me approx 5 inches of sidewall to soften the ride. I did this because my buddy owns a tire shop and he said no way in hell would he go with low pros and to trust his set up and i will say im glad i did!!!

[jocko]

jcrawl - how tall are your tires overall? Sounds like it might actually back toward stock height in the 28 neighborhood-ish??

[protrash64]

Originally Posted by jocko

jcrawl - how tall are your tires overall? Sounds like it might actually back toward stock height in the 28 neighborhood-ish??

jocko, my 275/45/20's were 29+'' tall.

[blackedoutharley]

Ask your buddy the tire shop owner is 45 series tires are low profile

[jcrawl]

Originally Posted by protrash64

jocko, my 275/45/20's were 29+'' tall.

My fronts are 275 45 and they measured out 28.5 the rears are 305 45 and they were about 29.5 i recomend not going lower then 45's hard ride

[jcrawl]

Originally Posted by blackedoutharley

Ask your buddy the tire shop owner is 45 series tires are low profile

45's are a low pro but there is a major difference between 45 and 35's you sacrafice a lot when you drop below 45 serries, my freind sells plenty of 20's with tiny little low pros on them and a lot of them he buys back at a discounted a month or 2 later. Sad part is that he tells people they wont like them cause the ride is horrible and they buy anyway so its good for him!

[jimmydean]

I like sidewalls, no rubber band tires for me. I might go as big as a 17", but I will likely run a 15" wheel on my truck when I get to that point.

[jocko]

thanks protrash and jcrawl, that's what I was wondering - bottom line is that that wheel/tire combo does a good job of filling up the wheelwell, as does a 235/75/15.

So, CaptHutch
I think the real point here is to not get hung up on whether a 45 or 35 is low profile or not. The aspect ratio # (i.e. 75, 70, 60, 50, 45, 35, etc) is just that - a ratio only - of sidewall to width. Bigger number equals taller tire, RELATIVELY. So, as you can see, a 45 series tire can actually be taller than a 60 series tire depending on the section width (235, 255, 275, etc).

So, if your goal is short steamrollers, you'd need both a low aspect ratio (45/35) AND a small section width (215, 225, 235, etc). If you want to fill the wheelwell and still have a low aspect ratio (so, "somewhat" of a low profile tire) - then go with something like jcrawl or protrash did - i.e. 275/45.

Personally, I think a low aspect ratio is ok on our trucks only if you marry it up with a big section width (i.e. 265 or 275 s.w. with 45 a.r.). If you don't do that, it looks like tootsie rolls in a giant wrapper to me.

My 2 cents! All things being equal, I'm still a 15" sorta guy (so to speak) but the lower aspect ratio tires can be made to look real nice on our big-wheel-welled trucks if the section width is chose wisely.