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I'm not a fan of wheels so large that the tire profile is less than a 45. When the tires get too thin, the price goes up, the ride quality suffers, and the chance of a blown tire/wheel damage goes up. It use to be that aftermarket folks were oversizing their wheels, but now the OEMs have gone that route. As long as the suspension and brakes will accommodate smaller wheels, you can also grab a smaller set off craigslist or a model specific car forum.
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Originally Posted by Avalon08
Because wheels have been getting bigger and bigger for the past 20 years. Not talking about "donks", just about regular cars. Back when I got a BMW 528 in 2000, the sporty wheels were 17". Now the standards on sedans are 18s and sport models are 19s. On SUV upper trims, as you mentioned, they're usually either 19 or 20. I am wheel-obsessed. Some years ago, I wouldn't even consider the Lexus RX SUV because it only had 17" wheels. This year, I wouldn't consider an Infiniti QX50 because its wheels were 18". Anyway, ended up getting a BMW 330i with M-sport package, which has 19" wheels (oh and fog lights, another must-have). So far the ride seems fine. I'm in Florida so there's not a ton of potholes, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I did drive a Cadillac XT5 with 20" wheels as a rental up in PA, where potholes are EVERYWHERE, and the ride was horrible, I couldn't wait to get out of it.
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Originally Posted by cdelena
Larger wheel size increases the foot print with a less packaging issues than going wider for the same increase. Manufacturers have gone this direction for the look as well as performance. I was a real skeptic initially but now that I have one car with 19's and one with 20's I am a believer.
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Originally Posted by Malloric
Cosmetics.
You're correct. Ride quality is worse and the rims are more susceptible to damage from potholes and tires are more expensive. The first two are really due to low profile tires. They don't soak up as much of the small bumps as a normal tire and the ride is just rougher. There's a performance advantage as there is less sidewall flex but frankly anyone looking at mid-size SUVs is probably just not concerned with that all that much. It's an SUV and not a sports car after all.
Just on the cost that's come down tremendously. They're still more expensive but it's not like it used to be where 19 or 20" tires had a massive cost premium. It's still more materials and more expensive but it's more in line with what you'd expect from the costs. 19 and 20" wheels are so common now that the huge markup you used to see on those sizes has come down by quite a bit.
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Originally Posted by TheGrandK-Man
Looks.
They steer like hell: Over-react to even small steering inputs. I do not need to be able to turn on a dime at 60mph for cryin out loud.
Base models, with narrower, high profile tires, actually impart BETTER road feel and communicative steering, plus better straight-line stability.
Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, I am not talking about 'donks' here, but Factory OEM wheels that have gotten larger recently.
I don't want to spend a lot of money to replace wheels and tires on a brand new vehicle. Wondering if a dealer would agree to swap them out for a smaller set of wheels from a base trim of the same model.
Here's a question for you auto guys. I occasionally see some cars, usually ricer compacts that have big tires that seem to be on a slight angle and not straight up and down vertical like tires normally are. Is it that the tires are just a little too big for the car or is this some kind of performance option? Wouldn't those tires wear out on the inside edges awfully quickly and mean less traction?
Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, I am not talking about 'donks' here, but Factory OEM wheels that have gotten larger recently.
I don't want to spend a lot of money to replace wheels and tires on a brand new vehicle. Wondering if a dealer would agree to swap them out for a smaller set of wheels from a base trim of the same model.
Don't overthink this. You are talking about spending 10's of thousands of dollars on a new vehicle and wanting to swap wheels to save $25 per tire years down the road.
If you are truly worried about rim and tire damage, most dealers will sell you wheel/tire warranty.
If you are talking about a sports car with very low profile tire, I'd get the concern of damaged wheels. You are talking an SUV, which (unless you shopping a high performance SUV), will still have plenty of sidewall.
Look at the Acura MDX. the 18 inch wheels have about 5.8 inches of sidewall. The 20 inch wheels have 4.8 inches of sidewall (because the total diameter is the same, so 2 inches come out of the sidewall, 1 on "side" and go into the wheel). 4.8 inches is plenty in most cases (rims can get damaged with ANY tire). To compare, a 2000 Accord with 14 inch wheels had sidewall widths of 5.3 inches, smack in between the 18 and 20 MDXs.
The Corvette, for example (where some people has been complaining about cracking wheels) has 3.3 inch sidewalls.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by asubram3
Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, I am not talking about 'donks' here, but Factory OEM wheels that have gotten larger recently.
I don't want to spend a lot of money to replace wheels and tires on a brand new vehicle. Wondering if a dealer would agree to swap them out for a smaller set of wheels from a base trim of the same model.
They all look donk to this automotive conservative, lol!
Yes, that is called minus-sizing, vs plus-sizing(for larger, wider rims & tires). Depending on your trim level, you might have larger brakes that would prohibit minus-sizing. Check both with a good mechanic and with your dealer.
Here's a question for you auto guys. I occasionally see some cars, usually ricer compacts that have big tires that seem to be on a slight angle and not straight up and down vertical like tires normally are. Is it that the tires are just a little too big for the car or is this some kind of performance option? Wouldn't those tires wear out on the inside edges awfully quickly and mean less traction?
There seems to be a gaining trend of extreme negative camber in the "ricer" world. This is for appearance/coolness (to the right crowd, I guess) and yes will wear tires poorly and will be more likely to damage wheels and other suspension components.
If the variation is only slight that may be for a different reason. When cars corner, they move weight to the outside of the tread, so having a little negative camber can help handling and tire wear. On cars that will see a race track, it is usual to align more negative camber than a street car.
Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify, I am not talking about 'donks' here, but Factory OEM wheels that have gotten larger recently.
I don't want to spend a lot of money to replace wheels and tires on a brand new vehicle. Wondering if a dealer would agree to swap them out for a smaller set of wheels from a base trim of the same model.
It will mess up your speedometer.
The ride and durability issues are with low profile wheels. Simply large wheels do not convey those issues. for example 275 85 R20 will ride as well and last as long or longer as a 17 inch tire on the same vehicle.
Where you get into cost issues is availability. For example Hankook Dynapro tires in 17" size were available at Walmart for under $100 each. However they did not carry them in 20" the only 20" light truck tires they carried were superior tires that cost $183 each. No way to know how much of that was because the tires were superior quality and how much was because they were 20" instead of 17" The 20" Hankook Dynapro tire if you could get them were $250. Not because of the larger size but because of the tire shop where you had to go to get them had higher mark up.
My 2017 Ford Explorer came with 245/60/r18 or 255/50/r20. I will have to look. If I have the r18 can I replace with r20 on the same rims?
No.
One set of wheels are 18" diameter, the others are 20" diameter.
Now can you put optional 255/50 R20 on a wagon that came with 245/60 R18 stock? Without a doubt.
There are a few things to look out for when putting different wheels and tires on a car:
- Brake clearance - new wheel is too small to fit around the disc and caliper
- suspension clearance - new wheel & tire is too wide or tall and hits suspension parts
- Body clearance - new tire hits fender
- Speedometer - ANY change in outside diameter will make the speedometer wrong. Can be undetectable, can be huge.
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