Big Tires, or Big Wheels?

[Mikejonce]

I'm pretty stuck here on deciding a direction for the look of my truck. Anybody have any tips on this? I always see lifted trucks on the road with big-offroad tires. I really like this look. BUT, I also like the look of a truck with nice big rims 20-22". Normally I don't see the bigger rims with huge/thick offroad tires on them. Does anybody have any advice for me here? Which direction did you go? Or can I get a big rim, AND a big offroad tire? Not sure how that'd look.. ??

[SouthernSilveradoGuy85]

It really depends on if you're going to actually take the truck off-road or not. If you are then tire sidewall is your friend. Also more sidewall from what I've noticed gives a little better ride since it's more sidewall to take part of the hit where as small sidewalls make the suspension work more so you feel more. I don't know first hand since I'm not into low pro tires so never had any. If it will just be a mall crawler then it depends on what look you like better. The look I seem to see from the people that really don't go off-roading is big deep dish rims with small sidewall. The only way I would have 20+" rims on a truck would be if it had 40+" tires on it. And if I were to go that big with rims and tires I would end up doing the 18 wheeler rim thing just for the hell of it (would look better on an HD truck with a diesel though). Most of this is personal opinion though.

[Mikejonce]

Thank you for the reply kind sir. Great lookin' truck btw!

[14x4]

In my opinion, a smaller wheel and bigger tire is better. They are trucks, after all.

[Spurshot]

Since you said "...look...", my assumption is that you aren't putting off-road utility/performance at the top or even considering it.

 

In that case, search the net for "the look" you want and figure out the wheel/tire size. Poking thru this forum will help.

 

Things to consider:

Big tires suck fuel like a garden hose. A little bit goes a long way

Big rims are a lot heavier than a small rim

Tires of the same O.D. aren't much heavier with a smaller rim size.

taller sidewalls will give a softer ride

Shorter sidewalls give better steering response and cornering

Aggressive tread patterns with deep-blocky tread and large void areas will be noisy, maybe not right away, but they will.

Most people go too far in the direction they desire when it comes to wheels and tires.

[Tqjunkie]

I have the 20's on my ltz because I wanted the 6.2 motor,but I much prefer the look of the smaller rim with lots of tire it just looks heavy,more rim with less tire is a little to europian for my likiing.

[Mikejonce]

Thanks all of you for your replies! @spurshot...NICE TRUCK DOOD!

[5RWill]

I'm keeping my 20s and going with 33x12.5x20s, i think 20s with decent size tires look great.

[blackout07]

You can certainly do both with good results. A lot of folks are going with 22" wheels and aggressive tires in the 33" range. And even larger wheel diameters with larger tires and lifts. I used to own a k5 blazer that I beat up pretty good off road, but I don't know too many people that buy 40-50k trucks to do that with, so the hardcore off-roading stuff is mostly irrelevant. The tires will more than stand up to the average off road situation. After all, I haven't seen any low profile off-road tires so comparing 20" and even 22" wheel combos as such isn't accurate.

 

Take a look at the basic sizes GM offers.

 

Your stock size of 265/70/17 has a sidewall height of just over 7"

 

GM size with 18" wheels is 265/65/18 and has a sidewall height just under 7"

 

GM size with 20" wheels is 275/55/20 and has a sidewall height of just under 6"

 

GM size with 22" wheels is 285/45/22 and has a sidewall height of just over 5"

 

So between 5" of difference in wheel diameters you only see a little more that 2" in sidewall reduction. I can tell you first hand that the ride on these vehicles with the factory 22s is very smooth. GM wouldn't have been putting them on their top of the line vehicles for the last few years if they didn't.

 

Now consider adding larger tires to these wheels. Let's use 20s since they are the most common size used and consequently, hated on...that will shift to 22s now that they are becoming more standard but I digress.

 

Let's use 305/55/20 which is a common size for mildly lifted or leveled GM trucks. This is more or less the equivalent of a 33 x 12.50. I'll compare it to the stock 18" size offered by GM as it is the more popular size when these debates come up.

 

The 305/55/20 has a sidewall height of just over 6.5" which is just shy of or the same as the stock 265/65/18 depending on the tire manufacturer. Not bad for "low profile tires." Go up to a 35" tire or 325/60/20 and you'll have closer to 8" of sidewall, which you'll note is more sidewall than any of the factory sizes listed above.

 

Once you get into lifted territory your ride will suffer for a great many reasons but the impact isn't great. And I assure you that my wife's 2015 tahoe on 22s rides far better than my truck with 37s and 20s. I mention that because ride has a great many more things do with than sidewall height alone. I've had big tires and small tires and wheels from 15" to 22". The ride has never been greatly impacted by the wheels diameter and the off-road performance hasn't suffered either.

 

Don't be fearful of getting what you thinks looks good and don't worry about your truck riding or performing badly as a result. Good luck..

[Mckenzie]

17s and 37s here. I like a smaller rim and bigger tire. If i wanted 20s or 22s i'd get a...naw who am i kidding i don't want 20s or 22s

[mafd2]

I love 22's. I have factory chrome GM CK919 wheels with Bridgestone tires. Ride great. No shakes or vibration. I put 22's on my last 3 GM trucks.

[dannynoonan]

Big tires for me

[blackout07]

17s and 37s here. I like a smaller rim and bigger tire. If i wanted 20s or 22s i'd get a...naw who am i kidding i don't want 20s or 22s

Lol. I remember when 17s were considered too big of a wheel. 15s were the rage if you didn't want a bad ride and ghetto look.

[Mutau95]

22's absolutely fill the wheel well nicely. GM factory 22's on the K2 platform is badazz. Big wheels with an aggressive tire is an awesome combination.

[STINSAN3]

No bigger than 20.