Silverado Z71 4x4 Wheels

MaverickZ71 · June 28, 2010

Just curious. My '09 Silverado crew cab Z71 4x4 with the trailer tow package has the optional P265/65R-18 wheels and Bridgestone Dueler AT tires. By my calculations, the standard P265/70R-17 wheels and Goodyear ATS tires are the same width and overall diameter. Is it as easy as just swapping them to trade, or would brake or other issues come into play? Would the computer have to be reprogrammed? The shadetree mechanic in me says that the 18 inchers might drive a little more sporty on the highway, but the 17 inchers might ride a little softer, especially off-road.

Any insight into this from the forum would be much appreciated.

MacA · June 28, 2010

Just curious. My '09 Silverado crew cab Z71 4x4 with the trailer tow package has the optional P265/65R-18 wheels and Bridgestone Dueler AT tires. By my calculations, the standard P265/70R-17 wheels and Goodyear ATS tires are the same width and overall diameter. Is it as easy as just swapping them to trade, or would brake or other issues come into play? Would the computer have to be reprogrammed? The shadetree mechanic in me says that the 18 inchers might drive a little more sporty on the highway, but the 17 inchers might ride a little softer, especially off-road.

Any insight into this from the forum would be much appreciated.

The overall diameter for both your options above are basically the same, 31.56" (265/64/18) and 31.61" (265/70/17). Changing them would be just a "bolt-and-go". Since the diameter doesn't change, there would be no impact on your speedometer reading.

Personally, I think you would be hardpressed to feel a difference in driving between a 17" and a 18" rim whether on-road or off-road. I believe that you'd have to be higher that 20" to start really feeling the difference. If you do extreme offroading you want a smaller rim diameter to maximize your tire's sidewall, But with "light" offroading the 1" difference shouldn't have an impact.

My $0.02 worth

MS3DALE · June 28, 2010

Just curious. My '09 Silverado crew cab Z71 4x4 with the trailer tow package has the optional P265/65R-18 wheels and Bridgestone Dueler AT tires. By my calculations, the standard P265/70R-17 wheels and Goodyear ATS tires are the same width and overall diameter. Is it as easy as just swapping them to trade, or would brake or other issues come into play? Would the computer have to be reprogrammed? The shadetree mechanic in me says that the 18 inchers might drive a little more sporty on the highway, but the 17 inchers might ride a little softer, especially off-road.

Any insight into this from the forum would be much appreciated.

The overall diameter for both your options above are basically the same, 31.56" (265/64/18) and 31.61" (265/70/17). Changing them would be just a "bolt-and-go". Since the diameter doesn't change, there would be no impact on your speedometer reading.

Personally, I think you would be hardpressed to feel a difference in driving between a 17" and a 18" rim whether on-road or off-road. I believe that you'd have to be higher that 20" to start really feeling the difference. If you do extreme offroading you want a smaller rim diameter to maximize your tire's sidewall, But with "light" offroading the 1" difference shouldn't have an impact.

My $0.02 worth

+1

chakis24 · June 28, 2010

also consider when the tires wear. are tires fit for 18 inch wheels more expensive than 17s? you might also have more choices of tire with a 17 wheel as oppose to an 18.