New Chevy/GMC Truck Wheel Openings

[Northman]

I think for me its not the shape of the wheel well opening so much as how it looks with standard wheels and height. I liked the looks of the 3/4 ton with the same openings as the 1/2 ton but the added height and tire size makes it all come together. Same thing with the guys that add a small lift and bigger tires to the 1/2 tons. Makes a world of difference. Without it, the body looks oversized and kind of hangs over the wheel wells too much. For example picture those beautiful trucks in the pictures above with the standard 15 inch wheels and tires offered those days. Yea...not so cool now right? But, it seems like the old trucks could accommodate larger wheels and tires without doing anything special to the suspension or height than the new ones can.  

[revrnd]

2 hours ago, Northman said:

I think for me its not the shape of the wheel well opening so much as how it looks with standard wheels and height. I liked the looks of the 3/4 ton with the same openings as the 1/2 ton but the added height and tire size makes it all come together. Same thing with the guys that add a small lift and bigger tires to the 1/2 tons. Makes a world of difference. Without it, the body looks oversized and kind of hangs over the wheel wells too much. For example picture those beautiful trucks in the pictures above with the standard 15 inch wheels and tires offered those days. Yea...not so cool now right? But, it seems like the old trucks could accommodate larger wheels and tires without doing anything special to the suspension or height than the new ones can.  

I remember when we started building the 1st GMT400 ext' cab long boxes. W/ the factory tires they looked AWFUL. My brother came over from an adjacent plant for a look & said they looked like school buses.

 

 

Even our '79 crew cab w/ the 16" wheels looked better & it was a 2WD.

[Donstar]

On 1/29/2018 at 10:03 AM, revrnd said:

I remember when we started building the 1st GMT400 ext' cab long boxes. W/ the factory tires they looked AWFUL. My brother came over from an adjacent plant for a look & said they looked like school buses.

 

Even our '79 crew cab w/ the 16" wheels looked better & it was a 2WD.

I remember thinking how great these looked. I had already owned two Ford SuperCabs when GM produced its first extended cab.  It was a welcomed choice. 

[redwngr]

On 1/17/2018 at 6:49 PM, RyanbabZ71 said:

moved wrong section

hmmmm.....

 

I thought we were having a wheel well discussion.

 

Seemed to fut right in.

[obfirefighter22]

Just read where the new wheel well design mad it so that the bed has an extra 6.75 inches extra space inbetween the wheel well.  Also saw these little storage compartments that look kind of cool.  These pared up with my decked storage system will be nice!

[Spurshot]

Never liked the really square wells.  Tires are round.  Why does Toyota, Ford, and others make Wells that accommodate oversized tires, while GM just has square Wells that barely take any larger tires? ...while having useless large voids in the corners of square Wells. 

[MixerDriver]

I always liked the square wheel wells. I also like the round wheel wells. I don't swap tire size or modify my trucks, so as long as it works in stock form, I don't really care. I guess I'm just easy to please...

[Ron505]

I haven't been a big fan of the square wheel wells.  Haven't cared for the look.  One of the conditions I told my wife of me getting this '14 Sierra, was that I was putting a small lift and tires on it to make it look better.

[amxguy1970]

On 2/13/2018 at 1:20 PM, obfirefighter22 said:

Just read where the new wheel well design mad it so that the bed has an extra 6.75 inches extra space inbetween the wheel well.  Also saw these little storage compartments that look kind of cool.  These pared up with my decked storage system will be nice!

It wasn't because they were made round...

 

Also I don't think the 6.75 was between the wheel wells, I think that was the bed width.

 

Tyler

[redwngr]

'19 Sierra wheelwells are different than the chev ones in the latest spy photos of the test mules.

 

Mar 1 reveal is close, and we'll know for sure! 

[Nargg]

I prefer the squarish look.  Looks upscale.  The rounded look is very pedestrian, boring, yuck.

[Grumpy Bear]

On ‎1‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 8:52 AM, Donstar said:

Nice looking trucks!^^^    Since reading this thread,  I have noticed the variety in wheel opening shapes on various models throughout the years. I have also noticed just how relatively conservative (safe) GM has been with their design changes.  At least,  I can't recall a change as dramatic as the Ram in '94 or even Ford in.97.   There is nothing about the new design that would prevent me from taking advantage of a good deal on an '18!

Nothing there that would make me think about trading Pepper either. 

[Campier]

I want  round. Skirts on my 2014 would be great.

[Boardmember]

I like the wheel well design on my truck - and note that it’s unique among half tons.   

 

Ive not seen one in person yet, but the new design looks like a larger Canyon/Colorado. 

[HondaHawkGT]

On 2/27/2018 at 6:40 AM, Spurshot said:

Never liked the really square wells.  Tires are round.  Why does Toyota, Ford, and others make Wells that accommodate oversized tires, while GM just has square Wells that barely take any larger tires? ...while having useless large voids in the corners of square Wells. 

It isn't the shape that limits tire size, its the distance from the front corner to the rear corner of the wheel well opening. GM keeps that distance tighter than the others. If they matched Ford & Ram's wheel well corner distance, they could still have a square wheel well opening with the same tire size capacity. My guess is, GM keeps the opening tighter/smaller because a square wheel well with a big gap in front of and behind the tire looks awkward or just plain awful. A rounded wheel well opening probably helps mask those bigger gaps.