20” rims instead of 18’s

[18summitchevy302]

I recently went from my 07 Silverado to my new 2018 and Ive been reading a lot online  of people saying they want the stock 18” wheels instead of there stock 20’s. Why is that? Because I have the stock 18’s and I wish I had the stock 20’s!

[tbarn]

18's will ride a little better, and get a little better fuel mileage. I put 20's on my 15 and lost .5 mpg. May depend on how and where you drive.

Edited October 10, 2018 by tbarn

[18summitchevy302]

Why would the size of the rim affect the gas mileage??

[tbarn]

Not sure. Weight, width.

[rkj__]

My truck came with 20s, and I considered switching to 18s for a few reasons. 

 

1.  Cheaper tires

2.  Smoother ride

3.  I tend to prefer the appearance of a taller sidewall

4.  Lower chance of curb / rock rash on the wheel

 

But, I'm going to be keeping the 20s. 

 

My tires are brand new, so I have a long time to save for replacements.

The truck rides smooth enough for me.

The 20s do look pretty good, and give the truck a more premium look. 

I likely won't be doing serious off roading with this truck.

 

IMG_0937 by Ryan Jakob, on Flickr

 

 

Side note, it does not look like this thread belongs in the HD section.

Edited October 10, 2018 by rkj__

[BigBadSierra]

The larger the rim and tire leads to more weight and greater rolling resistance.

 

It's just physics in action. lol

[DougFL]

My 2016 and the 2019 have 20" rims and I cannot tell any difference in the ride quality compared to 18" rims.  My 2016 had Goodyear Eagle 275x55xR20 tires that rode and handled well and got over 60K miles tread life!  The 2019 has Bridgestone  Alenza 275X60XR20 and so far it rides very well.

[Slizzo]

Yeah, rotating mass.

 

Wish the Denali didn't have 22" wheels as standard.  I wish I had 20" wheels so it rode better and got marginally better mileage.  Though I guess I can't complain, I just averaged 20.5MPG on this tank (according to DIC) which is about equal to what I averaged in my Chevy SS 6M when driving down to my parents.

[Ozer]

If you go aftermarket 18s with max tire (after a front level) looks so much better.

I sold stock 20s and bought aftermarket 20s because i already had put on brand new 33" tires.

If i do it again i would do 18s with big wider tires for looks mainly. And 18s are cheaper.

 

Post your wheels on your local craigslist for straight up trade with stock 20s, you may get some hits.

[18summitchevy302]

I would love to find someone who wants the 18’s and I’d trade for the 20’s. I can’t wait to get rid of these 18’s!!!

[Cheverado]

I removed the LTZ 20's (RD2 I think?) and went to the Z71 18's(RD1)  and the difference in ride to me was like night and day. I also found the steering response to be sharper as well.

Edited October 10, 2018 by Cheverado

[rkj__]

11 minutes ago, Cheverado said:

I removed the LTZ 20's (RD2 I think?) and went to the Z71 18's(RD1)  and the difference in ride to me was like night and day. I also found the steering response to be sharper as well.

 

On my 2008 Canyon, I could definitely notice the difference between my 16" all terrain and 17" winter setups.  The 16s absorbed bumps better, and the 17s cornered better. 

 

I plan on taking off my 20s for winter, and running a 17" winter tire setup on the Sierra.  I'm interested to see how that will feel.  My current winter tires are load range E though, so they will not provide maximum plushness.

Edited October 10, 2018 by rkj__

[redwngr]

Factory 18's and 20's have the same outside diameter, so there is not need to have calibration change.

(can be verified by looking up rolling radius/diameter and revs per mile info for the tire sizes)

 

20's use a tire with a lower profile to offset the larger rim diameter, giving same OD.

 

 

The  1500s in signature both came on factory 20's.  I was disappointed in the ride compared to the 11 lml (on 18" michelin's m/s tires)

For the '16  I got from my dealer 18" take-offs, and had a winter tire installed. 

At install time we were in season change, and I wasn't driving much so while my first reaction was better ride, I also suspected that it was partly me wanting to believe they rode smoother.

 

At the time I removed the 18's I was making a daily 100 mile round trip, mostly on 55 mph 2 lane. 

 

I saw an immediate improvement in mileage when the 20's were put back on, and an immediate increase in ride harshness. 

 

I'm willing to learn otherwise, but I believe that the 20's have a stiffer sidewall, hence the ride performance decrease.

Mileage improvement may also be less tire flex, but it the less blocky tread on the tire on the 20's likely is also a factor. 

There also seemed to be less body roll when cornering on the 20's, but I don't usually corner aggressively so wasn't really planning for a before/after comparison. 

 

 

For my usage the ride difference on the 1500 was significant enough that the current 2018 Denali 2500 has the optional 18" rims instead of the standard 20" ones used on the 2500 (they the standard on 3500 Denali srw; bonus is they don't have the huge number of spokes that are on the standard 20 denali rims -- so are much easier to clean) 

 

 

Unless they become unavailable we will continue to use 18's instead of 20" 'here'.

The fuel economy gain isn't worth the decrease in ride performance for us.

(of course I'm assuming that on the HD's the same ride differences would be seen as with the 1500's; both using stock tire sizes) 

Edited October 10, 2018 by redwngr

[SierraHD17]

I think the HD truck 18s are pretty fugly and they were off in less than a month.  I replaced them with OEM 20s and wrapped them in 295/60/20 tires. I honestly feel zero difference in ride from the truck with the 18s to this combo.

[anrios]

I just ordered stock 18" wheels off ebay. If anyone wants (black) 20" wheels, I'm going to try and sell mine, along with the tires. I don't like the look of 20's, and wouldn't buy a truck with 22's, unless the dealer was willing to change them out. To me, modern cars/trucks are looking more and more like toys than real vehicles. I always think of Hot Wheels when I see big wheels on cars and trucks.