New Tire Time, Pondering New Wheels Too, Thinking About Downsizing

haptime · August 26, 2019

Here's what I have: 2016 GMC Sierra SLT 1500 Crew Cab Z71 with 20" factory chrome wheels with 275/55/20 tires - everything factory stock.

It's time for new tires, I've got 47k on the factory stock tires, I have never cared for the factory tires. If I am not mistaken, the wheels are chrome clad, part number 23220752, 20" x 9", 6 x 5.75 bolt pattern, 27mm offset.

I am mostly interested in keeping the exact factory stock size tires and wheels, that's good enough for me and I would have to be convinced of no computer problems, no wear rubbing problem with a focus on better overall performance in order to consider anything else.

I'm not really interested in a lift of any kind, I wouldn't mind to level the front end slightly and I followed the Bilstein 6112 thread waiting for months and by the time they were released, I wasn't interested anymore.

Overall, I'm not overly concerned about appearance that much, I am more about overall function. I've never thought a second about what someone else might think about how my truck looks. My truck is over 3 years and it's never been washed, not even once which wasn't intentional, life got in the way with bigger priorities. My truck is a necessary tool to me and I have plans to have it detailed soon when the new tires arrive, I am however a maintenance nut so my truck never hurts for anything mechanically.

So taking everything I've said so far into consideration, I am not a fan of the 20" chrome clad wheels, they look nice and all that but just not a fan. I'd never consider going to a 22" wheel but since 2 of my stock 20" chrome clad wheels have slight damage or scuffs I am wondering if now would be the time to consider dropping back to a 18" wheel or just buy another set of 20's. The vast majority of my driving consist of paved roads but I do hunt and fish, pull a boat, etc. My offroad adventures don't involve much mud but some, most off road driving involve gravel, dirt, hills and rocky creek beds.

There's several good A/T tire choices and all would probably work fine for my needs. My dilemma is whether to buy another set of 20" wheels or drop to 18" wheels. Since the factory 20" chrome clad wheels are slightly damaged, I'm planning to keep those for a 2nd set of tires. I am only interested in buying black wheels regardless of the size chosen, I've looked at the GM replica wheels but have no input in regards to quality. I would prefer not to mess with spacers and all that stuff, I wouldn't want the wheels to stick out beyond the fenders. If I dropped to a 18" wheel, I'd want the tire size to be as close to the same as factory stock as possible.

I don't post much but I'm here frequently reading a lot, it's clear there are a lot of better informed people on this subject than myself, I appreciate the time it took for you to read this post and thank you for your time if you choose to respond.

Edited August 26, 2019 by haptime

Grumpy Bear · August 26, 2019

I was with you all the way to A/T tires.... So on tires I'm blank but wheels....

I run factory steel 17" 255/70/17 Bridgestone Duller 684 II, Have 100,000 on this set and am at JUST under 7/32. Wheel/tire weight new was 63 lbs. and that is important to me. Smaller rims 'soften' the ride. Lighter weight help mpg and 'feel'. Just tossing it on the table.

BTW and IMHO washing your truck isn't a 'looks' thing. It's basic maintenance. Not that you asked.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Grumpy Bear

aseibel · August 26, 2019

I don't know of a single practical benefit to larger diameter wheels, unless someone likes the way they look. I would suggest you search your local craigslist for some OEM 18" takeoffs from someone who is "upgrading" their wheels. Those should be easy to come by.

I am a big fan of Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires. They are quiet and have great traction off-road. being in Arkansas, you aren't concerned with snow, so you could probably go with just about any AT tire. Since you aren't shopping based on looks (unlike most people on this forum) I'd say just go look at tirerack.com and compare prices and read some reviews. The brand you choose could come down to what your favorite local store sells and if they have a sale running. Mine just offered goodyears for buy 3 get 1 free.