Are Larger Rims Overkill?

Lovemytahoez71 · October 7, 2006

Before I go out and plop-down $600 to $800 on a set of new tires for my Tahoe I want to investigate the possibility of putting some nice rims on there. Right now I have the stock 17" Z71 rims. I always see guys driving around town with modified Tahoes or Escalades on pretty nice rims. However, I seriously begin to wonder if running around on those $600 (a piece) 22" rims running 305/35/22 rubber is the best thing in the world on handling, brakes, and real-world use.

What I mean by that is...if you add larger rims & tires then you are often adding more weight to the vehicle and thus affecting turning radius, suspension settings, and increasing the amount of with that the brakes have to do to stop those massive wheels. Plus I would imagine that those wheels would be destroyed pretty easily. Hmmm....

Am I completely off-base here with my assumptions? I guess that my angle on this is that I want to get some rims that are larger than the stock 17" wheels, that have a little bit of that "flashy" look, but I am a little afraid because I am not sure if popping a set of 20s or 22s on a Tahoe would somehow negatively affect its performance in the handling, turning, and braking department. I would imagine that putting tires on them would increase exponentially from $150 per tire to say $300 per tire.

Any suggestions or thoughts on this?

Regards,

John

crazymjb · October 7, 2006

The weight is nearly negligable, though it depends on what rims you get, some of the time weight will actually decrease with larger more expensive rims(depending on brand, size increase, etc). Also, handling improves with larger rim diameter, or rim to tire ratio.

With bigger tires 20 would be getting close to "too big" IMO. I for one, hate seeing large rims on trucks and SUVs. Seeing them on a Z71 would kill me. The vehicle is more or less designed for rough use, and with large rims you waste all that engineering for a strange sense of "style." That is a matter of opinion though...

Instead of neccessarily looking to go bigger, I would look into going slightly wider, or with a different design. Look at some of the Micky Thompson truck and off road wheels.

Mike

Elwood 2000 · October 7, 2006

I have rode in a truck with 22's and those "rubber bands" for tires and the ride was harsh. You don't realize just how much the sidewalls of your tires absorb bumps until you virtually remove that sidewall.

On a Z71 model, I would look at another 17 inch wheel that would shove the outside of the rim closer to the flares and run a 285 tire. That would look sweet on a "off road" badged rig.

Lovemytahoez71 · October 7, 2006

Thanks guys...

How wide of a tire can I use on the stock Z71 rims? Right now I have 265s. Could I safely go with a 275 or 285 without any problems?

Regards,

John

juliedean · October 7, 2006

I believe it is American Racing that has a series of Teflon-coated off-road wheels. I have seen a few of them around, and they look very good. They have a nice, rugged-looking design, which together with the unique color of the Teflon coating looks awesome on off-road oriented trucks.

http://americanracing.com/wheels/wheels.asp?section=ORT

http://americanracing.com/wheels/details.a...loy&section=ORT

Dans Denali · October 7, 2006

I just put 20s on my wifes Denali for $1420 at Discount, 8.5X20 Boss 307 wheels and 285/50r20 Goodyear Forturas and just sold the stock Denali wheels with worn out tires for 400 leaving me a net cost of $1020!!! Looks and drives nice, don't go with less than a 50 series tire, my truck has Michelin 275/55r20s and that is probably the perfect setup and a better tire than I put on hers.

Dan

mcreyaufmiller · October 7, 2006

The one thing not answered here is about the braking. The single largest mistake made by "home customizers" is that they overlook the brakes. When you add more power, more weight, or larger rolling stock (wheeles and tires), you have to modify the brakes to handle the additional stopping needs.

sc4808 · October 7, 2006

On the plus side, if you go ahead and upgrade to 17" or 20" wheels, then when you get ready for these you won't have a problem, they only come in 17" and 20".

You might want to get the rims 14-16" wide though.

Photo from NTW website showing new 54" Swamper Bogger.

crazymjb · October 7, 2006

Doesn't the outside diameter effect the breaks much more than the actual weight of the tire. I know more weight, more inertia, but I think with the overall weight of the truck that would be negligable when compared to the extra torque at the brake with bigger tires when the truck is coasting.

Mike

Mark_in_Tulsa · October 7, 2006

Doesn't the outside diameter effect the breaks much more than the actual weight of the tire. I know more weight, more inertia, but I think with the overall weight of the truck that would be negligable when compared to the extra torque at the brake with bigger tires when the truck is coasting.

Mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The rotational weight is a much bigger impact than you would think. Rotational weight has a much higher effect than the over all weight of the vehicle. But of course there is way more total weight of the vehicle so that affects it more.

October 7, 2006

The first consideration I have is that you have a Z-71. If you are going to off road it you should stick to the 17's and make use of the extra sidewall. If not I still think you need to keep some sidewall. I only needed to go around the block in my wife's Trans Am on 18's to know you need some sidewall to save the ride. Even one inch can make a huge difference. I have 20's and am very happy.

The wheels will weigh more (you probably can get larger wheels that are lighter but they'll cost you BIG BUCKS). That will affect you in two ways. You will notice first that is takes longer to stop. Yes, they will weigh that much more. The good news here is that you probably wanted to upgrade your brakes anyway. Brake upgrades like Baer require at least 18" wheels. Now you have them. The extra weight will also affect your gas mileage. Mine went down almost 2mpg.

Unless you're lucky you will also need to recalibrate you speedometer. The new wheels/tires will not be the same diameter as stock. They may be close but you should recal anyway. Yes, I took this into consideration when my gas mileage changed. Again, you're in luck. Fixing your speedo is a PERFECT reason to get a programmer or a custom PCM.

Another consideration is appearance from the side. Not the wheels themselves, the clearance from the tire to the fender well. If you go too small on the tires it will look funky. You can get a leveling kit but now we're back to the fact you have a Z-71. That could be a factor.

I have Goodyear Forteras as well. Have had them 2.5 years and about 60K miles so far. Am very happy with them all around.

Just my opinion.

Good luck.

asilverblazer · October 7, 2006

Sounds to me like you are well aware of potential risks. Why take them? Your truck was well engineered by professionals, I trust them. Handling is kind of give and take, if the tires wheel combo you choose has a shorter sidewall handling will be more crisp and precise, BUT the additional unsprung weight can negate those benefits. Plus the shorter sidewall absorbs much less minor road imperfections that the suspension can't and a taller sidewall will. I would expect more vibration and rattle type ride issues, it's not like the suspension will become more firm or boat like.

pm26 · October 8, 2006

I would never install larger tires/wheels on my Z71. Those 17 inch 265s are actually quite large in diameter, and definitely larger than those installed on heavy duty trucks, including the Duramax versions. All GM heavy duty pickup trucks come from the factory with 16 inch wheels.

Keep in mind that about 20 years ago, 235 75 R15 tires were the norm on full size pickups and SUVs, including the 4X4 versions. In comparison, 265 70 R17 tires are huge. As others have posted, you need a lot of sidewall for off-road applications. Nissan Titan trucks come stock with 18 inch wheels. But when you order the off road package, you get 17 inch wheels with higher sidewall tires. Toyota does the same thing on their Tundra.

jcchevy · October 8, 2006

The weight is nearly negligable, though it depends on what rims you get, some of the time weight will actually decrease with larger more expensive rims(depending on brand, size increase, etc). Also, handling improves with larger rim diameter, or rim to tire ratio.

With bigger tires 20 would be getting close to "too big" IMO. I for one, hate seeing large rims on trucks and SUVs. Seeing them on a Z71 would kill me. The vehicle is more or less designed for rough use, and with large rims you waste all that engineering for a strange sense of "style." That is a matter of opinion though...

Instead of neccessarily looking to go bigger, I would look into going slightly wider, or with a different design. Look at some of the Micky Thompson truck and off road wheels.

Mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mike, I totally agree. IMO the "big" 20 and 22 inchers look "not right" on lifted trucks . I love those rims and 50 series tires on 2wd lowered vehicles though. And actually 20" are not bad on a truck that has 40+" tire size IMO.

Oh and of course I agree on taking a look at the MT wheels...

Jason

SouthPaw41 · October 12, 2006

I have a set of 22" wheels on my 2WD Sierra, and am running 265/35/22's on it, and the ride quality isn't really that bad at all. Granted, it doesn't ride like stock, and the tires are around $210 a piece, which isn't much more than a high-quality tire for a 17-inch wheel. As for braking, I can certainly notice a difference. I plan to upgrade my system to the Baer brakes. So yea, they are big, heavy, expensive, and slow down the truck quite a bit, but the first time you go out and turn some heads, it's all worth it...