wheel size
6 Answers
anytime you change tire and wheel size you will notice a difference in driving and road feel.
Could you elaborate? Would 20 inch wheels give a smoother ride or better handling than the 18 inch wheels? Thanks.
littlehorn answered 16 years ago
18s will be marginally better than 20s due to the larger tire that you will be able to fit on an 18. We saw some ridiculous wheels put on cars at the Dodge dealership, and in some cases putting the much larger wheel on caused problems with shocks and struts due to less buffer effect from the tires.
Thanks littlehorn. Not sure I understand though about larger tires on an 18 than on a 20? Wouldn't it be the other way around?
What littlehorn means by bigger tire is that on 20s there is less sidewall on a lets say 33' tire as opposed to the sidewall of a 18' wheel. There's an additional 2in of sidewall to help damper the road. You will however get a little better cornering on pavement with the bigger wheel and smaller sidewall 'cause you'll have less side give. But honestly not a whole lot.
Also the weight of the tire/wheel set has a lot to do with the suspension compliance. My 07' Tundra Crew Max has the factory 20" wheels and I think it rides noticibly rougher than other Tundras I have been in with the 18" factory wheels. Currently I have 20" x 8.5" wheels and 305/55R20 tires which are heavier than the factory tires/wheels. The more the tire/wheel combo weights the harder it is for the shocks to do their work.