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18" vs 20" tires

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Old 07-03-2010, 12:45 PM
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Default 18" vs 20" tires

I currently have 20" tires and I need to swap the rubber out here shortly. My question is should I stick to 20" or should I down size to an 18" tire with a higher sidewall? My driving habits are 85% highway and 15% offroad. Thanks for any advice that you may have!

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Old 07-03-2010, 12:50 PM
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what? if you have 20in wheels you cant go down to a 18in tire unless you get 18in wheels. you can get a diffrent profile of 20in tires that will give you more sidewall to help out your drvinng habits. what size do the tires say now?
Old 07-03-2010, 01:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Steady7
I currently have 20" tires and I need to swap the rubber out here shortly. My question is should I stick to 20" or should I down size to an 18" tire with a higher sidewall? My driving habits are 85% highway and 15% offroad. Thanks for any advice that you may have!

Steady
Also remember,there will be a huge price diference in tire sizes.

My opinion,go to 18 inch tires.Less stress on your tranny resulting in your tranny not working as hard to push 20's.Also resulting in better mpg's for your hwy enjoyment.
Old 07-03-2010, 01:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Skull31
Also remember,there will be a huge price diference in tire sizes.

My opinion,go to 18 inch tires.Less stress on your tranny resulting in your tranny not working as hard to push 20's.Also resulting in better mpg's for your hwy enjoyment.

I have always thought that so long as the overall height is the same then it is the same difference to the tranny. So 20s with thinner rubber is the same difference as 18" with thicker rubber if the overall diameter is the same.
Old 07-03-2010, 02:49 PM
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i always though that it was more about weight then the diameter of the wheel tire package. with a truck though i dont think it will really make a noticable diffrence if using either a 20in or 18in wheel. a truck should be able to handle the little diffrence of size and weight no problem. its a truck not a 4cyl car.
Old 07-03-2010, 06:29 PM
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depends on the tire size your putting on. the 20s with the correct size and less aggressive tire will get MUCH better mpg compared to say... my terra grapplers... 33x13-18.
Old 07-04-2010, 10:44 AM
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I agree with Bambo.... the more aggressive the tire, the more drag, therefore the more gas you'll use. No doubt if he swithes to 18's, he's gonna need 18" wheels...LOL. I have 18x10 wheels with 35x12.5x18 tires. I wanted more side wall too, but also the price drop from 20's to 18's was quite a difference. My Kumho's rock by the way.
Old 07-04-2010, 11:01 AM
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Thanks for the replies guys. I am after a beefier tire to handle more abuse. In order to get this I have to a larger tire size if I stay with 20" that won't match stock, if I downsize my wheels to 18" I can keep it at stock size with a stronger tire. Make sense?

Happy 4th of July to everyone down south.
Old 07-04-2010, 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Skull31
Also remember,there will be a huge price diference in tire sizes.

My opinion,go to 18 inch tires.Less stress on your tranny resulting in your tranny not working as hard to push 20's.Also resulting in better mpg's for your hwy enjoyment.
Yeah...thats why FORD puts 20 rims and tires on there trucks.
Old 07-14-2010, 06:46 PM
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i have a friend who has nice 20" rims .


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