20” wheels? 18” wheels? What’s the difference?

Tundra Enthusiasts!

I am starting to look at some wheels/tires for my new to me truck.

I do some off-roading, towing and basic work that does put some weight on my truck and could be at highway speeds.

that being said, I see some people swear by 18” wheels and others who swear by 20” wheels. What’s the reasoning behind this? Are there pros / cons to either? If so what’re they?

 

Smaller wheel gives you more sidewall and better ride on and off-road.

 

I run the stock 20 rims and i love them i think the look is fantastic although i need more rubber because the tires look a little thin with 33s and 20 inch rim. I am planning on getting a level and 35s and then it will look proportional. but it is just preference honestly. Mine rides fine and tows great with 20s and 33s but off road more sidewall is always better. just look at peoples wheel and tire set up and see what you like both can look good.

 

To answer your thread title....2"

But on a serious note what @Pinay said above, pretty much sums it up!

 

20+ better road handling due to stiffer and shorter sidewall.
18- better for off road traction when deflated and more air cushion on off road conditions.

If you plan on doing a lot of off road. Go 18-, but if you spend a lot of time in the concrete jungle, you can stick with 20+ and just get a capable tire to accommodate your off road needs.

Look into the pros and cons of weight, offset, tire size and what mods you have to do to accomplish that.

 

This has been my experience.

I had 20" wheels on my '06 F-150. I also had balance problems with those wheels and tire size.

Down the road I had an '11 Tundra with the factory 20" wheels. I had the same problem. They would always go out of balance very easily and with the bigger rim and less tire I found them to ride slightly harsher on the freeways.

When I bought my '16 Tundra I vowed I was going back to 18's because I was tired of the tire balance issues. Other than one set of tires that I replaced I haven't had any balance issues with the 18's. The truck rides better and the tires are cheaper.

I do think the 20"'s look better but that's about the only advantage IMO.

 

HaHa, that is the first thing that I thought of when I saw the title!

 

I run two different sets of 18" wheels & tires, the 285/60 Summer set is shorter & wider than the 255/70 set I run Fall, Winter & Spring. The 60 series tires are more responsive than the 70's in every way, and the ride is noticeably firmer. IMHO, the suspension our trucks have is designed to work best with a tall side wall on whatever size wheel you have.


255/70-18 ~ 285/60-18

Diameter inches: 32.06 ~ 31.46

Width inches: 10.04 ~ 11.22

Circum. inches: 100.7 ~ 98.85

Sidewall Height inches: 7.03 ~ 6.73

Revolutions per mile: 629.17 ~ 640.98

 

My Duratracs were 20% less on 18" rims compared to 20" rims. I sold my limited rims with sensors and not so great tires and almost broke even getting 18" rims and OEM sensors. I like the look of the 18s better and all my future tires will cost me less.

 

I find it interesting that in my humble opinion my '19 Platinum with 20 inch wheels rides and corners so much better than my '14 limited did, I even had the experience of 2 different tire brands on the '14, but the consensus here is 18's are better.

And I say this because I have thought about getting a second set of rims to put a better winter tire on and was wondering if I should go 18 or 20 for those.

The Bridgestones ride nice but I know they probably won't last long, so looking at the take offs here for sale says just get a second set or rims.

 

The tires you choose also make a big difference in how the truck rides, choose wisely.

 

20" wheels are NOT for "real" off road. I don't care what anyone says it's a fact. Every time we've been with someone off road for a day who has 20s they've flatted a tire. 18s are less expensive too. Best off road size is actually 17". Both wheels and tires are generally much less expensive in the 17s and tire selection is far greater too.

 

This ^^^^ Ask me how I know

 

Off-roading of any kind requires a tall sidewall.

 

But if you're running 35's on 18" wheels which is touted as a very good combination for offroad use/abuse, the dude running 37's on 20's is literally the same sidewall ratio?


With all that said though, I am getting rid of my 20" wheels in favor of smaller ones........

 

I'm sure there is some other math with circumference and distributions that I'm not looking at though so I could be super wrong, not the first time

 

I've got 20's and 34.5" Ridge Grapplers on my '19. Immediately drove it from NC to OR after my lift. Averaged 600 miles per day for 5 days and rode absolutely fantastic. I've taken it on several forest service roads here in Central Oregon and haven't had an issue, knock on wood. I'm not going to rock crawl or thrash a brand new truck so I'm happy with my setup. Just depends on what you want to do.

 

SprinterAE86 - Can I still rock my 20 inch limited wheels if I install Bilstein 4600's? Not planning on doing alot of "Off-Road", but still want to upgrade my suspension from stock to TRD-Off Road suspension (Bistein 4600)

 

Example:

Falken wild peak

295.60.20 70lbs
20x9 36.5
295.70.19 69
18x9 32.4

5lbs per corner 20lbs total.

275.65.18 48lbs P metric 61lbs E rated.
TRD pro 18x8 27lbs

 

I've never wheeled with anyone that had 37s on 20s. I suppose you may be right about an equal amount of sidewall. But, 18s are, IMO, already pushing it in terms of maximum wheel dia for dirt. One main reason 18s and 35s have been "touted" as optimal (in this community and for our trucks) has been in large part due to a lack of 17" wheel options. Toyota even went 17" with the Rock Warrior wheel. Now, as more options are becoming available, I'm seeing a huge shift toward 17s. I'm also seeing a shift in what is considered a desirable offset, at least for LT. But even in MT I'm beginning to see a lot more 0 offset wheels being run.

 

Don't bother if you're only going to the 4600's. They are minutely better than the stock shocks and not worth the trouble. At bare minimum put on the 5100's or better yet 6112's.

 

Just got my COOPER ST/MAX 35/12.5/20's on, don't do alot of off road , just hunting ,fishing, and food plots. Rides beautiful on 20 inch rims , 12.5 tires feel much better on roads, I had 275/65/20 KUMHO AT51's. And I only had to remove front mud flaps , I have TOY TECH BOSS 3/2 LIFT and 1-1/4 inch spacers on front.

 

Good deal. I will think about it. Just getting a good deal on some "Take-Offs" from a 16 TRD Off-Road Tundra. I will have to estimate the install. Not sure I can handle this on my own.

 

Stock TRD of road is actually equivalent of the 4600. Please someone correct me of I'm not.

As for your 20" off road occasionally. Depends on the trail you'll get yourself into. Gravel road is off road and rock crawling is also considered off road. 20" gravel yes, but not rock crawling.

My suspension, wheel and tire knowledge are all from racing cars, pit crew for privateers in rally cars and endurance racing from years ago.

 

Yes, the 4600 and OEM TRD yellows are basically the same. I've heard a couple people say the 4600 actually rides better in their opinion. IMO, if you don't have at least 50k on your 4600s, it's a waste of money to swap to TRD shocks.
And, for what it costs to install, I agree with what @joonbug said.

 

I truly appreciate everyone's input. I have decided to "wave off" and not get the "take offs". I will wait until I am able upgrade wheels, tires and suspension at the same time. Maybe I can save some money on the install.
Thanks for everyone's advice. Have a good weekend

 

^^ Yes, this. ^^ But most of the other above comments/advice here seems correct too, from my experience.

I'm mostly chiming in to say that I've got a set of 20" LTD wheels for sale for a good price in the market section, in case the OP or anybody is interested and happens to be in the SLC area at the moment.

The thing you need to keep in mind on any forum like this, is that a lot of people's mindsets are biased toward "extreme" scenarios, and their comments reflect this. Are you really going to use your expensive, new truck for rock crawling and heavy-duty off-roading? It's easy to get the impression that everybody does but, if not, it's really all about subtle differences.

I swapped for 18" wheels because I live in a rural area and mostly drive on rough, washboard, gravel roads. The extra sidewall height definitely smooths things out, so this was the right decision for me. But the truck is noticeably squirmier when cornering on asphalt, and the mileage is ever-so-slightly worse. (Maybe because, for any given overall diameter, the component made up by an alloy wheel probably weigh less than the rubber it displaces?) FWIW

 

For clarity sake, I wasn't trying to be argumentative, just throwing more scenarios into the mix. I appreciate the vast majority of well thought out and thoroughly researched and applied knowledge here