20" rims on a pickup??

[Idaho45guy]

I recently traded in my Toyota 4Runner on a gently used 2021 Toyota Tundra 1794 Edition with all the options.

315531

This pickup is the nicest and most luxurious vehicle I have ever owned! It has heated and cooled leather seats. It tells me when I am too close to another vehicle or object when parking. The headlights automatically dim when another vehicle appears. The cruise control will adjust speed to nearby traffic, and the interior is kept at precisely the temperature I select.

Coming from a base model 4Runner, it is absolutely amazing.

But, it also has a very annoying feature... 20-inch factory rims.

Why anyone would think that a 4wd pickup would need 20-inch rims totally baffles me. They are rougher riding, heavier unsprung weight, less capable off-road, tire choices are limited and more expensive, and they are far more susceptible to damage from obstacles.

Why would anyone want 20" rims on a pickup??

[Nobade]

Fashion. The old 15 inch ones worked great on trucks for years but they don't look as cool. Same way with passenger car wheels.

[georgerkahn]

If one calculates the circumference of the outside of a 20"-rimmed tire/wheel versus a smaller, say 17"-rimmed tire/wheel, it clearly shows that for each (one) revolution of the tire/wheel, the vehicle travels MUCH further with the larger tire/wheel on it! In the "efforts" (?) to provide best fuel economy, to me it is a no-brainer to put on the tire/wheel which will move the vehicle the greatest distance with each revolution. On the other hand, you do get less power, and perhaps a frw other undesirable features. (In many cases they are much noisier!)
Anyhoos -- the government checks/publishes miles/per/gallon -- and my guess is the 20" rim provided the best publishable figures.
Just my thoughts... I have a Tacoma which in years went from 16" to 17" rims, with the above "explanation" as what my dealer had told me. I keep a set of four extra tire-mounted wheels so I need swap mounted tires seasonally -- Blizzak's in winter, summer tires in warmer months -- and, when trading to newer model with the +1" increase, I was more than a tad annoyed...
geo

[firefly1957]

My Silverado has 18" wheels the advantage of less sidewall on the tires is a bit better handling of the car/truck . Some claim better mileage due to less rolling resistance I have not seen it and as you state hitting something hard like a pot hole is more likely to damage the wheel .
I had 15" wheels on my 1978 Ramcharger LR78-15 tires and they where as tall as current 18" wheel tires and when I bought next tires I went with 31.5 inch tires on the 15" wheels . That truck got 15 MPG with a 440 cid V-8 my 2015 Silverado averages about the same with all the new and improved stuff to get better mileage . The newer truck under great conditions can do better if I have a tail wind and if I keep my speed to 45 MPH and if the road is flat or downhill .

[redhawk0]

I have 20s on my Silverado. Mine is not a Z71 off-road...its a Z60 Sport Tuned. My last truck with 18s was an off-road Z71 and it handled very poorly on the hiways compared to this Z60 with the 20s. Due to the larger tires it "glides" over road imperfections. For me...it has to do with the ride. I'd definitely buy another Z60 over the Z71.

For me the ONLY drawback is the cost of tire replacement...there is a lot of rubber there....and you pay in the neighborhood of $250-300 per (including mount/balance)

redhawk

[Jedman]

I’m with Nobade on this. It’s fashionable and just what the car makers do now. I prefer more air space between the wheel and the road. Jedman

[Rapier]

My new GMC rides like a cross between a torture chamber and a covered wagon, wheels, tires, suspension, seats, front cornor posts, etc just suck. Took it to the tire dealer, a race car builder and driver. Can you fix that ***, yep, $2,700 to $3,500 depending, R&R the entire suspension, wheels and tires, wheel well inside covers, R&R the seats. All that is just to get a good federal gas milage rating, fixing it to be a truck again costs real money.
So, have you done any of these conversions, yep, about 3 dozen.
Every maker got on the, make a P/U get gas milage like a VW Bug, train, so buying another one is out, you must fix or have the crappy one fixed yourself. They were all engineered by the same shelf of egg car driving adz bag engineers.

[dverna]

I don't off road. I have both 18" and 20" rims on one of the F150's. One set is for summer tires and the other for winter tires. Tire diameters are nearly identical (IIRC 3% difference). They use a lower profile tire on the 20" rims. I cannot tell the difference in ride but the winter tires are noisier due to the tread.

If the wheels bother you, get a set of smaller rims and higher profile tires. If will not affect your gas mileage or speedometer significantly if you make a good choice. Lots of information on the net and that is why I did not hesitate to use different size rims/tires when I was looking for a set for the winter.

[Thumbcocker]

Congratulations on a great truck. We have a 2020, less tricked out than yours, and we love it. I would pass on the big rims but it is a matter of taste.

[NSB]

I did what dverna said when I got my Honda Passport. I got on line and found a set of new smaller rims and bought them. I bought a set of tires that got very close to the overall diameter of the tires and rims I got rid of. I put my larger tires and rims on a sales website and sold them to someone who wanted the cool look of the taller rims. In the end I even came out about a hundred bucks ahead.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I have a 2020 Ram 1500, bought new, all the bells and whistles. Missed that tires/rims were 20". Got concerned over rock crawling in some of the rough country wife and I go for elk. Worried about rocks hitting rims, enough room between tread and wheel. Went to tire shop for smaller wheels, bigger tires - disc brakes too big for smaller wheels. So far no tire problems with KO2's. Another problem with this truck, went to fit chains before getting into the really ugly stuff - standard chains DO NOT FIT on the front - must use 'S' style chains. I won't buy another pickup without guarantee that standard chains fit. As an older guy(74) in bad country, alone, I want/need to chain up here and there now and again, snow, ice and such. Too far to walk if I get really stuck.

[Bigslug]

Why would anyone want 20" rims on a pickup??

This might be a guide to your answer:

315535

[.429&H110]

Every day around here people park their pickups upside down.
Usually without a roll bar.
As you move your center of gravity up
bad things happen faster
we lose one every day on I10 at 85mph (or more)...
SUVs around here roll like soccer balls...
Just saying.
Be careful.

[MaryB]

My Ford Escape came with 18" rubber band tires... rides worse than my 2001 F150 did. Every little bump is tooth jarring, especially in winter when the tires are hard... no sidewall give because no sidewalls!

[kerplode]

Why would anyone want 20" rims on a pickup??

Because the vast majority of people that buy trucks buy them because they're big and fancy and just drive them around town 99.995% of the time...What do you need "truck wheels" for if you're not doing any "truck stuff"? You're riding around in your living room anyway, so just get the Gucci wheels and thin tires to match that Gucci interior. Toss some limo tint on there an you're good for a trip to the mall anywhere, anytime!

[jimlj]

Part of the reason for bigger wheels is bigger brakes. I had several Ford F250's in the company fleet. You couldn't swap 16" wheels to a truck that came with 17" wheels on the front axle because the brakes were bigger and rubbed the inside of the rim. I'm guessing the 20" wheels are more the current style than brakes.

[jonp]

Ive always wondered about those bigger rims. They didnt look well suited to do what a pick up is meant to do but now it seems more people drop $70,000 or more on a truck to go to WalMart then use it for work or towing and dont even suggest putting something in the box.

Congrats on the new luxury ride! Im interested to see what your mpg will be as the Tundras seem to get far less than other brands but appear more dependable. I had a brand new 2006 which was a far different truck than the new
models but miss it. Much better yruck, imho then the F150 im driving now

Wheel size can be important in horsepower and torque but for fuel mileage the tread type and rubber compound is what will make or break you

[Idaho45guy]

I've already got 17" rims bought and sitting in the bed. I also have a 2" lift kit and 33" tires ready to install next week.

So far, gas mileage is averaging around 15.5 mpg. Which is acceptable to me.

The luxury of this thing is amazing.

315546

[jonp]

Boy, those ac seats must be the real deal. Im in the market for a 3/4 ton diesel and SWMBO has put her foot down. Heated seats or no deal.

[square butte]

I've got a 21 Tundra with the 5.7 - We can squeeze 17.5 out of it. Short 2nd door with a shell on top

[M-Tecs]

My 2023 Chevy Silverado LTZ Z71 3.0 Baby Duramax has 20" rims with 33" AT tires. Haven't had it offroad yet but in town and highway the ride is very good. The roughest it's seen is wash boarded gravel roads. I only off road when shooting prairie dogs or hunting.

Not as good as a similarly equipped Ram with the rear coil springs but it was $10K less and Ram dropped the 3.0 Diesel this year. The inline 6-cylinder 3.0 Duramax Diesel was a must have for me. Several friends have them and 31 to 34 mpg at 75 mph is normal for them on longer highway trips. My wife tells everyone it rides like a Cadillac.

So far lifetime mpg is 25.5 with 29 to 31 on the highway at 75mph.

Tire size is one component of cost. Volume is another. The 20" rims are become much more common so prices are down some due to higher volume.

[Winger Ed.]

Low profile tires were needed for racing. In a high speed turn, a regular, 'tall' tire could- and would dismount itself off the rim.
The low profile didn't do that as much since the tire couldn't get as much leverage on the outside edge of the rim.
With them, you could take hard turns much faster.

They cost a lot more to produce since it's expensive to make a wide tire that doesn't bulge up in the middle like a inner tube does
when you put air in it.
Also, all the innards of it are much stronger to take higher speeds without flying apart.
The common tires on 'Mom's station wagon' will shred at speeds in & around, or over much 110 mph.
As they age, that max. speed goes down too.

On modern street trucks--- they are on them because folks will pay $5-9,000 for a set of rims & tires that look cool.

[Finster101]

Guys, 20's are pretty common on trucks today and has pretty much become a standard part of any factory upgrade package. Worked as a tech in a dealership many years they are not an issue. The trucks do not have the "rubber band" tires on them even with 20s unless it is a look that someone is going for and then there are the trucks with the tires sticking out so far I could not drive them between the posts on my lift to work on them.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

jonp - the heated and cooled seats are REALLY nice. The 'new' truck is my wife's - I get it after 60,000 miles when she wants a new one. The 2020 Ram has the air shocks that go up and down, really nice when you don't need clearance - was also great when I had hip replaced - lower the truck for in and out. We don't have a 'passenger car', just pickups. Problem with newer pickups, the short bed gets shorter and shorter, with more room in the cab. In the bad spots a long bed or long wheelbase can seem really, really, REALLY long. Bacling up three times to get aroend a switchback is unpleasant.

[MaryB]

Low profile tires were needed for racing. In a high speed turn, a regular, 'tall' tire could- and would dismount itself off the rim.
The low profile didn't do that as much since the tire couldn't get as much leverage on the outside edge of the rim.
With them, you could take hard turns much faster.

They cost a lot more to produce since it's expensive to make a wide tire that doesn't bulge up in the middle like a inner tube does
when you put air in it.
Also, all the innards of it are much stronger to take higher speeds without flying apart.
The common tires on 'Mom's station wagon' will shred at speeds in & around, or over much 110 mph.
As they age, that max. speed goes down too.

On modern street trucks--- they are on them because folks will pay $5-9,000 for a set of rims & tires that look cool.

My Ford Escape SUV came with 140mph rated tires!!!! That is factory spec!!!

[Winger Ed.]

My Ford Escape SUV came with 140mph rated tires!!!! That is factory spec!!!

They're getting more common.
A buddy had one of the first 5.0 Mustangs years ago and took it in for new tires.
He wanted some regular priced, common car tires.
The shop wouldn't mount them on that car. When he got the price of the (I think) Z rated high speed tires,
his knees got weak and he almost swallowed his tongue.

[jimlj]

Low profile tires were needed for racing. In a high speed turn, a regular, 'tall' tire could- and would dismount itself off the rim.
The low profile didn't do that as much since the tire couldn't get as much leverage on the outside edge of the rim.
With them, you could take hard turns much faster.

They cost a lot more to produce since it's expensive to make a wide tire that doesn't bulge up in the middle like a inner tube does
when you put air in it.
Also, all the innards of it are much stronger to take higher speeds without flying apart.
The common tires on 'Mom's station wagon' will shred at speeds in & around, or over much 110 mph.
As they age, that max. speed goes down too.

On modern street trucks--- they are on them because folks will pay $5-9,000 for a set of rims & tires that look cool.

In 1974, when dad bought the gas and tires, moms station wagon did go 125 MPH one night. Probably not a recommended practice, but the Oldsmobile would do it.

[jonp]

In 1974, when dad bought the gas and tires, moms station wagon did go 125 MPH one night. Probably not a recommended practice, but the Oldsmobile would do it.

My 1972 Caprice Classic with a 402 big block could use all the old long speedometer and those 6way bench seats made it feel like you were sitting in the living room doing it

[jonp]

My Ford Escape SUV came with 140mph rated tires!!!! That is factory spec!!!

Wife's Fiat 500 came with V rated tires which is 149mph i think? Anyways, had it up to 85mph once and in that tiny car it was terrifying.

Im not a fan of speed, i like to look at things while i go by

[Winger Ed.]

In 1974, when dad bought the gas and tires, moms station wagon did go 125 MPH one night. Probably not a recommended practice, but the Oldsmobile would do it.

In the old days, I had a 69 Olds. Toranado with a 455.
I spun it up to 120 one night and a Michelin radial just shredded. I didn't see that coming!

[David2011]

There seem to be some assumptions that larger diameter wheels mean that the tires will be taller/have a greater circumference. That’s not usually the case. Car manufacturers will do several things with tires/wheels to meet government mandated mileage requirements. The factory tires are usually chosen because they give the best fuel economy without regard to much else. Another way to reduce rolling resistance and increase fuel economy is to install bigger wheels with low profile tires. The narrower sidewalls are stiffer, ride more harshly and give better fuel economy. Some buyers also like the looks.

My old F-150 4x4 has passenger car tires, rides nicely and gets over 15 mpg around town. It almost never goes far enough to get on highways any more. I can’t complain too much considering what it is. It mostly hauls model airplanes to the RC field these days.



They're getting more common.
A buddy had one of the first 5.0 Mustangs years ago and took it in for new tires.
He wanted some regular priced, common car tires.
The shop wouldn't mount them on that car. When he got the price of the (I think) Z rated high speed tires,
his knees got weak and he almost swallowed his tongue.

My 1994 Thunderbird and my 2005 Honda Accord Coupe both came with Z rated tires. With the Thunderbird it certainly wasn’t because of the horsepower or top speed. The ignition was programmed to cut out at 102-103 mph and it only had the 4.6 liter V-8 which was anemic. A tire dealer told me that the Z rated tires have stiffer sidewalls and handling would suffer with lower speed rated tires.

The Honda is another story entirely. It’s a factory hotrod, enough so that I pay high performance insurance rates. It needs high speed tires.

[M-Tecs]

My 2002 Chevy 4X4 had 275/70/15 with a diameter of 30.16". My 2023 Chevy 4X4 has 275/60R20's with a diameter of 33". Upgrade option was 275/50R/22 with a diameter of32.8".

[Idaho45guy]

Count me as also frustrated that people seem to think that larger diameter wheels equal larger diameter tires.

My dad's best friend just bought a new Honda Passport off-road model. He keeps saying that because it has 18" wheels, it is better off-road than my lifted 4Runner with 17" rims and 33.5" tires.

There is no convincing him that my 4Runner would destroy his Honda off-road. But, he's an opiniated 82 year old man that knows nothing about vehicles or off-roading. Best to just let him remain ignorant.

[Lloyd Smale]

If one calculates the circumference of the outside of a 20"-rimmed tire/wheel versus a smaller, say 17"-rimmed tire/wheel, it clearly shows that for each (one) revolution of the tire/wheel, the vehicle travels MUCH further with the larger tire/wheel on it! In the "efforts" (?) to provide best fuel economy, to me it is a no-brainer to put on the tire/wheel which will move the vehicle the greatest distance with each revolution. On the other hand, you do get less power, and perhaps a frw other undesirable features. (In many cases they are much noisier!)
Anyhoos -- the government checks/publishes miles/per/gallon -- and my guess is the 20" rim provided the best publishable figures.
Just my thoughts... I have a Tacoma which in years went from 16" to 17" rims, with the above "explanation" as what my dealer had told me. I keep a set of four extra tire-mounted wheels so I need swap mounted tires seasonally -- Blizzak's in winter, summer tires in warmer months -- and, when trading to newer model with the +1" increase, I was more than a tad annoyed...
geo

what you not factoring in is rolling weight and resistance. a 20 in rim with 32 in tires will be heavier than an 18 inch rim with a 32 in tire. also you will never get better gas mileage with larger tires. i lost a good 2mpg going from 32s to 33s on my ram. todays cars use gear ratios to get them the best fuel economy possible. also in many even two overdrive gears so they loaf along at the ideal rpm for fuel economy changing to a bigger tire or even a smaller one changes that. biggest reason they do it is because thats the style today. to me 20s are fine on a car but never on a truck. i just picked up a 2006 standard cab short box gmc. love the little truck but the guy i bought it from put 20 in chrome tahoe rims on it with 32in tall and 12 in WIDE tires on it. they will be the first thing to go. they will be relaced by 17s or18s with a narrow 33in tire. much better off road then this silly set up

[NSB]

Count me as also frustrated that people seem to think that larger diameter wheels equal larger diameter tires.

My dad's best friend just bought a new Honda Passport off-road model. He keeps saying that because it has 18" wheels, it is better off-road than my lifted 4Runner with 17" rims and 33.5" tires.

There is no convincing him that my 4Runner would destroy his Honda off-road. But, he's an opiniated 82 year old man that knows nothing about vehicles or off-roading. Best to just let him remain ignorant.
I have a Honda Passport. Saying “Off-road Passport” is an oxymoron.There is NOTHING off-road about it except the name.

[snowwolfe]

My 2021 Denali PU came with the Ultimate package option and that included 22 inch tires. I thought for sure it would ride rough but was wrong.
Smoothest riding pick up I ever owned. The big disadvantage is the price of the tires. Wife picked up a metal tent stake the other day in the shoulder of the tire. I tried plugging it but it is still leaking. New tire cost me just under $300 and still have to pay mounting and balancing fees. OUCH!

[firefly1957]

Low profile tires with big wheels can be very expensive hitting a sharp bump with less "Cushion" the wheel is more likely to get damage . I saw a great example in Chicago one summer when the highway buckled from heat and raised about three inches at a joint . Cars and tow trucks on both sides of the road most cars lost both front tires .

Speed ratings has nothing to do with tire profile it has a lot to do with at what heat the tire starts to come apart at as it is heat build up that kills tires . If you drive fast stay away from any Firestone product they have a long history of coming apart !

You may remember all the rollovers blamed on Firestone tires people and investigators thought it was the blowout that caused the loss of control it was not . The loss of control was from the tire tread coming loose and doing really weird movements as if the wheel was changing directions . I had two Firestone tires do that on my 2000 motor home All the tread was lost there was still air in the now bald and very slippery tire ! There was air leaks in what was left but one tire took hours to loose all air pressure .

[Lloyd Smale]

on 4x4s they tend to get dirt in the beads that cause leaks because the beads are just closer to the dirt. they also dont allow you to air down kike a tire that has more side wall. air them down and the rims are going to bottom on rocks.

[firefly1957]

on 4x4s they tend to get dirt in the beads that cause leaks because the beads are just closer to the dirt. they also dont allow you to air down kike a tire that has more side wall. air them down and the rims are going to bottom on rocks.

Fishing at Schlatter's lake near the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula I saw the old 15 inch balloon tires do worse a guy went over a 6-8 inch log slowly in the trail and both front tires blew the beads . While that was going off his girlfriend got out of the truck barefoot a stepped right on the exhaust side pipe of his truck causing a very sever burn . I do not recall the exact year 1979 maybe in late May for sure . I think I still had the stock LR78-15 ties on my Ramcharger and had been going over that log a few times both ways with my 78 Ramcharger. If it was later then 1979 I would have had B.F. Goodrich 10.00-31.5 15 inch tires on . I have the same basic tread pattern on my 2015 Silverado right now only in 18" B.F. Goodrich I can tell you they cost one heck of a lot more now.

[Idaho45guy]

Got the leveling kit and new wheels and tires installed. Got the same gas mileage on the way back from the shop, which was a 200 mile road trip at the end of the day. Rides much better, feels better, and looks way better.

315759

[lksmith]

I have 20" rims on my 2012 tundra 4x4. Came with factory 17" tires. Has 33's on it now. When i was looking for tires the selection of 20" tires was better than 17" for same OD and lower cost. No issue with ride quality or scuffing the rims. Even with 11" wide tires I still have a hard time not spinning the tires with anything but the slightest touch on the gas. I didn't buy it for gas mileage, I bought it to haul or pull whatever I want without having to worry if it would do it. Bought it brand new in 2012, and it has 94k miles on it without a single issue (other than PM). It's done everything from hauling 40sheets of greenboard in the bed to pulling a 15k# load (backhoe on tiltbed trailer) and tandem towing a 34ft camper with 15ft bass boat from the 70's (heavy one)