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.

Attachment 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:

[.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.

Attachment 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