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MAYBE IT is because I am an old guy

nwguy

SM 2018
Full Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2018
Messages
35
Location
A TROLL in Northern Michigan
RETIRED, with too much time to think about things that make no sense to me.

SO, I saw this picture and I was just stumped. I am hoping some of you younger folks can explain to my WHAT kind of benefit you get from those tires that look like they have an inch of sidewall on those weird wheels... especially on a vehicle you take off road on unimproved tracks and trails? It seems that there would be no cushion if you hit a pothole or a rock or anything else and the shock you go right into the wheel and suspension . I just cannot see what benefit you get but maybe there is and someone can educate me because they stump me.
thanks for dealing with an old curmudgeon.



 
Well I'm old too....but not everyone thinks the same.  Which is good because then everything would be the same with no variety.  That person probably has no desire to go off roading.  I'd say better than 50% of AVY owners don't  go off road.  So it's simply a style choice.  I don't care for it and not to my tastes.  But not my truck so why do I care.  If the owner thinks it's cool then more power to them.
 
I'm part of the geezer group too. I have seen the transition from the mid 1980s when Corvettes came with larger then standard car rims with narrow sidewall tires to prevent flexing of sidewall and increase cornering ability and higher G forces. The larger rims were also designed to increase airflow on the brakes to prevent brake fade (back before ABS systems). But I believe like any good thing someone decides to take it to the extreme and a styling fad is born and style/fashion takes over function.
I agree that there has to be problems with that type of setup such as increased weight at end of axles causing premature wear on parts including more stress on brakes, less cushioning from potholes and other road problems, easier to damage rims on curbs etc. as well as affecting gas mileage. You also have issues with odometer and speedometer not being accurate unless you have a programmer to reset to the changed overall diameter of the tire.
Most of the car rebuilding shows seem to like the larger rims and they all mostly say they like the way the larger diameter rims fill a wheel well.
 
Not everyone takes their vehicles off road. My trucks are primarily for trips to Home Depot and hauling lawnmowers and fuel that I don't want to put in my car.

Larger wheels with smaller side walls is mostly cosmetic.
 
Old guy here, too.

I'm pretty much OK with the way most wheels look on these trucks.

Except for spinners and floaters.

I don't much care for those.

But, that's just me.

(y)

 
It's all about style over function when you go that route. I am willing to bet that Avy never even sees a gravel road, let alone dirt. To each his own; it would be a boring world if we all liked the same things.

I just swapped the OEM 20s on my F150 to OEM 17s and upsized from 32" to 33" tires for a better ride, specifically from the 17s. More sidewall for better offroad performance as well. The downside is eorse on road handling due to more body roll from the increased tire sidewall. There are compromises in everything we do.

For the record, I am retired and 58. I do not consider myself to be part of the old geezer crowd, even though I do own a Corvette as well! ?
 
nwguy said:
I am hoping some of you younger folks can explain to my WHAT kind of benefit you get from those tires that look like they have an inch of sidewall on those weird wheels
They look badass if done right. Although as with any modification, there are plenty that piss it up real well

nwguy said:
. especially on a vehicle you take off road on unimproved tracks and trails?
Not everyone who owns a truck/SUV off-roads. My first AV (05') only saw unpaved roads a few times, My 2nd (the one pictured below, 08') never has and never will, and the same goes for my third (13')

nwguy said:
It seems that there would be no cushion
This is true if you simply jump up to 24" or 26"+ wheels and don't add tire circumference or do any suspension modification. If you do the associated upgrades that should be done, the ride can be very comparable to the stock suspension set up. My Av (the 0:cool: is actually lowered and I run a 26x10.5" wheel wrapped w/ 305/30/26 tires during the summer. To accommodate for the reduced sidewall I have installed progressive rate springs as well as upgraded shocks as well as brackets to adjust the slack angles back to stock.
My 08 rides just as well as any other 08 on factory suspension (there are numerous members of this forum that can attest to this).

nwguy said:
if you hit a pothole or a rock or anything else and the shock you go right into the wheel and suspension .
Correct, If you can't afford to replace a wheel, you shoudn't be running tires w/ an aspect ratio lower than 45. Anyone who dailys their vehicle and does there homework can expect to bend wheels, it's the price we pay to run gear like this (unless you spend $1000+ per wheel on forged wheels and the possiblity still exists of denting/bending)
My AVs have been on various wheel/tire combos from 18x8 up to 26x10.5 and many in between. I can say that the best ride on stock suspension that I have had (obviously the tire has significant impact here as well) was on 20 x 9" wheels with 285/55/20 rubber
 

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I LIVE in Northern Mich, I am a troll by less than 100 miles.

I live on the end of a private road that gets pretty interesting when it thaws and when I go out my back door it is 3 miles to the next house.
I come out my drive and cross the road it is 30 miles to the next pavement and tens of thousands of acres of state forest with lots of firetrails.

We get snow... not so much this year but in years past it would not be unusual to have 3-4 feet sitting around in the woods all the time in winter. Every vehicle we have has a separate set of snow tires that come on in November and come off in April. I already have another set of wheels and Goodyear Duratrac snows for the Avalanche I bought just a month ago.

IT just does not compute that folks buy 4x4 vehicles and never leave the pavement and get them dirty, let alone make them almost useless for doing same.  I must really really be getting too old for public use.

thanks for the input.
 
Not all avalanches are 4x4. Some people will never see a dirt road simply because there's no reason for them to travel down one.  I need a truck to randomly tow a car and to throw dirty items in the bed. Even my f250 is 2wd. In my 47 years, I've never needed a 4wd vehicle.  Even the AWD car I have will never see off road.
 
I have 24 inch rims on my truck, and I'm sure the ride is not as good as with stock. My reason is that I think it's a good look. I have never been interested in 4 wheeling, I'm just not that guy. I don't even like hauling stuff in my truck. I just like a nice clean look.

FYI... I'm 57 years old and feel that I may be getting a little too old for this look, as I think it may be a look geared toward youngsters. In my defense, I was 48 when I bought the truck.  :rolleyes:
 
nwguy said:
IT just does not compute that folks buy 4x4 vehicles and never leave the pavement and get them dirty, let alone make them almost useless for doing same.

thanks for the input.
Find me a black, pearl or Fairway Metallic 2013 LTZ with less than 50k mi on it, black interior and no 4WD and I'll gladly trade you my Black one of the same but 4x4.

Not all of the 580 thousand Avalanches built were sold to people who live in East Bumblesheet or go mudding every weekend.
I'm sure there are tens of thousands in the south that have never had their 4wd engaged and thousands more that could do without it.
I purchased my first Avalanche solely due to the 3pc tonneau. I could have cared less about the midgate and saddlebags. I was getting rid of my Silverado and was looking for another one when I stumbled upon an non-cladded 05 and realized that it would be cheaper than buying an 05 or 06 Silverado and getting a 1 pc tonneau colormatched. I since have come to love the functionality of it in all aspects. I originally purchased for the factory installed lockable storage, not for off-road capability. We all have our different reasons and certainly all of those reasons are not because we live on or desire to drive on dirt or unmaintained roads.
I'm not trying to be smart ass, but your though process doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
Might this same logic be applied to nearly any vehicle built.
Why do they build 6cyl. Camaros and Mustangs when they're a sports car.
Why is there a 1.8L turbo version of the beetle? Beats me, but they sold a crap ton of them even though they are still wicked slow.
Applying your logic, should every single vehicle ever built that is AWD or 4WD be factory equipped with M/T tires since the owners need to off-road them?
Inversely, no point in ever putting 4WD in the 2500 then either, since the 2500 option is for towing, not off-roading you don't need it, better make sure you have it factory equipped w/ 10 ply highway tires as well.
Insert a number of factory factory built vehicles that "don't compute" here:
The Suzuki x-90 - no explanation needed
Mercedes Benz R line - A monster 6.2L 500HP motor in a mini van on garbage suspension
I could go on and on with a list of vactory equipment that doesn't make a whole lot of sense here.
My point is we all have different uses for our vehicles and make modifications/styling choices to suit those uses/styles. It'd be a pretty damn boring world if we all had the same mentality.




 
nwguy said:
IT just does not compute that folks buy 4x4 vehicles and never leave the pavement and get them dirty, let alone make them almost useless for doing same.  I must really really be getting too old for public use.

Why do people buy cars capable of going 200 mph?  Or 0-60 in 4 secs?  Hell, why buy a car at all, when a horse and buggy will get you from point A to point B?
 
robertmee said:
Hell, why buy a car at all, when a horse and buggy will get you from point A to point B?

These days, you would still have someone wanting to lift or lower the buggy and toss a set of spinners on it.

:laugh:
 
EXT4ME said:
These days, you would still have someone wanting to lift or lower the buggy and toss a set of spinners on it.

:laugh:

Or go the other way

X0z5M4C.jpg
 
Calicak89 said:
Applying your logic, should every single vehicle ever built that is AWD or 4WD be factory equipped with M/T tires since the owners need to off-road them?
Inversely, no point in ever putting 4WD in the 2500 then either, since the 2500 option is for towing, not off-roading you don't need it, better make sure you have it factory equipped w/ 10 ply highway tires as well.
Insert a number of factory factory built vehicles that "don't compute" here:

I HAVE a 3500 Dually Chevy big block 5 spd 4wd that I take to the woods regularly. Except for width I can take it pretty much anywhere I can take the Jeep Wrangler.  I take it out for overnight camping. Throw the air mattress under the back cover and spend the night without ever hearing anything else but coyotes and crickets. When you have 6 wheels on the ground you really can get into some interesting places.
AND
when it is working it is hauling 3 tons of wood pellets at a time for winter heat. One ton in back and 2 on a steel lowboy trailer.
ALSO
I live in snow country, if I need a heavy lifter I do not have the option of waiting until the snow melts and the roads are free of snow and ice.
Every vehicle I own has 4wd or I do not buy it.

I choose to not be imprisoned in my house by nature, no matter what it throws at me.

Good looking truck isn't it?

 
I've needed the 4-wheel drive in my diesel dually several times this winter when I've never needed it in my AV after 14 winters with it.  Without much weight over the dual rear wheels they don't get much bite as compared to the AV's single rear wheels.
 

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OK, I figured out why this has been bothering me. There are 6 vehicles for my wife and I. ALL of them have 4wd.
Living in the north I consider it a no brainer but other folks in the area are not so driven. But frankly about 90% of the trucks you see running around here ARE 4wd. The cars... not so much.

ANYWAY,
I have always been a FUNCTION over FORM kind of person, something I credit partially to my almost being an engineer and the simple fact I am fairly talented in taking things that were not originally designed for the purpose I make them work. I know snow tires work better than "all season" so each vehicle has summer and winter tires. My ORV is an 8 wheel drive ARGO that I can put tracks on and handle snow that bogs down everything but a snowmobile, but it also can haul a 1000 pounds of cargo or firewood out of the forest. It also SWIMS, something other ORVs just can not claim. I believe in multiples and redundancy. When the power goes out due to storms be it winter or summer, not a problem. I have 4 fully functional generators and depending on what time of the year and what is going on I plug the appropriate one into its own electrical panel and I feed the dedicated outlets throughout the house. They are entirely separate outlets from the regular service I wired into each room and are grey to distinguish them from the regular ones. They only work when a generator is running. And I have a storage tank for gas that will keep them running for better than a month. There are other things but I have probably bored you folks enough.

SO, I guess I am not being weird at my thoughts of why would someone do that. It is just my being myself when I look and analyze WHY would someone do that. (although I guess a fair number of folks have probably thought I am weird)

Wheels like that in my eyes serve no FUNCTION but to denigrate the capabilities of the vehicle. SO, regardless how whatever the "XXXX" (add whatever adjective or adverb you choose) it makes it "look" it does worse than nothing to my eyes because as I said it makes the vehicle "less" not "more".

AND

the fact folks buy them with no intention of taking them into the deep, well, mores the pity for them because nature trumps everything else man can entertain with all the time.
 
TO each his own....

I mean; go to starbucks and figure out how many different ways you can have a CUP of COFFEE?

this is a good thing... because you get what you want.
 
ygmn said:
TO each his own....

I mean; go to starbucks and figure out how many different ways you can have a CUP of COFFEE?

this is a good thing... because you get what you want.

YES, but that same thought process is how they ruined ORIGINAL Coca-Cola. ;D

They say it is the same... but we all know it isn't. (n)
 
enoniam said:
I've needed the 4-wheel drive in my diesel dually several times this winter when I've never needed it in my AV after 14 winters with it.  Without much weight over the dual rear wheels they don't get much bite as compared to the AV's single rear wheels.
I think it's probably more a function of that heavy-a$$ed diesel under the hood than lack of weight on the dual rear wheels. They don't make very good offroad vehicles for any kind of soft ground; they are just too heavy and sink very easily. And you'd better have a BIG tractor to get them out. Ask me how I know - the brother-in-law has one and buried it at the old farm.
 
nwguy said:
OK, I figured out why this has been bothering me. There are 6 vehicles for my wife and I. ALL of them have 4wd.
Living in the north I consider it a no brainer but other folks in the area are not so driven. But frankly about 90% of the trucks you see running around here ARE 4wd. The cars... not so much.
Not everyone chooses the exact options on their vehicles. I wanted an LTZ, and the majority of LTZs are 4WD. Would I have taken a RWD one? Sure! But, I'm not going to ignore one for sale because it has something I don't need. When the price is right, the price is right. If I get extra bells and whistles, then great.

Same with the wife's car. It is an AWD. Was that a selling point? Nope. But it's there, and so be it. When we do get snow (rare these days) it's nice to have.



nwguy said:
SO, I guess I am not being weird at my thoughts of why would someone do that. It is just my being myself when I look and analyze WHY would someone do that. (although I guess a fair number of folks have probably thought I am weird)
Because everyone else in the world isn't you. I could ask you "WHY would someone live so far out in the sticks?" I understand that other people have different likes and dislikes, and that makes the world go round.


nwguy said:
Wheels like that in my eyes serve no FUNCTION but to denigrate the capabilities of the vehicle. SO, regardless how whatever the "XXXX" (add whatever adjective or adverb you choose) it makes it "look" it does worse than nothing to my eyes because as I said it makes the vehicle "less" not "more".
My truck tows jetskis to the lake, whatever I fit on my flatbed trailer, and crap home from Lowes. I work in an office, and live in the suburbs. Pavement is all I see, and I'm fine with that. My truck does everything I want it to. Can it do more? Sure. But I don't want to. And there's nothing wrong with that. So if I want to put 22" rims on it, that still function for my uses just fine, then great! To me, they look good. And that's all that matters; whether or not I like it.



nwguy said:
the fact folks buy them with no intention of taking them into the deep, well, mores the pity for them because nature trumps everything else man can entertain with all the time.
No need to pity someone because they don't share your opinion. And your quote is contradictory - you're using entertainment of man (your car) to visit nature.
 
HellHoof said:
No need to pity someone because they don't share your opinion. And your quote is contradictory - you're using entertainment of man (your car) to visit nature.

ACTUALLY I use planes too because it is just too much time to walk or drive drive to Alaska where I will be camping for 8 days in Denali Park where I HIKE in to get moose and bear and hopefully wolf pictures.
AND
you are right, there are people(my sister is one) who thinks the center of civilization is NYC. (she lived there for years but now is in Denver as in downtown)
BUT
when she comes to visit she sits for hours on the back deck that looks out over a pond and woods and nothing else (the nearest house in that direction is 3 miles through the trees)and keeps saying "This is amazing how quiet it is."

I have lived in those areas of "Civilization", Washington DC, Detroit, Orlando. I worked in high density population for years dealing with "people."

Some people want to live shoulder to shoulder, locked in behind their security doors and alarms and say "I am civilized living in civilization" . IF you discovered where I live you would find the vehicles unlocked and the keys inside. When we go away from home the front door is always unlocked. I have owned  the same place for 40+ years and finally managed to retire and live here full time. Have never had a stranger on the property. This morning I watched 6 deer walking around my pond (about 75 feet from the kitchen) for about half an hour. Me, I just don't understand why people make some of the choices they do, including putting funny weird wheels on vehicles rendering them virtually useless for meeting their potential.  I guess I will just continue to endure the "stick" living as I contemplate the strange ways of the Western world.
 
and I say:  don't complain, at least they didn't drop the truck to where you have only an inch clearance from the frame to the pavement.  Ever been behind someone that did this and have to wait an eternity for them to make a turn into a business/restaurant because they don't want to scratch their under carriage?  talk about shooting yourself in the foot... lol
 
nwguy said:
ACTUALLY I use planes too because it is just too much time to walk or drive drive to Alaska where I will be camping for 8 days in Denali Park where I HIKE in to get moose and bear and hopefully wolf pictures.
AND
you are right, there are people(my sister is one) who thinks the center of civilization is NYC. (she lived there for years but now is in Denver as in downtown)
BUT
when she comes to visit she sits for hours on the back deck that looks out over a pond and woods and nothing else (the nearest house in that direction is 3 miles through the trees)and keeps saying "This is amazing how quiet it is."

I have lived in those areas of "Civilization", Washington DC, Detroit, Orlando. I worked in high density population for years dealing with "people."

Some people want to live shoulder to shoulder, locked in behind their security doors and alarms and say "I am civilized living in civilization" . IF you discovered where I live you would find the vehicles unlocked and the keys inside. When we go away from home the front door is always unlocked. I have owned  the same place for 40+ years and finally managed to retire and live here full time. Have never had a stranger on the property. This morning I watched 6 deer walking around my pond (about 75 feet from the kitchen) for about half an hour. Me, I just don't understand why people make some of the choices they do, including putting funny weird wheels on vehicles rendering them virtually useless for meeting their potential.  I guess I will just continue to endure the "stick" living as I contemplate the strange ways of the Western world.

Lol....You just spent an entire paragraph trying to justify why your living is better, in a fairly condescending manner.  We get it.  You enjoy your remote living.  Other's don't.  Different strokes for different folks.
 
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