ASAGOT
Full Member
Just about to take the dive into larger wheels but I love the ride characteristics of my 2003 Z71. Will the larger wheels make for a noticably harsher ride?
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Do Larger Wheels Alter Ride Characteristics?
- Thread starter ASAGOT
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ygmn
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YEs different wheels and or tires and or anything in suspension will alter ride..................
Now if it is better or worse I dunno............
Now if it is better or worse I dunno............
A
AtomTaz
GUEST
It all depends on what kind of tires you are going to get. Like what the rating on them are. I have 33" Goodyear MTR's and it did alter the ride a little but it pretty much rides the same. Now if you crank up the Torshen bars your ride is going to get a lot ruffer. So, it just depends.
Hi, I give you what i can from experience. You say 'larger wheels', but this could mean several things
If you mean larger rims, and then thus smaller tires, I would not say that the ride would be impacted until you tried going off road. However, most often when people get bigger wheels, they also get wider tires. My experiance is that there is a plus and a minus.
The minus is that you truck will fight you more in wheel ruts (you know, sunk pavement) than with the more narrow tires.
The plus is that the ride is better. I run the stock 17" 265's in the winter and switch to 20" 295's in the summer. Switched about a month ago and the ride was much smoother.
That said, watch the GM service guys when you go in for service. They will take the psi down to 34 or 35, whatever the manual says, but that is not the best to run. I need to take mine back to 40.
Now if you are talking about bigger wheels and tires, as in with a lift, I have no experience with this.
If you mean larger rims, and then thus smaller tires, I would not say that the ride would be impacted until you tried going off road. However, most often when people get bigger wheels, they also get wider tires. My experiance is that there is a plus and a minus.
The minus is that you truck will fight you more in wheel ruts (you know, sunk pavement) than with the more narrow tires.
The plus is that the ride is better. I run the stock 17" 265's in the winter and switch to 20" 295's in the summer. Switched about a month ago and the ride was much smoother.
That said, watch the GM service guys when you go in for service. They will take the psi down to 34 or 35, whatever the manual says, but that is not the best to run. I need to take mine back to 40.
Now if you are talking about bigger wheels and tires, as in with a lift, I have no experience with this.
I have the 20" with 275/55/20 goodyear eagle LS.
I have to say the ride is harsher. I loved my ride with the original 17" tires.
My tires say 45 max. air pressure. I have dropped them down to 40 to try and soften the ride up a little. South Louisiana roads don't help the situation.
I have to say the ride is harsher. I loved my ride with the original 17" tires.
My tires say 45 max. air pressure. I have dropped them down to 40 to try and soften the ride up a little. South Louisiana roads don't help the situation.
Jake
Full Member
This is my take from experience that I've had with various wheel and tire combos. I think a lot of it has to do with the size and ply of the sidewall of the tire. A tire will absorb a lot of the smaller road bumps and cracks that your suspension doesn't. If you run 20's then you have a smaller sidewall, thus a firmer ride. If you are running a 15 inch wheels with larger tires then the bumps and cracks may not even be felt at all. BUT, there is always the compromise. The 20's with the shorter/stiffer sidewall will handle(cornering, etc.) a lot better than the larger/softer sidewall tires.
I agree, it is the height and strength of the side wall that affects the ride the most. All else equal, the shorter the sidewall (ie the smaller the aspect ratio on the tire: the R number) the stiffer the ride. If the overall diameter of the tire is held constant and the rim size increased, the aspect ratio must be reduced and the ride will be harder. If you increase the rim size and keep the same aspect ratio as stock, thus increasing the overall diameter of the tire, the ride will be pretty much the same.
Ex: Start with 265/17R70s, the overall diameter of the tire is 17" + 2*(0.70*265mm)/25.4 (mm/in) = 31.6" with the sidewall being 7.3" high Changing to 22" rims but keeping the diameter the same (31.6") means that the aspect ratio must be reduced to about 46 or 265/22R46 with sidewalls being about 4.8" and a stiffer ride.
The example above of 20" rims with 275/20R55 results in a overall diameter of 32.4" with the side walls being about 5.9". This should be a stiffer ride than stock but not as stiff as a 265mm tire R46 would give. To keep the same sidewall height as stock would result in an increase in the overall diameter of the tire and either wider tires ( 337mm) and the same R value or the same tire width but a higer R value (~R67 for the 275mm tires).
I hope I did all this math correctly.
And I use to think that tires were tires with the only difference being in the materials used. Without realizing it I changed the stiffness and/or handling of the tire by using differenct sizes (always with the same rims) and blamed the difference on the materials. Ignorance is not always bliss 
Ex: Start with 265/17R70s, the overall diameter of the tire is 17" + 2*(0.70*265mm)/25.4 (mm/in) = 31.6" with the sidewall being 7.3" high Changing to 22" rims but keeping the diameter the same (31.6") means that the aspect ratio must be reduced to about 46 or 265/22R46 with sidewalls being about 4.8" and a stiffer ride.
The example above of 20" rims with 275/20R55 results in a overall diameter of 32.4" with the side walls being about 5.9". This should be a stiffer ride than stock but not as stiff as a 265mm tire R46 would give. To keep the same sidewall height as stock would result in an increase in the overall diameter of the tire and either wider tires ( 337mm) and the same R value or the same tire width but a higer R value (~R67 for the 275mm tires).
I hope I did all this math correctly.
And I use to think that tires were tires with the only difference being in the materials used. Without realizing it I changed the stiffness and/or handling of the tire by using differenct sizes (always with the same rims) and blamed the difference on the materials. Ignorance is not always bliss 
I run Eagle GTII's 285 60r 18's on 18 X 9 rims.
I like the look 'cause it helps fill the wheel well just a bit.
The ride didn't change enough to notice but the handling improved. I chose the 18's over the 20's + sizes because of $$$ and I wanted more cushion.
I am on road only and put on a lot of freeway miles. I believe the wider wheel helps keep me from wandering as much as I did before.
I like the look 'cause it helps fill the wheel well just a bit.
The ride didn't change enough to notice but the handling improved. I chose the 18's over the 20's + sizes because of $$$ and I wanted more cushion.
I am on road only and put on a lot of freeway miles. I believe the wider wheel helps keep me from wandering as much as I did before.