Outkast`

Hey all,

I have a question about size of tires as it applies to aftermarket wheels. I am debating about going from 16” to 18” and want to know if I will still maintain the ability to do moderate off roading (moderate = crossing over a grassy median to get out of traffic here and there). I want to be able to keep the same overall size, but get a larger rim and a slightly smaller tire. I am not trying to go with the low profile tire, & I don’t want to mess up the gear ratio or speedometer. Also I want to know which shock/spring combination is better for all around handling between Rancho and Bilstein?

Thanks,

Outkast'

Roadtripr

I am not sure how much the 2" will matter, but the lower the profile the more likely it is you will get a flat hitting a pothole or edge (this you notice happen for a lot of truck with low profile tires). Secondly, figure out what the weight increase of the new tires and larger rim will be. The higher rotational mass can affect you acceleration and braking substantionally.
I like my bilsteins, they are more firm but give a better handling. I am no experience with Ranchos (I guess you will have to search on that one)

jimbo74

unless you are running some insane amount of lift, the 18 is a bad idea, not to mention just what roadtripr said about the whole lower profile thing, but im talking about price of tires, and thats if you can find anything otehr than a street tire in any size near stock..... most of the 18" off-road tires are huge in size, if they are available at all... i just looked in a 4WP magazine on their tire page ads.... the smallest tire i saw avaialbe in any 18" size was 33x13.5x18 an IROK costing $210 per tire out of their whole couple pages of tire sizes, there are a lot of listins for 15,16, 16.5 and 17 but very few listings for anything 18" .

99_Runner

Just do either som 16's or 17's depending on what you have now. It's like jimabena74 said, it's all about tire selection. If you don't mind limiting your self to only a few tire sizes, then go ahead. But what's the difference in tire/wheel prices between the sizes. Also, like mentioned before, your braking is going to suffer. Larger rims add quite a few pounds more than the smaller ones.

CynicX

what is your current tire size?

say your tire size is 265/70/16 now, if you goto a 265/60/18 you are only going to lose 1" of side wall. The total diameter will be the same size, and so will the width. So it will not rub anymore then a 265/70/16 does.

Since you will only be losing 1" of side wall, driving through grass wont be a problem. You'll still have 6.3" of side wall. Thats more tire then those 4x4 dodges with the 20" wheels have.

Also 265/60/18 is a popular tire size. You can get em for the same price as the 265/70/16, maybe 10-20 more bucks. If you just get radials then you are lookin 110 dollars per tire, which is nothing...

HTH

Outkast`

"Secondly, figure out what the weight increase of the new tires and larger rim will be. The higher rotational mass can affect you acceleration and braking substantionally" See there Roadtripr, I never took that into consideration. Thanks for pointing that out. I am still researching the shocks as well. Leaning towards the Rancho's


outkast`

Outkast`

I just wanted something for 85% street and 15%offroad use. There was a tire shop out this way selling some enkei RT6's for $150 a rim. I have no desire to put a XX" lift on my runner right now, but I do want to make the $$'s hit as hard as they can, wherever they plan to land. Thanks for the input though. Oh and Congrats on the new addition to your family. She's a doll!

outkast`

Outkast`

The rim is a basic one, and I was hoping that it wouldn't affect the ride too much. I'm going th have to do some serious thinking about this one. Thanks 4 the input!

Outkast`

Outkast`

Currently I'm sitting on the factory sized proxies. I was hoping the tires for basic street wouldn't be that much. Got any thoughts on the shocks as well?

Outkast`