From 18 to 19 or 20?

[Randy]

I am looking to upgrade my 2017 gt premium with a new set of wheels. It has 18s on it now. It's just a summer car. I don't race it but do enjoy a back road drive Will the ride quality change much if I go to the 20? Should I just jump up one size and pick out 19s?
Thanks

Sponsored

 

[OF5.0]

19” wheels and tires may be less expensive than 20” counterparts, but it depends on manufacturers and any sales at the time, to be honest. I upgraded to 20 x 10 ET +35 wheels with 285/35 tires on all four corners. I do not notice any difference in ride quality. You may notice ride quality differences between all-season and high-performance summer tires.

 

[Excelerater]

I went from 18s to 19s to 20s.....
Type of tire has a lot to do with the way the car rides and handles
and 18s (factory rim and tire) do a pretty poor job in the handling dept
but going to 19s was a big improvement but moving to what I have now
was an even bigger improvement everywhere . 20s all day long,the look
better,grip better and with the right rubber ride better

 

[Dominant1]

19’s for sure

https://ibb.co/M6RqVyG

 

[Randy]

19’s for sure

https://ibb.co/M6RqVyG

But why?

 

[Dominant1]

But why?

18’s to small 20’s to big.. makes 19’s perfect.

 

[Dave TBG]

Each has it's pros and cons.
There are plenty of 18" tires to choose from. 18s are less expensive to run and are often lightest (combined wheel and tire weight) at any given price point. This may allow one to splurge on a lighter wheel or a higher quality tire. The downside includes less clearance for big brakes and lower "bling factor."
There are a few less choices in 19" but still a decent selection. A 19" wheel will usually weigh a little more than an 18" but less than a 20" at any price point. Most seem to think a 19 looks better than a 18 but it will cost a bit more.
A 20" set will cost more, weigh more and offer fewer choices, but some people like the looks.
You may have noticed that I mentioned weight a couple times, it's more important than most people realize. A lighter wheel and tire will offer better handling and braking performance and, to a lesser extent, can impact comfort and acceleration. Where the bulk of the weight is located marks a difference too. Sadly, in the simplest terms, the smaller the wheel the better.
As far as comfort and performance are concerned, it.s not that simple. More sidewall is usually more comfortable, for a given tire, but from one model/brand tire to the next the level of comfort may vary quite a bit. Generally it's a safe assumption that you will lose ride comfort as wheels get larger, but there are exceptions.
Performance is even trickier. More sidewall equals more flex and too much, or too little flex, will cost you in handling. Again, tires vary, some have stiffer sidewall that are designed not to flex. Other tires are designed to flex more, adding comfort but reducing handling. Tires need to have some sidewall flex to keep the contact patch where you want it, so don't believe the idea that less sidewall alwys equals better handling.
Now that you have more questions than ever, I'll toss another variable at you. A 35 series tire doesn't always have less sidewall than a 40 series tire. A 255/40r19 and a 285/35r19 are almost identical in diameter, aspect ratio is just that, a ratio, it's a percentage of the section width so it's meaningless unless you look at both numbers.
Confused more than ever? There are a lot of tradeoffs and there is no single right answer. The more info you can include about what you want/need from your wheels and tires, the more info we can offer.

 

[Dave TBG]

I went from 18s to 19s to 20s.....
Type of tire has a lot to do with the way the car rides and handles
and 18s (factory rim and tire) do a pretty poor job in the handling dept
but going to 19s was a big improvement but moving to what I have now
was an even bigger improvement everywhere . 20s all day long,the look
better,grip better and with the right rubber ride better

Did you have the same brand, model and width tire on your 18s, 19s and 20s or are you comparing apples and squirrels?

 

[Excelerater]

18s were stock pirellis
19s were Nittos NT05s,not a great tire
20s are Firestone Indy 500,awesome tire BTW

Im not a tire reviewer just sharing my experience

 

[Randy]

Each has it's pros and cons.
There are plenty of 18" tires to choose from. 18s are less expensive to run and are often lightest (combined wheel and tire weight) at any given price point. This may allow one to splurge on a lighter wheel or a higher quality tire. The downside includes less clearance for big brakes and lower "bling factor."
There are a few less choices in 19" but still a decent selection. A 19" wheel will usually weigh a little more than an 18" but less than a 20" at any price point. Most seem to think a 19 looks better than a 18 but it will cost a bit more.
A 20" set will cost more, weigh more and offer fewer choices, but some people like the looks.
You may have noticed that I mentioned weight a couple times, it's more important than most people realize. A lighter wheel and tire will offer better handling and braking performance and, to a lesser extent, can impact comfort and acceleration. Where the bulk of the weight is located marks a difference too. Sadly, in the simplest terms, the smaller the wheel the better.
As far as comfort and performance are concerned, it.s not that simple. More sidewall is usually more comfortable, for a given tire, but from one model/brand tire to the next the level of comfort may vary quite a bit. Generally it's a safe assumption that you will lose ride comfort as wheels get larger, but there are exceptions.
Performance is even trickier. More sidewall equals more flex and too much, or too little flex, will cost you in handling. Again, tires vary, some have stiffer sidewall that are designed not to flex. Other tires are designed to flex more, adding comfort but reducing handling. Tires need to have some sidewall flex to keep the contact patch where you want it, so don't believe the idea that less sidewall alwys equals better handling.
Now that you have more questions than ever, I'll toss another variable at you. A 35 series tire doesn't always have less sidewall than a 40 series tire. A 255/40r19 and a 285/35r19 are almost identical in diameter, aspect ratio is just that, a ratio, it's a percentage of the section width so it's meaningless unless you look at both numbers.
Confused more than ever? There are a lot of tradeoffs and there is no single right answer. The more info you can include about what you want/need from your wheels and tires, the more info we can offer.

I thought picking a color and style was tough.
I have a 2017 get convertible it race red. I have the ford pro pack 2 installed. I have the stock 18-inch wheels with General Gmax 235/50 zr 18. I am looking mostly to change the look of the car. It's not a daily driver but I want to keep the ride decent, I do not want to feel the car is handicapped by my wheel choice.

 

[JCFoster]

I went the other way with mine. It came with 20’s and it rode like crap. I put on a set of oe 18’s and was relieved to how much better it was. I would probably do 19’s, but definitely not 20’s. Unless all you care about is looks or you have super good roads.

 

[Randy]

Well, the Vt roads are not well maintained. I am looking for style points. This is tough.

 

[Dominant1]

I replaced my 305/35/19 nitto Nt05r’s with a pair of Mickey Thompson street SS’ s -285/35/19 and its a much better tire then the Nt05r’s..you can also mount a toyo r888 on 19’s as well. Those are the 3 best hooking tires for 19’s.

 

[Randy]

Ok I finally pieced it all together for you. Those rohana rc 7 I can have them in 7 days the sizes I would use fronts 255/35r20, 275/35r20 for rears. It would be toyo proxes sport. Great summer tire good brand.
Tire shop selected this setup on my wheel choice in 20

 

[m3incorp]

If I was going to run 20's, which I do. I would go for more tire. Keep in mind tire shops are the same people that recommend those 24" tires you see on some cars that really should be running 17's. What are the sizes and offsets of those Rohana RC7 wheels?

Ok I finally pieced it all together for you. Those rohana rc 7 I can have them in 7 days the sizes I would use fronts 255/35r20, 275/35r20 for rears. It would be toyo proxes sport. Great summer tire good brand.
Tire shop selected this setup on my wheel choice in 20

Sponsored