Tire Shopping 19" vs. 20"

[Bartly]

I'm shopping wheels/tires and am I'm sure this has been discussed, but wondering if those who have been through this decision can chime in.

I've heard/read that tires for 20" wheels are less expensive than 19" wheels. Searching around on Tire Rack and Discount Tire for 295-30-20 vs. 295-30-20, it seems that some of the ones I can find apples to apples seam to only vary by a few dollars each tire less going with 20". It doesn't seem like significant savings, maybe max of $30 for a set of 4, (this was for both P-Zero's and Bridgstone Potenza PS04 just because it was on the top of the list).

I see that the same size in Michelin Pilot Super Sport is actually $30 cheaper/tire going with 19" wheels. That's saving $120 going with 19" wheels.

So question is, does it really save money on tires going with 20" vs. 19", just doesn't appear so to me, or am I seeing it wrong? Can someone give me there take on this, is it certain aspect ratio's where the 20" savings come into play more? Seems like most tires come in both sizes??

Also, I see lots of tires with manufactures like Audi, Porche, BMW, Astin Martin, etc. in the description on some of the tires on Tire rack, what gives here? Would there be any reason to avoid tires made/marketed for certain cars?

Thank you.

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[NightmareMoon]

No I wouldnt expect the 20s to be cheaper on average than the 19s. Volume will drive cost more than materials and 19s are more common than 20s.

 

[plc268]

At one point 20s were cheaper by a good deal, but that's changed since 19s became more common.

 

[robwlf]

every tire i been comparing 20s are always cheaper.. i been batting back and forth on rims and tires next spring and look at 275/35/20 compared to 275/35/19 20s are cheaper. and im looking at firehawks, hankook, and yokohama

 

[Bartly]

Guess I should start a spreadsheet for myself so I can make it easier to see for myself. Just seems like in 30 minutes of looking, the 20" tires were only a few bucks cheaper in some brands, but the 19" ones were significantly cheaper in other brands. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Grintch]

No I wouldnt expect the 20s to be cheaper on average than the 19s. Volume will drive cost more than materials and 19s are more common than 20s.

Yes, how common they are is a big factor. The ~27" diameter tires used by the Mustang are a bit uncommon (taller than most) for 19" wheels, but are common in 20" sizes. So that often seems to cancel out the normal price advantage for tires in smaller wheel diameters. Also the 19" wheel size has never seemed to be wildly popular. The market seems to want to jump from 18" to 20".

 

[Need4SpeedMotors]

I'm shopping wheels/tires and am I'm sure this has been discussed, but wondering if those who have been through this decision can chime in.

I've heard/read that tires for 20" wheels are less expensive than 19" wheels. Searching around on Tire Rack and Discount Tire for 295-30-20 vs. 295-30-20, it seems that some of the ones I can find apples to apples seam to only vary by a few dollars each tire less going with 20". It doesn't seem like significant savings, maybe max of $30 for a set of 4, (this was for both P-Zero's and Bridgstone Potenza PS04 just because it was on the top of the list).

I see that the same size in Michelin Pilot Super Sport is actually $30 cheaper/tire going with 19" wheels. That's saving $120 going with 19" wheels.

So question is, does it really save money on tires going with 20" vs. 19", just doesn't appear so to me, or am I seeing it wrong? Can someone give me there take on this, is it certain aspect ratio's where the 20" savings come into play more? Seems like most tires come in both sizes??

Also, I see lots of tires with manufactures like Audi, Porche, BMW, Astin Martin, etc. in the description on some of the tires on Tire rack, what gives here? Would there be any reason to avoid tires made/marketed for certain cars?

Thank you.

It depends on the brand of tires to be honest with you and the size of the tires.

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