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17” vs 20” Wheel Size

Nole_Dynasty

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Explain it to me like I’m 5. My first Jeep was back in high school and the wife finally gave me the thumbs up to buy a Jeep. Ordering a Rubi FWIW.

What are the pro’s and con’s of going from a 17” Wheel up to a 20” Wheel? I get it gets more pricey as you go up but other than buyer preference, what are the pros and cons?
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Redbaron73

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I am no expert, but here is my take.

17 (and 18) wheels are going to give you more rubber. This gives more air volume and greater off-road ability. You can adjust air over a wider range to change your foot print and tread surface contact.

The rubber also extends wider than the wheel, giving very good side protection. Essential when rock crawling.

20" wheels are more for show, and have less rubber height and width. Less range for airing down.

The larger wheels are even more so. The air volume translates to safety for the wheel, and comfort for the passengers.

20's look great in the parking lot , driveway, and highways. They don't look so great 50miles from the nearest maintained road.

Jmho
 

Redbaron73

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BTW, my garage also has a BMW M3 comp and a BMW M550, so I do have a few very large wheels with not much tire.

My trucks and jeep have tires meant for all terrain. My BMW's have tires for the paved roads.
 

blnewt

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What Ronnie Said! ^^^^
Also tire variety/selection is much more prevalent in 17" sizes. For whatever reason 18s are a lot more uncommon for off road tires too.

I loved the old days when I ran my CJ with 14x35x15 Ground Hawgs, that small diameter wheel w/ large tire diameter looked perfect IMO, so w/ our larger brake sets a 17" is the closest thing :)

Unfortunately 33s is the largest I want to run w/ stock Sport gears :(

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blnewt

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IceBerg

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Stick with a 17" rim. Not only are tires (in my exp) cheaper but you wont look like a mall crawler and your rig will remain functional offroad.
 

Jerrybizzle

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If you don’t plan on off roading much the 20s with say a 35 will be fine. If you plan on off roading the 17s will be better as there is more sidewall. A 35 on a 20 has roughly 7.5 inch sidewalls give or take (35-20/2). A stock 33 on 17s has 8 inch sidewalls. (33-17/2) so if you bump up in tire size to a 35 or larger you’ll have nearly as much sidewall as stock. Like I mentioned, if you off road 17s are the way to go, if not or mild off roading the 20s will be okay. I have 17s with 37s.
 

shekmark

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Buy what you like the looks of. Outside of Jeep forums, nobody knows the difference. If you do what 90 percent of Wrangler owners do and drive to work and supermarket and bar it doesnt even matter. Probably doesnt matter even off road unless you rock climb. I think 20 inch wheels weigh a bunch more than 17's.
 

jessedacri

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If I had 20" wheels they'd be absolutely trashed with the trails I do. Sidewall gets used a whole lot on the trail even if you're not crawling rocks on a badge of honor trail, and you really don't want there to be metal there instead of rubber. Jeeps look best when trail prepped - a nice meaty AT or mud tire on a 17" wheel is going to look awesome and perform great too. In my opinion 20s are a misunderstanding of the Wrangler as a whole.

If you don't plan on ever hitting the trails do what you feel looks best - it's your rig and this is just my opinion. But for trail performance you absolutely want to have 17s. Take a spin through the wheel and tire section on this forum for inspiration.
 
 



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