20" Wheels or 17" Wheels

[Demon of Violence]

We are currently running 35x12.5x20. We are buying Mickey Thompson Baja Boss M/T and are thinking about moving rim size down to 17". Discount Tire says 17" will give us a softer ride, especially when aired down. They say the con is on pavement cornering will suffer. Any input would be appreciated!

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[WillysMeow]

17" all the way.

 

[ASSFROW]

We are currently running 35x12.5x20. We are buying Mickey Thompson Baja Boss M/T and are thinking about moving rim size down to 17". Discount Tire says 17" will give us a softer ride, especially when aired down. They say the con is on pavement cornering will suffer. Any input would be appreciated!

Cornering may or may not suffer, but you will have more body roll. The rest seems correct. I prefer 17s, less worry about bumping curbs at the mall.

 

[2nd 392]

We are currently running 35x12.5x20. We are buying Mickey Thompson Baja Boss M/T and are thinking about moving rim size down to 17". Discount Tire says 17" will give us a softer ride, especially when aired down. They say the con is on pavement cornering will suffer. Any input would be appreciated!

Do a lot of high speed cornering in your Corvet… uh Wrangler ? Don’t intend to do more than mild off road trails ? Happy with the ride with short sidewall F rated (only F on the Mt) tires ? Don’t mind the lack of selection in lower load rated tires with 20’s ? It’s a Wrangler, not a sports car or a Super Duty PU, do yourself a favor and get 17’s..

 

[yokramer]

Do you actually wheel the truck? If so go 17s and get the benefit of proper sized wheels (really wish we could still run 16s tbh) If you never actually take it off road then 20s will be fine if you like the look and dont want to spend the money.

 

[Reinen]

20" is for pavement princesses. 17" is for people who actually wheel and need that extra sidewall.

As for cornering, yes, technically cornering will suffer. But you're driving a Jeep. You're already suffering in street cornering. Cornering doesn't get much worse than it already is.

 

[Pain Killer]

We are currently running 35x12.5x20. We are buying Mickey Thompson Baja Boss M/T and are thinking about moving rim size down to 17". Discount Tire says 17" will give us a softer ride, especially when aired down. They say the con is on pavement cornering will suffer. Any input would be appreciated!

17" All day long!

 

[jeepingib]

We are currently running 35x12.5x20. We are buying Mickey Thompson Baja Boss M/T and are thinking about moving rim size down to 17". Discount Tire says 17" will give us a softer ride, especially when aired down. They say the con is on pavement cornering will suffer. Any input would be appreciated!

Are you racing your wrangler at the track? No, I didn't think so. The loss of cornering stability will not be felt unless you are pushing the vehicle well beyond the average spirited driving. Large 20" wheels are pointless. And you will notice a ride improvement with a smaller wheel as long as you are inflated properly with a proper load range tire.

 

[azjl#3]

17" all the way.

THIS

 

[Guv]

17’s will make your brake rotors look reasonable again. Of course your auto cross times will suffer

 

[yokramer]

All these people saying you will suffer at the track with the 17s are wrong, you just need to put some 295/40R17s on the smaller wheels and youre good.

 

[Demon of Violence]

We are currently running 35x12.5x20. We are buying Mickey Thompson Baja Boss M/T and are thinking about moving rim size down to 17". Discount Tire says 17" will give us a softer ride, especially when aired down. They say the con is on pavement cornering will suffer. Any input would be appreciated!

Thank you all for your guidance! I should have added that my Lovely Bride drives like Mario Andretti on the street and Ironman Ivan off road. When she "hooks" the corner off the hwy to our road, it's not unusual for her to be on three wheels. She has all the Oregon Jeep badges and has conquered all the equivalent Jeep runs in SW Washington! Her driving never scares me as I'm blind! Thank you folks again for your great advice! 17's it is!

 

[zmanz28]

17's

 

[Saharacon]

I was dealing with the same thing, building a 14' Grand Cherokee. 2.5" lift and 33's next week. Has a set of badass Dodge Durango blacktop wheels with a set of K02'S that I love, BUT I want a beefy tire so I am ditchin the 20's for 18"s. Can't run 17"s Hemi truck and the front brakes are too big. Go with the 17's man!! The side wall diff from 20" to 18" is significant, 17" even more. More side wall more cush for a better ride.

 

[DieselDan]

Do you actually wheel the truck? If so go 17s and get the benefit of proper sized wheels (really wish we could still run 16s tbh) If you never actually take it off road then 20s will be fine if you like the look and dont want to spend the money.

I agree, too bad 16" are taboo. They're cheap as dirt and nothing wrong with them. I just bought a set of 5, 18" jeep gladiator rims for less width and sidewall height rubber weight and better roadable/AT tread patterns that don't sing at highway speed. I don't need 11"+ wide tires! They get mighty hot here in Florida!

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