Talk me into or out of 20" wheels and 35" tires - Rubi

[Hayseed_JLUR]

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[Croomrider]

To the OP. I first want to say, I don't yet have a Jeep, but want to get a Rubicon and would not put 20" wheels on it myself. However, I've had a couple of F250 diesel 4X4 pickups with 20" wheels and approx 33" tires. Also a couple of Broncos. I live in Florida and my main driving is on the street. With that said, I have had them all offroad, which here is mostly sand. I have never gotten stuck in FL sand with any 4x4 regardless of wheel tire combo. Unless AZ/UT sand is much worse than the sugar sand we get here (maybe it is) I wouldn't hesitate to take any of the rigs I've had out for the kind of off roading you say you want to do. Bottom line, you are not going to get much approval from the forum for what you want to do, but do what YOU want. You know there may be some limitations on having less sidewalls and it sounds like you are willing to live with that. You know people are going to look down their noses and call your rig a Mall Crawler, and if that doesn't bother you who cares? I have no doubt from my experience, your rig will still be plenty capable for trails that aren't rated at least a 4 or 5. You know you are giving up some capability and are willing to live with that. Just about everybody is giving up some capability compared to somebody else that has spent more time or money building a more capable rig. We all have limits as to how far we are willing to go for more capability, yours may be going to wheels smaller than 20 inches. Dive what you like and enjoy it!

 

[Jeepers!]

 

[Mike_1]

I personally like the look of 20’s on 37’s myself. I ordered the wrangler high altitude which comes stock with 20’s. The stock tires with that size wheel won’t dare see any off-roading. I will slap 37’s on them at some point but have no intentions of serious rock crawling, mainly light trails.

 

[North River]

A million JK Wranglers on 32/17 tires and wheels are aired down without issue.

35/20s are the same sidewall height. D or E rated 35s are a bit stiffer but they’ll air down just as easily and work fine.

 

[Endless Summer]

A million JK Wranglers on 32/17 tires and wheels are aired down without issue.

35/20s are the same sidewall height. D or E rated 35s are a bit stiffer but they’ll air down just as easily and work fine.

Thank you. This was what I was looking for.

 

[Endless Summer]

I personally like the look of 20’s on 37’s myself. I ordered the wrangler high altitude which comes stock with 20’s. The stock tires with that size wheel won’t dare see any off-roading. I will slap 37’s on them at some point but have no intentions of serious rock crawling, mainly light trails.

Basically same.. I see this is a foreign concept to all of the guys who love 16" wheels and 38s and probably only crawl the mall.

Appreciate all of the Xzibit feedback. Super helpful.

 

[Daywalker78]

FWIW: 35s on 20" wheels have the same sidewall as 32s on 17" wheels, and the stock Sport tire size is 31.5" tall.

Bingo!

To the OP. I first want to say, I don't yet have a Jeep, but want to get a Rubicon and would not put 20" wheels on it myself. However, I've had a couple of F250 diesel 4X4 pickups with 20" wheels and approx 33" tires. Also a couple of Broncos. I live in Florida and my main driving is on the street. With that said, I have had them all offroad, which here is mostly sand. I have never gotten stuck in FL sand with any 4x4 regardless of wheel tire combo. Unless AZ/UT sand is much worse than the sugar sand we get here (maybe it is) I wouldn't hesitate to take any of the rigs I've had out for the kind of off roading you say you want to do. Bottom line, you are not going to get much approval from the forum for what you want to do, but do what YOU want. You know there may be some limitations on having less sidewalls and it sounds like you are willing to live with that. You know people are going to look down their noses and call your rig a Mall Crawler, and if that doesn't bother you who cares? I have no doubt from my experience, your rig will still be plenty capable for trails that aren't rated at least a 4 or 5. You know you are giving up some capability and are willing to live with that. Just about everybody is giving up some capability compared to somebody else that has spent more time or money building a more capable rig. We all have limits as to how far we are willing to go for more capability, yours may be going to wheels smaller than 20 inches. Dive what you like and enjoy it!

Best response to this entire thread IMO, don't ask for approval for anything here because the approval list is quite short.

A million JK Wranglers on 32/17 tires and wheels are aired down without issue.

35/20s are the same sidewall height. D or E rated 35s are a bit stiffer but they’ll air down just as easily and work fine.

This!!! Wheeling a stock Jeep with 17/32s is allowed but 20/35s is a crime? GTFOH. My ride quality actually got better, it feels more stable on the freeway. And to the people screaming about the added weight, I actually did the math before deciding on 20s. Same method wheel and Toyo RT tire combo in a 17/35 weighs 110lbs while the 20/35 combo weighs 113lbs. Do what you wanna do with YOUR Jeep, and enjoy it.

 

[Allstars_S2]

Hey Guys -
Just picked up a 2020 Rubi Recon.
My aesthetic preference strongly lean towards 20" wheel diameter. I *think* I understand the offroad trade offs but want to hear opinions of the forum (hoping for more "I've done it and here's why it worked or didnt" rather than "yuck, 20s belong on a tahoe").

Primary use = daily driver / commuter.. Offroad = I live in Arizona and will hope to be offroad 2 Saturday's per month, *primary* use is sand / desert washes with light rock crawling (no major crawling, no MOAB type activities).. I fully intend to keep stock suspension..

Question - pros and cons of 20" wheels and 35" M/Ts.. Am I totally F'd offroad on 20s? Or can I get by with primary desert wash / light crawling on them?

I love the 20" method wheels on Cliffride Jeep. This is the look I'm trying to achieve (albeit on OEM Rubi suspension).
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-jeep-wrangler-sema-2018-a33a9964-jpg.106268/
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-jeep-wrangler-sema-2018-a33a9963-jpg.106267/

Thanks for your feedback and thoughts.

My preference is exactly to what you just did because that's the configuration I went to for my new Rubi Recon

 

[pdale44]

Personally, if you want the 20s I'd say go for it. Then you could be the one letting everyone know whether they work or not. The look is subjective. I've seen ugly 17s on Wranglers too. If the 20s are nice and the sidewall ratio looks alright, then I don't see a problem with it. Anyone telling you it will ride worse or stop worse should remember that is also true for running 35s and 37s anyways. If you're only going to offroad occasionally, you could always keep your stock wheels and tires and swap them for the day.

 

[YerMaun]

I'm running 20s and 35s. I much prefer the look to smaller wheels, don't care how many traditionalists disagree. My JL drives completely 100% fine with this setup. Still plenty of sidewall (more than my old Range Rover, which could also drive anywhere most people will ever want to go), handles light offroading like a champ. If I was planning serious rock crawling then I'd have set it up differently... but I"m not, so I didn't. Just do what you think is right for you, everyone should build the Jeep that makes them happy

 

[shekmark]

I’ve seen photos of 37 and 20’s. I like it. Who cares what others think. You have to like it. Expensive mistake if you don’t. Look on marketplace and you will see 20’s for sale now and then. They don’t sell fast. Google for some pics, I am sure you see. Esthetically speaking, you can argue that Wranglers look better without low profile tires. When you get up th a 37 tire, it’s not really low profile. 90% of Wranglers probably never see off-road.

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