All

Have a couple of questions for you. In the quest for my perfect Eddie Bauer 07 I have found two vehicles that fit my needs, one is black with 18" and one is blue with 20". I must admit that although I am not a blue lover it did look good with the Eddie package and the 20" chrome. This got me thinking about the 20" wheels on any Eddie I look at and generated the following questions:

1) Can 18" wheels be substituted for 20's after the fact or is what I'm hearing from the dealerships true which is that the truck is calibrated in the on board computer and TPM for the wheel size that comes with it only ?

2) What do you think of the ride difference between the 18" and 20"s ?

3) How is gas mileage affected between these two ?

4) How does wear get affected ?

Thanks so much

WC

 

just got our 07 expedition limited with 20" chrome wheels.....must admit they look great ride smooooth as to where time will tell. try this site for good tire info http://www.tirerack.com/tires
good luck choosing sure is a smooth ride suv let me know what you choose.
Belfast

 

The overall diameter of the tire is what will affect the vehicle the most and the tire used on the 18" wheel and the tire used on the 20" wheel both have the same overall diameter. That means that switching between the two should not cause any major differences in the vehicle. Ride might be the worst affected because with the 18", you have more sidewall which equates to more cushion to help absorb bumps. What I did in my case is get the 18" wheels since there was no additional charge for them. As soon as the tires need to be replaced, I will upgrade to a nice 20" wheel and tire combo at a lower cost than the OEM. Then when it comes time to sell, I can put the 18" back on and keep the 20" for another vehicle or sell separately if I desire. Plus, I really don't like the look of the OEM 20" chrome wheels, aftermarket has a lot more style.

 

The 20"s certainly look nice, but your ride won't be as nice. Your starting torque will be significantly lower as well, compared to the 18"s. For my vehicle, a F-250, there was a major difference between the 18"s and the 20"s. It bothered me so much, I sold back the 20"s and stayed with an 18" wheel (my OEM). There was only 1" difference in circumference between the 2, but a major torque issue with the same rear end.

My $.02.

 

One more thing to add as a benefit with 20Inch.. The ride quality does go down slightly but handling and cornering improves..As gar as the loss of torque if the circumfrence is the same then it should be minimul.

 

take a real good look at those 20"s before you decide on them..........

as they are not all that they appear to be. they are actually not chome wheels but rather aluminum wheels with some kind of wheel cover affixed to them.

 

I agree with the above.. Aftermarket are much better and real chrome not a plastic cover..

 

That would explain why they looked so fake to me compared to the wheels you see at the aftermarket shop and even in the Ford dealership. When I looked at the ones Ford offered as accessories, I wondered why for the price they were charging for the upgrade, I couldn't get one of those styles. I guess this version is cheaper for them and fools the consumer.

 

I don't think they are trying to FOOL anyone. You can't just CHROME an aluminum wheel. Most Chromes wheels are heavy steel wheels. Ford stayed lightweight with an aluminum wheel and affixed a thinner chrome cap to the face. The surface is still chrome and just as durable as any other chrome surface.

 

Ah, but you can try to chrome an alloy wheel. The chrome just doesn't stay on well in some cases. Those on my wife's PT Cruiser required replacing after four years, because when the chrome peeled off around the valve stem seat the tires began to continously lose air pressure. I think the "chrome clad" alternative is also to reduce warranty costs.

My blog entry on the experience:

Reliability of chrome wheels

On the OP, I don't think the 20s should ride much worse. The profile of the tires is lower, but it's hardly low. The sidewalls are still taller than those on most cars.

 

We test drove Expeditions with both the 20" and 18" chrome-clad wheels. It never crossed my mind that there was a ride difference until a salesman pointed out that the 20's had a firmer ride. Once I was clued in, there was definitely a difference felt. THe 20's were firmer but not the point of being harsh by any means. Noise level was NO different. On the upside, the 20's might corner slightly better, especially at higher speeds, but we're not talking sports handling here anyways.

In the end, I just thought the 18's looked nicer with their smooth face, rather than the indentions on the 20's.

 

if you go with 18's , you will save the $ 1095.00 Ford charges for the 20's .....

 

No they won't be as Durable as other FULLY CHROMED WHEELS. Just wait 3-4 years if not earlier and the Chrome on the edges with inside of the wheels will start coming of trust me. See what's going to happend is: since wheels inside are still Aluminum and only outside of the wheels is chromed once there will be a small chip from road rock or something ... water and salt will do the rest ... it will start eating the chrome from underneeth and chrome will start to peel of ... that's what happends to FULLY CHROME WHEELS when they get some chips in them ... chrome starts to lift (Even Triple plated one which i don't believe that ford Triple chromeplates their rims). Believe me Chrome Wheels are nice ... but you better have regular wheels if you planing on driving your car a lot in Cold Seasons. If not you will see how your Nice Chrome Rims will look after 2-3 years.

 

Good point - The Dodge Trucks have a chrome wheel that is plastic over a steel wheel. It looks just like the polished aluminum, but shiner.

However, Factory chrome starts peeling about 3 or 4 years into it. A typical Aftermarket Chrome can start peeling in about the same time.

The peeling starts inside the wheel and then progresses to the spokes.

Just bought new 7 spokes to replace the 8 spokes 18" Chrome on our 03, and it is peeling pretty bad. Will make good winter wheels.

 

Well, if its just bolted on, then in theory it would not be too expensive to replace just the cap when it starts peeling in later years. That's ok with me since when my alloy wheels get damaged its a complete wheel replacement (if its still available)....

Am I wrong here?