have to buy a new truck and seems all the ones on the lot have 20" wheels, seems like a waste of money to me. can anyone tell me an advantage of the bigger tires. tried searching and all i found was they ride rougher. please don't say looks, that is the one part of the truck that i don't carre what it looks like. thats wwhat gets dirtiest.

 

The only real advantage to the 20" tires is load capacity. It is the only way to get a 7,000 lb rear axle weight rating which can be pretty important if you are towing a heavy fifth wheel trailer. Otherwise, it is just looks and added ride height.

My 2011 is the second truck that I have had the 20" tires on. Back in 06 when I got the first one, Goodyear Wranglers were only about $150 each. Now it is nearly impossible to find any brand for under $250 with many costing well over $300. Unless you need the extra capacity, the 20" tire option is nothing but a money pit from the time you pay an extra $1250 for that option when you buy the truck.

 

Not only that but when you put a 35-12.5/18" next to a 35-12.5/20" the 18" tire/wheel combo .......while the same exact overall diameter .....looks larger because there is more sidewall to the tire.

 

The other thing is stock the 20" tire is larger at around ~34", where the 18" tire is around 32".

One thing worth mentioning is that the 20" wheels have to come with 3.55 rear gears, which will not get as good a gas milage as 18"s with 3.31's.
You will want the 3.55's (optional with the 18's) if you plan on fitting any larger tires later however.

 

It's not like more heavy duty tires cannot be built. It's an image thing. To me it is ridiculous to see an SUV or Pickup wearing 20' or larger wheels with rubber band tires. Taken to the other extreme, a few decades back most pickups were running 15, 16 or 16.6 wheels.

When I saw the newer trucks coming out with taller wheels I was hoping that they were going to make giant brakes and that they needed the larger wheels to create the space.

But I'm afraid it is a style thing and perhaps encouraged by the tire industry who have succeeded in doubling the price of tires.

 

Interestingly enough, the 20" tires that came on my truck have a 7" sidewall.....roughly the same as the 16" tires that seemed to be the standard on pickups not more than 10 years ago. Hardly anymore a "rubber band" than the 16s were! As far as the brakes go, perhaps you should try to shoehorn some 16" wheels onto a modern pickup. Brake sizes are growing every few years which has in part necessitated the increase in wheel size. Like it or not, your favored high aspect ratio, tall sidewall tires just aren't capable of being reliable for the demands that modern pickups put on them. It is possible to find 16" G rated tires with higher capacities, but the failure rate on them is extremely high.

 

thanks for the feedback, while i would prefer the 18s looks like i am stuck, havent found any in the houston area that meet my other needs.

 

Just a thought but if you really don't want the 20's put them on e bay they will fetch a pretty penny, then go out and get the size you want. I guess a factory order isn't a option? they usually take 6-8 weeks.If you do order just make sure you selling dealer has allocation for the order or wait times could be a lot longer.

 

On my 2011, I couldn't get 20" with the camper package because the load specs were worse than the 18"... I'm with the OP, I don't like 20" tires and I go to great lengths to avoid them and the FX4 package, which includes ordering one from the factory and waiting.

Not only do I think the ride is worse, at least, in the beginning the 20" tires were not holding up, they were chunking. Has that been fixed. I admit I never kept up with what was happening, since I have 18" rims. However, the 20" tires and the 3.31 produced better highway MPG ratings. (I had a loaner for a bit with FX4 and 20" - I put 7k miles on it - so you can't say I didn't try it. I tried it and didn't like it)

 

I hope you are right about the size of brakes increasing.

On tire sizes and aspect ratios, I have to point out that on the always heavily loaded tractor-trailers most all ride on something that looks like 80 profile tires. So based on that I cannot accept that higher aspect ratio tires are any less reliable as truck tires are concerned. If not, it at least illustrates that there is no real problem with building strong, reliable high aspect ratio tires.

 

FX4 and 20" wheels are completely separate things from each other...
I have a FX4 trim and it still came with 18" OEM wheels... heck I still have 18" aftermarket wheels, prefer more sidewall. (They will be especially beefy looking when I get those 38s)

 

Because of the shorter sidewall, I feel less tendency to sway than when I was running a taller sidewall on my previous trucks. I like the extra stability of the 20" wheel. My '99 F-350 was running a 35" tire (34.5 actual) on a 16" rim. It felt mushy in turns and was more prone to sway. Same case with my '10 F-150 with 17" rims and 33" tires.

 

That's the whole reason for the rubber band tires, more positive feel and grip. The higher aspect ratio tires need to run at high pressures to make them more stable.

I had a Cherokee that came with 225, 75 r 15 tires. I pumped them up to make them more stable and the centers started wearing. Went back and forth with the pressures. When it came time to replace them I went to 235, 65 r 15 tires and that little jeep was transformed. Worked like a charm.

 

I agree they are separate, maybe my post was a little confusing. I should have left the I don't like FX4 either comment out.

To be honest, I have never seen a FX4 package without 20" wheels, probably because of how the dealers I have gone to order trucks. One of the reasons I have trouble finding what I want. I do not LIKE the way the truck rides/drives with them, which also makes it tougher to swallow the extra cost of those options. Extra flash doesn't do it for me either so I don't like the KR or Platinum. (I also want a third seat up front so I can seat six, which most people don't and you can't get in KR trim, not sure about Platinum)

I do like Lariat trim and the built-in Navigation and back-up camera. I don't like sunroofs either. I also like the camper package, spray in bed liner and factory 5th wheel prep. Even though my current financial situation has made it so I can't get a 5th wheel TH yet... My next truck will have these options and I will order it and wait. First, I save $ by NOT getting options I don't want and I get what I want. Ohh and I drive to the cold, so I like some of the cold weather add-ons that Florida dealers don't order, like a block heater. I also think my next truck will have the supplemental heater in it.

I am not knocking those that like 20", FX4, Platinum, etc... It is, afterall, why that option is there. And you may not my options either. I do wish that 3.73" were an option for SRW 350's though.

 

You cannot get 20's with 3.31 gear.