20 inch fairly rough ride

[harbor1]

You owner's that are changing to a smaller rim with more rubber between rim and the road for winter do you see a better ride than with 20 inch rims with lower profile tire. I drove a XLT with the 18 inch rims I am sure it had a better ride than the limited with the 20 inch rims that I bought. Just curious
what you have noticed.

 

[HughCares]

I can't say that I notice any discernible difference between my 17" winter Blizzacks or the 20" Hankooks.

 

[182RG]

You owner's that are changing to a smaller rim with more rubber between rim and the road for winter do you see a better ride than with 20 inch rims with lower profile tire. I drove a XLT with the 18 inch rims I am sure it had a better ride than the limited with the 20 inch rims that I bought. Just curious
what you have noticed.

Much better. I bought the XLT specifically for the 18s and to avoid all the unnecessary gadgets. I have low profiles on my car, and it's a world of pot hole bent rims, rough rides, and balancing (vibration) issues.

 

[peterk9]

Like HughCares, I run 17" in the Winter and then 20's when it warms up. I can't really say I notice a great difference between the two. The 17's may give a slightly smoother (softer) ride but then since they are Winter tires, the rubber compound is softer than an all-season tire. I actually never even thought about it until I read this thread so obviously it isn't that noticeable. Replacing the Winter wheels on the 28th.

Peter

 

[corkey]

17 vs 20 inch,,

hmm less sidewall, and no suspension adjustment, has to have a rougher ride due to lack of sidewall on the tire,,

that was easy,,

my 35x12.5x15's would be like a cloud ride to you guys,

 

[GeoMimi89]

I have the 18's and I'm very happy with the ride. A friend of mine had the 20's on his ex and said his ride was rough. Also pot holes here in NY City will eat those 20's up! If your in a city with good roads, no snow and salt in winter, I would imagine it wouldn't be so bad....

 

[broken strut]

17 vs 20 inch,,

hmm less sidewall, and no suspension adjustment, has to have a rougher ride due to lack of sidewall on the tire,,

that was easy,,

my 35x12.5x15's would be like a cloud ride to you guys,

Yeahhhh, no. I have driven both the 17's and the 20's for over 2 years now. No real difference. As Peter said. The 17's are louder for me as they are winter and have a more aggresive tread on them. But that's just experience talking on the vehicle we are talking about

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

Having the proper tires pressures plays a big role in this, too. I'd suggest if you can decern a difference between an 18" wheel and a 20" wheel, the PSI air spec's were slightly off spec (ie- the 20" were over inflated).

IIRC, the Ford spec on the 20" is 35 PSI on all four corners. On a low profile tire, 1 PSI difference can and will (for me) make a pretty big difference.

 

[broken strut]

I really can't tell. Maybe I'm PSI challenged. This thing would run great on stone tires. LOL

 

[peterk9]

I really can't tell. Maybe I'm PSI challenged. This thing would run great on stone tires. LOL

Just like the Flintstones!

Peter

 

[broken strut]

Just like the Flintstones!

Peter