Bigger tires better ride?

[mattpegher]

While looking online, I see that the Escalade ESV has 22 inch tires. I understand this gives it a smoother ride than the 17 inch tires on my Yukon XL. Does anyone know if I can switch the 17s for 22s if I just buy new rims. The vehicles should be basically the same structurally. I'm sure there are probably differences in the shocks and springs but will I need to switch them too to fit the 22s.

 

[essasin]

A 17in rim with a fatter tire will offer a better ride than a 22in rim with a low profile tire. With a low profile tire, you will feel every bump and dip in the road. The same vibrations and bumps will be absorbed on a larger tire with a larger sidewall. Your Yukon was not meant to have 22in rims from the factory so your suspension is not speced for it. But there are tons of trucks that do this and 22in rims are considered mild and should hold up well on stock suspension. I know a few people who do change their suspension to stiffen it up a bit and decrease the gap between the tire and the fender.

BUT! If you have a 4x4 truck whats the point?

 

[mattpegher]

I drive a 4x4 for all weather reliability, I don't do any recreational 4-wheeling. However when the road, esp my driveway(takes 2 hours to snowblow) , is 2 foot deep with untouched snow, its 6am and I have to be in the ER by 7, all wheel drive with decent ground clearance and a heavy vehicle are necessary. I do however want the smoothest ride possible with this vehicle.

 

[jtvang125]

Then stick with the stock wheels and tires if you want a smooth ride. I don't see how you got the impression that bigger wheels give a smoother ride. Also these big wheels lowers your towing and load capacity.

 

[fbrdphreak]

First of all, you don't have 17" tires. You have 17" wheels.

Larger wheel = smaller sidewall on the tire = harsher ride.

You will LOSE ride quality going to a larger wheel. Stick with what you got.

 

[Throckmorton]

The tire is the rubber thing. The wheel is the metal that goes inside the rubber. The size of the rim does not affect the outer diameter of the tire.

Edited for harshness. Still, it should be obvious stuff.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: mattpegher
I drive a 4x4 for all weather reliability, I don't do any recreational 4-wheeling. However when the road, esp my driveway(takes 2 hours to snowblow) , is 2 foot deep with untouched snow, its 6am and I have to be in the ER by 7, all wheel drive with decent ground clearance and a heavy vehicle are necessary. I do however want the smoothest ride possible with this vehicle.

If you want a smooth ride and AWD, you should get a Subaru, not a Yukon. The Yukon will never have an excellent ride. If you want a smooth-ER ride, you could try getting touring tires on the stock rims.

The reason for the 22" rims on the Escalade has more to do with rapper culture than comfort. They tooled the suspension to give the best ride they could with those tires, but the tires are actually a liability when it comes to smoothness.

 

[Aimster]

22s is a harsh ride.
You will give up comfort for looks

 

[996GT2]

Any 22" wheel/tire combination will give you a MUCH rougher ride than your current wheel/tire combination due to the lack of sidewall on the 22" tire. The 22" tire will also have less traction in slippery situations since 22" tires are usually only designed to be used on smooth roads (and as such most of their tread patterns match those of high performance dry-weather only tires). Also, any off-road performance your truck had with the stock tires is now completely out the window with 22" tires. In addition, your truck will now be slower and will handle worse due to the increased unsprung weight. Your tire replacement costs will also skyrocket since 22" tires cost much more to replace and won't last nearly as long as the tires you have now. Also, your suspension parts will wear out faster since stock suspensions were not designed with the intention of using 22" tires.

Basically, the only reason people install 22" tires is for looks/bling factor. There is absolutely no reason why you should be installing such wheels/tires from the information you provided in the first post.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Also, any off-road performance your truck had with the stock tires is now completely out the window with 22" tires.

I dunno, do Super Swampers come in 22" rim size?

 

[Sluggo]

First thing you should check is your tire pressure.

Every time I go to the tire shop they insist on inflating all of the tires to about 50 PSI, which makes my truck ride like the shocks are full of concrete. I promptly deflate them to a more civilized 32-35 PSI and the ride is much better.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Sluggo
First thing you should check is your tire pressure.

Every time I go to the tire shop they insist on inflating all of the tires to about 50 PSI, which makes my truck ride like the shocks are full of concrete. I promptly deflate them to a more civilized 32-35 PSI and the ride is much better.

You sure 50 PSI isn't the spec for your truck? Often trucks run at a higher pressure than cars. This is not universal, of course...what are the pressures listed on the door?

 

[Pacfanweb]

No 1/2 ton truck has 50 psi specs that I've ever seen. That's usually reserved for bigger trucks and trailer tires, that carry much heavier loads.

40 is about the max I'd put in a 1/2 ton truck tire, and it will ride noticeably harsher than even 35 psi.

Easy rule of thumb: The smaller the sidewall, the worse the ride.

OP, I have a Suburban, which is the same thing as the Yukon. I've ridden in a vehicle just like mine with 20's, and it rode like crap.
Whoever told you that 22's would ride smoother is full of it.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
No 1/2 ton truck has 50 psi specs that I've ever seen. That's usually reserved for bigger trucks and trailer tires, that carry much heavier loads.

40 is about the max I'd put in a 1/2 ton truck tire, and it will ride noticeably harsher than even 35 psi.

Easy rule of thumb: The smaller the sidewall, the worse the ride.

OP, I have a Suburban, which is the same thing as the Yukon. I've ridden in a vehicle just like mine with 20's, and it rode like crap.
Whoever told you that 22's would ride smoother is full of it.

I don't know what Sluggo drives, but I remember inflating the tires on a Suburban and being surprised by how much pressure it used.

 

[Sluggo]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Sluggo
First thing you should check is your tire pressure.

Every time I go to the tire shop they insist on inflating all of the tires to about 50 PSI, which makes my truck ride like the shocks are full of concrete. I promptly deflate them to a more civilized 32-35 PSI and the ride is much better.

You sure 50 PSI isn't the spec for your truck? Often trucks run at a higher pressure than cars. This is not universal, of course...what are the pressures listed on the door?

Our Expedition is what I was referring to in my post, and the door sticker says 35 PSI, for factory sized tires which are something like a 255/75/16.

The tires it has now are 285/75/16 and have a Max of 65 PSI, which I cant even imagine how it rides with the tires inflated that much.

Sometimes withlarge tires it just seems like you are running high pressure since it takes so long to air them up.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
No 1/2 ton truck has 50 psi specs that I've ever seen. That's usually reserved for bigger trucks and trailer tires, that carry much heavier loads.

40 is about the max I'd put in a 1/2 ton truck tire, and it will ride noticeably harsher than even 35 psi.

Easy rule of thumb: The smaller the sidewall, the worse the ride.

OP, I have a Suburban, which is the same thing as the Yukon. I've ridden in a vehicle just like mine with 20's, and it rode like crap.
Whoever told you that 22's would ride smoother is full of it.

I don't know what Sluggo drives, but I remember inflating the tires on a Suburban and being surprised by how much pressure it used.

2004 Z71 Sub I drive uses 35. I put 40 in, max. No 1/2 ton Sub has ever called for any more than that.

3/4 ton, now that might need more, depending on its tires.

 

[pegg696]

I have an 07' Yukon XL. The stock tire size is P275/55R20. I want just a LITTLE bit taller and wider meat on my baby. What would be the tire size that I need to go up the way that I want. I have searched all of the web pages that show what just the numbers and letters mean, but I just cant seem to do the "tire math" to find what I want.

Any help would be appreciated.

pegg696

 

[alkemyst]

lower profile tires <> better ride unless you are comparing a 4x4 tire to a street tire.

Lower profile / taller tires will give more road/steering feedback usually and as a penalty have you feeling more of the road.

 

[Sluggo]

Originally posted by: pegg696
I have an 07' Yukon XL. The stock tire size is P275/55R20. I want just a LITTLE bit taller and wider meat on my baby. What would be the tire size that I need to go up the way that I want. I have searched all of the web pages that show what just the numbers and letters mean, but I just cant seem to do the "tire math" to find what I want.

Any help would be appreciated.

pegg696

Just head over to www.tirerack.com and find a line of tires that you might be interested in buying. There should be a "specs" page for each line of tire, that chart will show you all dimensions of the tire, and that should help you with the tire math part of it.

Lets see if this link will work...well it works, but that particular page doesnt show the actual tread width, most of them will.

 

[pegg696]

Thanks Slugo,
But I have a pretty good idea of the tire that I want(tread, pattern, brand). I am looking for that majic "size" that will go up one size on both height and width.

I want to go up from a P275?55R20. Just a bit wider and a little taller.

Do I make any sense? I dont think that my fingers are putting down what my imagination is saying.

pegg696

 

[Pacfanweb]

If you want taller, you need to change the first number, the 275. So maybe a P285.

If you want it taller AND wider, then you'll need to change the first and second numbers.....So you might go to a P305 50 R20. That's two sizes taller but drops the sidewall ratio so it'll use up some of those extra millimeters in width.

However, this varies widely by tire maker. One companies' 275/55/20 is in reality very likely to be slightly different in actual size from another's.

So you might want to have a tire store just mount up a 295 or 305 (if available) of the same tire you have and see if that gets you what you're looking for.

In review: Changing the first number makes the tire taller, and maybe slightly wider, but the added height takes away from any width gain. (just like a 5'5" guy with a 38" waist is a fatass, but a 6'5" guy with the same waist isn't at all)
Changing the second number affects sidewall height, and therefore, width. If you only changed the second number, from say, a 55 to a 50, the tire would be shorter, but wider.
So to get both, you need to increase the first number, and reduce the second number...usually. Again, this varies by manufacturer.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
If you want taller, you need to change the first number, the 275. So maybe a P285.

If you want it taller AND wider, then you'll need to change the first and second numbers.....So you might go to a P305 50 R20. That's two sizes taller but drops the sidewall ratio so it'll use up some of those extra millimeters in width.

However, this varies widely by tire maker. One companies' 275/55/20 is in reality very likely to be slightly different in actual size from another's.

So you might want to have a tire store just mount up a 295 or 305 (if available) of the same tire you have and see if that gets you what you're looking for.

In review: Changing the first number makes the tire taller, and maybe slightly wider, but the added height takes away from any width gain. (just like a 5'5" guy with a 38" waist is a fatass, but a 6'5" guy with the same waist isn't at all)
Changing the second number affects sidewall height, and therefore, width. If you only changed the second number, from say, a 55 to a 50, the tire would be shorter, but wider.
So to get both, you need to increase the first number, and reduce the second number...usually. Again, this varies by manufacturer.

Actually, the first number is width, the second is aspect ratio, and the third is the diameter of the wheel it fits.

For example, a 185/60R14 is almost exactly the same overall diameter (height if you will) as a 335/25R16 (hypothetical nonexistant tire), but is a good deal wider.

Try this to compare old and new tires.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
If you want taller, you need to change the first number, the 275. So maybe a P285.

If you want it taller AND wider, then you'll need to change the first and second numbers.....So you might go to a P305 50 R20. That's two sizes taller but drops the sidewall ratio so it'll use up some of those extra millimeters in width.

However, this varies widely by tire maker. One companies' 275/55/20 is in reality very likely to be slightly different in actual size from another's.

So you might want to have a tire store just mount up a 295 or 305 (if available) of the same tire you have and see if that gets you what you're looking for.

In review: Changing the first number makes the tire taller, and maybe slightly wider, but the added height takes away from any width gain. (just like a 5'5" guy with a 38" waist is a fatass, but a 6'5" guy with the same waist isn't at all)
Changing the second number affects sidewall height, and therefore, width. If you only changed the second number, from say, a 55 to a 50, the tire would be shorter, but wider.
So to get both, you need to increase the first number, and reduce the second number...usually. Again, this varies by manufacturer.

Actually, the first number is width, the second is aspect ratio, and the third is the diameter of the wheel it fits.

For example, a 185/60R14 is almost exactly the same overall diameter (height if you will) as a 335/25R16 (hypothetical nonexistant tire), but is a good deal wider.

Try this to compare old and new tires.

Correct, but the first number is not the "width" of the TREAD, which is what makes the tire look wider, and that's what the person wants here.
The first number is the distance from the widest part of the SIDEWALL, from side to side. That's not just the width, because the aspect ratio of the sidewall greatly affects that. The less sidewall you have, the more of that number is the tread. The more sidewall you have the less.

So what I recommended was 100% correct. Example: A 275/70/16 is a wider tire than a 275/75/16. Why? Because you made the sidewall shorter, and that 275mm had to go somewhere, so you get a wider tread.
And sometimes you have to play around with the sizes at the tire shop to get the look you want.

In Pegg's case, he wants taller AND wider. So going up one size without changing the aspect ratio isn't going to make much difference in width, because the taller tire is going to actually look either skinnier, or about the same width.
Again, assuming he uses the exact same brand/model tire. If he switches brands, he'll just have to see what they look like, but if he wants taller and wider and he's starting at a 275/55/20, he'll need to increase it to about a 305/50/20 to see a significant increase in both.
Just going up one size to the 275 will make it look taller but skinnier, so he'll need to drop the aspect ratio to get the wider look.
Going to a 285/50/20 will likely result in about the same height as the stock tires, but they would look wider.

 

[pegg696]

Pacfan,
Going to a 285/50/20 will likely result in about the same height as the stock tires, but they would look wider. Is what I came up with as far as the "tire math" goes. I will stay with the stock Bridgestone Duller tire just because I was happy with the overall performance we had with it on the vehicle. Plus, by all accounts, most people seem to be happy with this tire except for the fast tread wear.

I thank you all for your time in sharing your knowledge with me. This site was a big help.

God Bless America.

 

[Throckmorton]

He can probably fit a much taller tire. Those trucks have a lot of wheel well room.