16" or 17" rims

Its time to by new tires. Thinking about replacing my steel 16" rims while buying new tire. I would like to hear the advantages and or disadvantages of going to a 17" rim.

 

they look cool?

 

17" wheels are becoming the new 16's as far as new sizes and more tire availability. It's the same evolution that happened from 15's to 16's. I have however had both sets on my current truck and liked both, I currently have 17's and plan on sticking with them bc I plan on switching to a true 35/12.50 in the future and not a 315/70...

 

16's offer more side wall in any given tire hight, which will provide a softer ride, and allow u to keep more air in ur tire and have the same patch when airing down for offroading i.e. 15psi in a 285/70/17 has about the same contact patch as 25 psi in a 285/75/16 which will be safer to run and not risk a tire coming unbeaded. also u typically have a lighter tire/wheel combo in 16's vs 17's meaning a bit better mpg's and acceleration.

 

tires for 17" are more expensive generally

 

I like 16's for the increased side wall height and I think they look better on our Tacomas.

 

This was the biggest reason I went with 16's vs 17's.

 

Do you want to look cool or have a function? 16" gives you more sidewall which is better for offroading as well as maintaining a good smooth on-road ride.

 

Thanks everyone! I guess I will stay with 16".

 

Wait....If you stay with 16" then you will wish you have gone with 17". You have had 16" and "was thinking" about moving up to 17". now is the time.

 

and if you regret it you'll only have to spend another 1500 to get new wheels and tires!

stalk the parking lots and take notes of other tacomas tire size.

17" pro - looks, sportier ride (why race cars have low profile tires)
16" pros - less expensive, softer ride, better offroad if you plan to air down

it all came down to price for me. I put 17"s and 33s on my tundra. looked awesome, but when I needed round two of tires, I wished I had 16s

 

No need for 33's on my truck. Heck, the cheep-o highway tires it came with are just fine on the beach. Probably will go with 245 r16 BF Goodrich T/A and stick with the stock rims for now.

 

I also think 16" looks best on our trucks. But I like 16's because you can run a larger/ beefier sidewall (not a fan of low profile on trucks or SUV's)

 

I think the differences that people have mentioned between 16's & 17's while valid, are probably not actually going to be noticeable.

If you were comparing between 16's and say 18's and larger, then yes certainly more noticeable differences and a harder decision.

 

Y'all make it sound like he's contemplating 16's or 22's. Y'all realize that the side wall height of a 285/70/17 is roughly 7.85" and a 285/75/16 is roughly 8.42....

 

I stuck with 16's just cause I like more tire than wheel. Plus after I lifted my truck I kept my stock O/R wheels and went to 33's but now that I want to run Maxtrac's I had to get a wheel with less back spacing but didn't want to buy new tires all over again so I stuck with 16'