18"s, 20"s or 22"s tires for Tahoe

[PeteTahoe09]

What's up guys. First time Tahoe owner here with a tire question. Obviously I'm pimping it out bigtime so my question is in regards to tire size. I have 18"s on her now but I'm not a fan of the spacing between the top of the tires and truck so I'm looking to fill in the gap. I was thinking about getting larger tires but I heard the bigger the tire the more uncomfortable the ride. Right now the 18"s are definitely a comfy ride. What do you guys use on your suv's?

 

[NathanJax]

22" > 20" > 18"


They will all keep a gap though. To fix that, you'll need to lower it a little. Look in to a 2/3 drop

 

[05alive]

You mean wheels right? Not tires? Really the only way to get rid of the gap is to lower it. Bigger tires will fill the gap, but going much taller than stock will cause you problems.

Square wheel wells aren't awesome for custom fitment lmao

 

[PeteTahoe09]

I'm more worried about that if I went with 20's or 22's that it will change the feeling of the ride. I've thought about dropping it a bit but I like the height of how it is now.

 

[Fosscore]

^^ The guys above have the idea nailed. The only way to close that big wheel well gap is to lower it.

Current GM OEM tires are 20s and 22s. Look at this link for a tire calculator comparison. I put in the OEM tire size for 20s and 22s. You can manipulate it however you want.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=285-45r22-275-55r20

 

[Rocket Man]

Lowered on 26's worked for me. No more gap lol.

 

[PeteTahoe09]

Lowered on 26's worked for me. No more gap lol.

lol I bet but how's the ride? As comfortable as riding with 18-20's?

 

[Rocket Man]

lol I bet but how's the ride? As comfortable as riding with 18-20's?

Of course not. There isn't as much sidewall so the tires don't give as much but it's a trade-off I was willing to make. It does ride pretty good though , considering the 26's. I'm running 17's for the winter though. Being lowered didn't change the ride since I went with drop spindles for the front and shorter rear springs so for now it rides great!

 

[PeteTahoe09]

Gotcha. I'm thinking about going with 22's.. I'm just hoping the ride isn't that uncomfortable. The trade off is that they look good especially all black.

 

[Rocket Man]

22's should ride fine. I'd lower it but that's just me. The benefits of that is it looks way better plus cornering and handling in general including braking is better. Less nose dive when braking hard, less swaying when cornering. Mine handles awesome but I added big sway bars and a few other things. Post up some pictures when you get the wheels.

 

[TheAutumnWind]

20-22" should ride ok. More wheel than that means smaller sidewall for the tires and likely a noticable decrease in ride quality.

Most people that go to taller tires tend to go with offroad tires with stiffer sidewalls and aggressive tread. Those things will impact ride quality.


A quality 2/3 or 2/4 drop with free travel mod can reduce that gap and not effect the ride negatively.

 

[YukonandtheHOE]

24's and 26's we both needed leveling kits to get turning radius back with out cutting lol

 

[PeteTahoe09]

The bigger the tire the better it looks that's for sure. Decisions, decisions, decisions... I'm probably just going to go with 20's and drop my truck a tad bit to fill most of the gap. At least that's what I'm thinking right now. Tomorrow that might all change lol. I'm very indecisive when it comes with my Tahoe.

 

[rd62rdstr]

I'm running factory 22's with 285/45's on them and they are very comfortable. Turning radius is incredible.

 

[Tonkatoy]

Top are 22s with 285 and bottom are 20s with 275 all on stock suspension, I bought the truck with the stock 17s came home and put on the 20s didn't feel much in difference, went to 22s and I will say the speed bumps and potholes feel a little harder.

 

[PeteTahoe09]

I'm going with 22's. They just look great and from what I've read throughout the net they ride good except like you said bumps ect. I'm going to keep the 18's for the rest of the winter and change to 22"s during spring.

 

[SethSwitch]

I have the escalade 22s on my hoe but I will say I just dropped over $900 for new destination le2 tires. The 20s are definitely cheaper if that is something of concern.

 

[quest51210]

3/5 drop and 24's, run 305/35r24. Rides good for me

 

[Big Mama]

I have 22's with 305/40/22 and lowered 3 in back 2 in front. I just got a new set of wheels and tires and got rid of directional tread tires in favor of all season. The first set rode a little rough but the new set up rides like when it was stock. I'm guessing your Tahoe is an 09 so don't forget to look at your springs and shocks. The 3" rear drop is done with springs so that took care of that and the front has drop spindles. I'm at 112k miles and getting ready to replace my front shocks/struts. Good luck lots of good advice on here.