22” to 18” Wheel Swap 2025 Yukon Denali

[Boston]

Decided to downsize the wheels on my 2025 Yukon Denali from 22” to 18”. I wanted more air and rubber to cushion the road surface and disliked the appearance of the now popular low-profile wheel/tire combinations. Enough online opinions suggested that this would be possible.

My original wheel was the GM 85675606 22” X 9” wide Ultra Bright Machined and Painted Midnight Silver Wheel with Laser Etched Logo. These are sometimes referred to as the “Snowflake” wheel. For replacements I found GM 84943289 18” X 8.5” wide Machined Charcoal wheels on eBay which were reported to be take-offs from a 2021 Sierra. They came with black GMC center caps. I also bought GM 13542523 TPMS sensors which were also take-offs.

As for new tires, I decided on 285/65 R18 Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 116T.

Tire ODmm:
275/50 R22 = 833 Original
285/65 R18 = 828 New

My local Big-O tire shop was willing to work with this unproven combination and we (They) systematically fit things in this order:

1. Lift truck, remove original front passenger wheel.
2. Install 18" raw wheel on above hub to check clearance for brake caliper and upper ball joint assy. ¾” - 1” clearance all around.
3. Mount new tire on new wheel and do the same including tire to wheel well clearance lock-to-lock. Did this with truck in the air and on the ground. Observed several finger widths of clearance all around.
4. Checked function of all 4 TPMS sensors and paired them to truck.
5. Installed TPMS sensors in all 4 wheels and mounted remaining new tires, installed on truck.
6. Observed in dash info screen to report correct tire pressure.

Short drive home subjectively revealed improvement over original with less in cabin perception of minor bumps, seams, utility covers, reflective markers, etc.View attachment 471039

I’ll report on the highway behavior of this tire/wheel combo later. I’m expecting there to be a smoother, quieter ride. Hopefully this will not be at a great expense of high-speed steering response and hairpin mountain road cornering.

With this affect your odometer reading or ABS operation etc

 

[Marky Dissod]

With this affect your odometer reading or ABS operation?

ABS, Traction Control, & Stability Control are independent of the speedometer.
So long as all four tires' - not wheels' ... tires' - diameter / circumference are identical to each other, ABS / TC / SC will work as intended,
because ABS / TC / SC compare tire rotational speeds to each other.

If the tires selected - not wheels, tires - are shorter than GM OE, then the speedometer would read faster than 'actual' until reprogrammed.

 

[olyelr]

With this affect your odometer reading or ABS operation etc

No. It basically the same overall height tire as stock, so those things dont know any change occurred.

 

[Javelina]

Have you had the Yukon on the open road at speed yet? How do they run, smooth, quiet, etc? I've been looking for a set of tires in that size too and the Defenders are about the only quality brand in that size these days. Pretty expensive tires too, hate to make a big mistake.

So far I am quite satisfied with the 18” Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 116T swap. TP = 36psi @ 55°F.

Ride quality:
Highway ride has softened overall, most noticeable with sharp edged holes, raised seams, etc. Also better around town driving at slow speeds over utility covers and pot holes. Not quite as jarring.

Road noise:
These are a bit better on certain surfaces but less improvement than I had hoped. Worn concrete is about the same noise level but grooved a little better. Wind noise dominates when on the best surfaces using rubberized asphalt.

Handling:
Better than expected. I do feel the truck lagging a bit with abrupt wheel movements. For normal driving and cornering at reasonable speeds, it is still a quite responsive and comfortable drive.

Sidewall:
This wheel/tire combo yields 1¼” from the fattest part of the sidewall to the wheel. I can feel the tire against a curb well before suffering curb rash on the wheel.

Time will tell how tire wear affects the above.

Mike

 

[Marky Dissod]

So far I am quite satisfied with the 18” Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 116T swap ...
Time will tell how tire wear affects the above.

In the Michelin Defender LTX M/S2's case, it'll be longer than you think.