Seems the most popular wheel option is 17”

[Rozik169]

I always thought the reason for 17 inch rims was for the price and availability of tires definitely more options.

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[Moe_Fugga]

17” tires are cheaper.

 

[Russler]

I have always used the rule of thumb that the wheels should be +/- half the size of the tires you are going to run.

Here are a few links you may find helpful.

https://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/tech-qa/1511-how-wheel-size-affects-off-road-performance/

https://www.wheelfire.com/blog/are-larger-tires-and-wheels-better-for-offroading/

 

[DocMike]

We did omit part of the question.
How tire and wheel size effects performance. Increase in size increases rotational mass quickly.

You have a Rubicon with 4:10 in the rear. You will be fine with a 35, you may want to re gear for for a 37 or bigger. When you go to a 37, it becomes not a question of if things break, but when. Many on here will suggest upgrading the steering knuckles etc to accommodate the weight.

 

[Coolhandluke]

We did omit part of the question.
How tire and wheel size effects performance. Increase in size increases rotational mass quickly.

You have a Rubicon with 4:10 in the rear. You will be fine with a 35, you may want to re gear for for a 37 or bigger. When you go to a 37, it becomes not a question of if things break, but when. Many on here will suggest upgrading the steering knuckles etc to accommodate the weight.

I have a diesel Rubicon and fro what I’ve read here guys are ok with the 37s so far.

 

[kevman65]

With 17" wheels you have:

A.) More wheel choices
B.) More tire choices

 

[Blade1668]

My $.02 worth what you paid for it.. model T and early cars and trucks had tires and rims like that there is a good reason for the tires and rims to have more sidewall on later vehicles ride, contact patch and many, many more reasons. Big rims and low profile tires work better on great roads, race track, cornering and go fast there plus possible better brake disk cooling (?) and heat transfer. Detractors possible limited streering turn angle. I'll keep my personal opinion on it to myself of what I think about it.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I always thought the reason for 17 inch rims was for the price and availability of tires definitely more options.

I found no real difference when tire shopping. In fact the dealer at first messed up when I asked for a quote and priced out 17" tires - in the end I paid a bit less for the 18".
Another dealer I spoke with getting a quote was within 40 or 50 bucks for 17 vs 18.
I found zero difference in availability!
Any size I wanted was "2 days" to get.
I don't know where that all comes from, likely it's something that got repeated often enough everyone just accepted it because they saw it 10 times so assumed it was how it was.
I honestly found no difference in availability, and hardly any difference in price. When talking a grand or more for a set of tires, I don't consider a differences I saw to be worth changing wheel sizes over.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

17” tires are cheaper.

Not in my tire shopping. In fact, it was a wash, in one case the 17s were a tad higher at one dealer than the 18s were at another (they messed up and quoted me 17" tires)
I just did tire shopping.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My $.02 worth what you paid for it.. model T and early cars and trucks had tires and rims like that there is a good reason for the tires and rims to have more sidewall on later vehicles ride, contact patch and many, many more reasons. Big rims and low profile tires work better on great roads, race track, cornering and go fast there plus possible better brake disk cooling (?) and heat transfer. Detractors possible limited streering turn angle. I'll keep my personal opinion on it to myself of what I think about it.

You hit on the non-emotional and taste side of it - the science behind tire vs. wheel sizes.
There's a reason performance cars made to go fast and take tight turns have large wheels and short sidewalls.
Funny thing - when I was waiting for the new wheels and tires for my 73 Javelin I was sitting in the waiting area of a local tire store and there was an industry magazine with an article on how people were putting those huge wheels and short sidewall tires on anything and everything. Basically, the experts (tire and wheel industry people) were saying - uh, wait a minute, step back and check this out............ and it was largely about reasons to NOT do that to vehicles that were not engineered for such wheels like older SUVs, muscle and pony cars (aside from modern Corvette and modern Mustang) etc. It was pretty much if your car or SUV wasn't designed and engineered for such things, maybe it's best to not do it. (safety and handling issues involved)

Unless there's a specific purpose, even here on this forum, a lot of what's done in the line of wheels and tires isn't so much need as personal taste and preference.
Go ahead, deny it.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

15s

 

[ShadowsPapa]

15s

Ya think 18s or 15s are bad -try 14s.
My neighbor has an Asante (sp) with 15s and his selections for wheels and tires were very limited. Many performance places couldn't even quote him wheels and tires he had trouble finding, except General tires, and that's what he went with on multiple tire dealer recommendations. But shopping for wheels and tires for our cars with 14" is getting really tough, and 15 not far behind.
And I'm needing new 15" tires for my SX4 because they are over 7 years old....... ugh.
18" tires for my JT was EASY.

 

[Blade1668]

Ya think 18s or 15s are bad -try 14s.
My neighbor has an Asante (sp) with 15s and his selections for wheels and tires were very limited. Many performance places couldn't even quote him wheels and tires he had trouble finding, except General tires, and that's what he went with on multiple tire dealer recommendations. But shopping for wheels and tires for our cars with 14" is getting really tough, and 15 not far behind.
And I'm needing new 15" tires for my SX4 because they are over 7 years old....... ugh.
18" tires for my JT was EASY.

So I know you remember seeing the small cars of the 70s n 80s with them really small 13in rims and tires too.

 

[Kevin_D]

I found no real difference when tire shopping. In fact the dealer at first messed up when I asked for a quote and priced out 17" tires - in the end I paid a bit less for the 18".
Another dealer I spoke with getting a quote was within 40 or 50 bucks for 17 vs 18.
I found zero difference in availability!
Any size I wanted was "2 days" to get.
I don't know where that all comes from, likely it's something that got repeated often enough everyone just accepted it because they saw it 10 times so assumed it was how it was.
I honestly found no difference in availability, and hardly any difference in price. When talking a grand or more for a set of tires, I don't consider a differences I saw to be worth changing wheel sizes over.

When talking 17" vs. 18", I agree.
But start comparing 17"/18" with 20" tires, and there's an appreciable difference in availability and cost.
The last time I went shopping for 20" tires, it was cheaper to buy 18" tires with a tall sidewall and 18" wheels than to get a set of 20" tires. And the selection of 20" M&S tires was very limited.

Kevin

 

[ShadowsPapa]

So I know you remember seeing the small cars of the 70s n 80s with them really small 13in rims and tires too.

Like the 1960 and later Plymouth Valiant? We didn't sell many, but there were customers who had cars that used 13". My parents had 3 Valiants over the years and I think when Dad died he still had a set of 13" tires - with almost 0 miles - and wasn't able to sell them. That's a case of the tires were there, the cars that need them were not.

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