What is the attraction to 20"+ rims?

[Jack in Prescott]

"If you're going to be driving in the desert or rough roads on a regular basis, you probably want the 18's. If you're towing and mainly highway/city, you're going with the 20's."
Nope...
"It's all about looks."
Nope...

I hear lots of whining about payloads being too low. I see lots of crossed fingers comments about tongue weights plus people and gear not overwhelming payloads. Looking at the last F-150 Ford Option Weights schedule I could find, from 2018, I saw 20" wheel + tire weight penalties around 40# vs. 18's. As the posts above prove, beauty is only in the eye of the beholder. I tow about 3 tons. I have oversized tires and wheels on my current tow vehicle and have only seen downsides. For me 18's were an easy functional choice. But if 20's float your boat, enjoy them!

Jack

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[kly]

I am ordering a loaded up Lariat with 18". I wanted a Platinum but really do not like the wheels and the deployable running boards. Ford does not have nice wheel options in my mind. I will take the $1395 and buy some good looking aftermarket wheels.

 

[aika1]

I'll be the curmudgeon here, it's okay. 20's are all show and no go. They're for people who aren't car people and don't know any better. The only reasons that hold any water at all for going to a larger wheel diameter is to allow for larger brake rotors and calipers, or to improve cornering. In a truck like the F-150, increasing your cornering ability is negligible because, ya know, you're driving a truck- there are bigger fish to fry to improve handling than the sidewalls. Allowing for larger brake rotors would be a factor for towing, but the largest rotors available on the F-150 still fits in the 18inch wheel size.
The downsides of 20's on the F-150 are plentiful. Higher potential for damaged rims in potholes, a harsher ride, potentially more weight to spin at a larger diameter which negatively affects acceleration and deceleration, less ability to air down in an off-road or slippery situation (again, this is a truck), more expensive tires, more likely to damage the rims cosmetically on curbs, and there are probably more that I missed.
In short, if you like them, just be honest that it's 100% for looks and that the car people will judge you for not knowing better. Ha!
Some of you will like this post, the others...bought 20's...
All right, I'm back to being moderately nice now that I have that out of my system.

 

[Bryan Simon]

I ordered the HDPP wheels for my XLT
No polish, no chrome, 18” wheels
Neighbor dogs just gonna pee on them anyway

 

[Norris McCarty]

The very first thing I'm doing to my Powerboost 502A Tow pkg. FX4 is removing the 18s and installing 17" Gen2 Raptor wheels and tires. I actually do use mine a considerable amount offroad pulling an Opus OP15. I've previously owned a Gen 1 and then a Gen2 Raptor.....I loved the tire/performance on and offroad.
I wanted Max tow, but that includes larger rear brake rotors and the 17" wheels won't fit those.
At 67 I'm pretty set in my ways. It all depends on how you will use your trucks.........just my opinion. I do realize most of these trucks will not be used offroad......and that's ok

 

[BigTex22]

I like the 20” rims on my KR because of the looks. Let’s be honest...if I was buying a “work truck”, I wouldn’t be spending $70K+! And my road/highway ride is as smooth as buttah!

 

[xXChartmanXx]

I'll be the curmudgeon here, it's okay. 20's are all show and no go. They're for people who aren't car people and don't know any better. The only reasons that hold any water at all for going to a larger wheel diameter is to allow for larger brake rotors and calipers, or to improve cornering. In a truck like the F-150, increasing your cornering ability is negligible because, ya know, you're driving a truck- there are bigger fish to fry to improve handling than the sidewalls. Allowing for larger brake rotors would be a factor for towing, but the largest rotors available on the F-150 still fits in the 18inch wheel size.
The downsides of 20's on the F-150 are plentiful. Higher potential for damaged rims in potholes, a harsher ride, potentially more weight to spin at a larger diameter which negatively affects acceleration and deceleration, less ability to air down in an off-road or slippery situation (again, this is a truck), more expensive tires, more likely to damage the rims cosmetically on curbs, and there are probably more that I missed.
In short, if you like them, just be honest that it's 100% for looks and that the car people will judge you for not knowing better. Ha!
Some of you will like this post, the others...bought 20's...
All right, I'm back to being moderately nice now that I have that out of my system.

Generalizing a bit though, My Lariat Sport is coming with the stock 18's and I'm swapping them for 20's but putting them on 35's so sidewall/air down off road/etc... is as good or better than stock tires and 18's. Of course i'm putting on weight so payload goes down but that fine for me because I don't tow much or haul huge heavy loads. In the end, a lot of people buy their trucks for looks and in many people's eyes the 20"s just look better.

 

[aika1]

Generalizing a bit though, My Lariat Sport is coming with the stock 18's and I'm swapping them for 20's but putting them on 35's so sidewall/air down off road/etc... is as good or better than stock tires and 18's. Of course i'm putting on weight so payload goes down but that fine for me because I don't tow much or haul huge heavy loads. In the end, a lot of people buy their trucks for looks and in many people's eyes the 20"s just look better.

It's not better than 18's with 35's aired down though, it's only better for offroading than a stock tire size and 18's. WIDER wheels will help for offroading with those bigger tires, not larger diameter wheels. Your last sentence nailed it though. Looks.

 

[aika1]

Generalizing a bit though, My Lariat Sport is coming with the stock 18's and I'm swapping them for 20's but putting them on 35's so sidewall/air down off road/etc... is as good or better than stock tires and 18's. Of course i'm putting on weight so payload goes down but that fine for me because I don't tow much or haul huge heavy loads. In the end, a lot of people buy their trucks for looks and in many people's eyes the 20"s just look better.

By the way, that sounds like a really cool build, I'd be stoked to see it built! I would razz you a little about the 20's, and you can razz me a little about the fact I won't have 35's...!

 

[xXChartmanXx]

By the way, that sounds like a really cool build, I'd be stoked to see it built! I would razz you a little about the 20's, and you can razz me a little about the fact I won't have 35's...!

Then you can raz my 35's that see dirt maybe one every other month lol... And yep, build date of 2/19 (Crosses Fingers) and maybe delivery date late March. Will bring pictures back with the 4" BDS lift, Fuel D610 Maverick 20x9 +1mm offset wheels on 35x12.5R20 Nitto Ridge Grapplers, and possibly some Air Design Paint Matched Fender Flares.

 

[xXChartmanXx]

It's not better than 18's with 35's aired down though, it's only better for offroading than a stock tire size and 18's. WIDER wheels will help for offroading with those bigger tires, not larger diameter wheels. Your last sentence nailed it though. Looks.

For sure, if you are heavily off-roading the more sidewall you can air down the better and I would be going with Beadlocks to make sure all that rubber stays on the rim.

 

[Hambone]

IMO: 22"+ wheels do not belong on non-commercial trucks. Larger sidewalls give you rim protection and depending on the tread design and side lugs can also give you that extra traction on the rocks. 20's are the largest that I would go but my XLT Sport (max-tow) came with 18's and I am sticking with that size.

Example 1: Just downright ugly to me. Waste of good aluminum.
Example 2: Simply perfect. 37's and 18" wheels. Also happens to be my buddies truck that he built off of a 2020 for pre-running the Baja and other adventures.

 

[Stubblejumper]

Typically the overall tire diameter is the same for the 18" and 20" wheels, but for 2021, Ford went to a 275-60r-20, which is an inch taller than the 18" tires. So the ground clearance increases by 1/2", while the sidewall is only 1/2" less.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

I wish I had 22's as standard equipment on the Platinum. I had them on the HD F150's and then on the Ram I just traded. There are lots of trucks and Jeeps running American Force rims in Florida. I'm not about to lift a truck any more but if I did, it would have 22" polished American Force rims.

 

[jcaspar]

What about a Superduty with 24.5" semi wheels shaved down to 24" to fit 37" light duty tires. (Not my truck!). Seems to be a new trend...