17's or 15's dilemma

Recently my wheels and tires were stolen, so I decided my next set would be 17's. But a friend said that you get less side wall when you air down to rock crawl and other things ( I understand this completely). So how much difference is it other than 2"?

I like to trail ride, rock crawl and play hard as much as the next guy. I usually air down to about 15 lbs when I play. Will the 17's not allow me to do this? Are they more prompt to loosing a bead since I probably wont do bead locks. Oh I do drive this on the street too.

If someone is willing to steal your 15's, wouldn't they be more likely to steal 17's? Also, I believe tires for 17" rims are more expensive than tires for 15" rims. Just my .02

Unless I needed the clearance for big brakes or steering, I would stay with 15's. my .02¢

Too much to consider.
What size wheel- (width/backspacing)? What size tire? What kind of wheeling? (15 psi is not aired down very far) are you worried about weight? Alloy or steel?

Here is why I ask:
some tires are easier to find depending on rim size. Some sizes would seem less prudent between the two tire sizes (31's on a 17" wheel or 40's on a 15" wheel) Are you runnin shallow gears and considering rotating weight? If so does alloy or steel matter to you? Can you afford either? Do they both perform what you need?

Just stick with 15s. Tires cost less, the whole package weighs less & you can air down much lower. 15 psi isn't much aired down as he said. You want adventure, air down to 8 on 15s. And if they do get stolen again, you would have spent less.

Oh ... and get some wheel locks ... it'll take them longer to steal!

Agree on the wheel locks. I run them on my rubi wheels. Someone might still get em, but I'll have a better chance of hearing their attempt if I slow them down

I love my 17's. I would never go back to 15 inch wheels again.

The sidewall is only 1" difference. You only count one side of the tire. You have plenty if room to go to bigger brakes, steering parts and so on. They handle better on the highway. When you go to air them up or down they take half the time. If you are aired down and need to get on the highway for a short distance they handle much better. And IMO they look better.

The price difference is the biggest factor IMHO. Searching on 4wheelparts, I see a difference between $40(duratracs) and $90(35"mt r's) per tire! After tax that's over $400 more for a set if tires. Tires wear out, depending on how much you drive, that adds up real quick. I'd stick with 15's for cost alone.

I'd rather have the Duratracs. That $160 a set. Still worth it if you decide in six months you are going to change steering or brakes.

I have ran 33's on 15", 35's on 15", 35's on 17", 37's on 15, and 37's on 17"

My opinion is it will all be based on how your using your rig. I always air down...even on easier trails. I usually air down lower then I really need to just because I like the ride. Now, here in Colorado we have those endless rock runs where your back never gets a rest. I have to say 35's or even 37's on 15" are wonderful. I love the sidewall flex on rocky trails and get way better bite climbing ledges. The 35's on 17" seemed like too little sidewall and seemed my wheel lips got dinged up more so it seemed I "burped" more air. Not certain if it was due to the smaller sidewall or the less protected, more bent up lip. Now, take for example Moab on something like hells. Those smaller sidewalls can be nice on that sandpaper.

Some people make a point about handling on road. I drive like an ass hat and haven't noticed more significant rolling on corners though I tend to run bigger sidewall tires at a higher pressure on the road then shorter side walls.

I think it really comes down more to availability. In 35" and larger tires, most manufactures are switching to 17" and no longer providing 15". Though, 15" are generally cheaper than 17" for whatever reason. 15's are just too small for 37"+ tires.

I have decided, for the way I use my rig, that I like 15" for 35's and 17" for 37's (which is essentially the same wall). 35's could go either way, though I prefer 15's. Just that 17's are way more available.

15's seem to be getting phased out for larger tires. 17's are the new 15's.

FireghostXJ said:

I like to trail ride, rock crawl and play hard as much as the next guy. I usually air down to about 15 lbs when I play. Will the 17's not allow me to do this? Are they more prompt to loosing a bead since I probably wont do bead locks.

Click to expand...

Airing down to 15 on any wheel/tire combo should be no problem. I generally run about 8-12 without any problem regardless of the combo. I find that loosing a bead is more related to tire/wheel width combinations, bent lips, and the skinny pedal rather than diameter

I air down to 10psi all the time with 17 inch wheels. No problems what so ever.

If youre on a budget 15's are cheaper all around and there are more deals on CL for them but other than that aspect i think its been covered

I have 17" steel wheels with BFGoodrich KM tires, whatever size is the factory tire on JK Rubicons. Got a good price on the take-offs, but with only 32" diameter there is definitiely not enough sidewall for my taste.

I air down to 10 in the front 8 in the rear and you can just barely notice the extra bulge in the tire sidewall.

I had 33x12.50x15 duratracs on aluminum wheels(32.5" diameter), and would run at 12/10 and had a substantial bulge in the sidewall.

In two years I never dented the aluminum 15's, but in less than 6 months I had bulged my steel 17's from a rock that I don't even remember hitting.

So, like others have said, I would recommend you use 15" in wheels for 35 and below, and 17" for 35 and above. At 35" you can have either one.

Make sure that whatever tires you get are load range C or lower. Too many tires are D/E range and have horrible sidewall flex.

Plenty of vehicles are still using 16" wheels, why is this not an option?

Tires for 15's are insanely cheaper than 17's and even 16's. I ran 16's with 32" tires and 15's with 35" tires. Not really much difference that I could tell, on or offroad.

I've heard the rule is don't put a tire on a wheel that is smaller than twice the diameter of the wheel. So the smallest you should run on a 17" wheel is a 34" tire.

34's and smaller run a 15" wheel. 37's and bigger run 17's. If you are in the 35-36" range run whichever you prefer.

16's have very little tire choices anymore. I almost always try to talk customers out of 16's. They have very little resale value too if you ever wanted to get rid of them because there are not many people using them anymore.

DavesOffroadSupply said:

They have very little resale value too if you ever wanted to get rid of them because there are not many people using them anymore.

Click to expand...

I agree with this in regards to 16's. I love new tires and feel it makes a huge difference, but I rarely can afford new tires, lol. So, what I try to do is buy new tires, then when the tread is 50ish%, I sell them while they still have value to put towards getting a new set. I try to stick to 15 or 17 so they sell much easier. You will have troubles selling used 16's

give it a few years and 16's will be as available as 16.5's ... try and find those.

Even at 33" on a 15" wheel I've found availability ahrd around here ... but not so much that I plan to switch to 17's, just enough to consider it.