17" Vs. 18" Wheels

[Dcamp]

Overall tire diameter being equal, what are the pros and cons of 17" wheels with greater tire sidewall height vs. 18" wheels with less tire sidewall height? Onroad performance? Offroad performance? Ride comfort? Gas mileage? Appearance? etc? Thanks

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[rdc17]

More sidewall should mean the 17s ride a little more comfortable than the 18s.

 

[CanineChamp]

My 2017 Escape had 19s. A huge benefit of the 17s on my FE is I haven't been worried about scratching my rims once. This is the first vehicle I've had with ATs, I'm never going back.

The more sidewall, the better. IMHO

 

[rdc17]

My 2017 Escape had 19s. A huge benefit of the 17s on my FE is I haven't been worried about scratching my rims once. This is the first vehicle I've had with ATs, I'm never going back.

The more sidewall, the better. IMHO

My last 2 cars had 18" and 19" with low profile tires. I love being able to parallel park without having to worry about scratching a rim now!

 

[Fossil]

off roading it's sometimes necessary to "air down" to get a bigger tire foot print for flotation and conformance over rocks. bigger sidewalls make this possible.

 

[Cabezone]

Overall tire diameter being equal, what are the pros and cons of 17" wheels with greater tire sidewall height vs. 18" wheels with less tire sidewall height? Onroad performance? Offroad performance? Ride comfort? Gas mileage? Appearance? etc? Thanks

Larger sidewall is pretty much better for everything except for on-road performance. It'll make off-roading smoother, rough road smoother, gives you more sidewall to air down with. Largest sidewall also protect your rim better which is really important with aluminum rims off-road.

Smaller side will has less flex for cornering. To be honest I'm not much of a performance car guy so I don't know what other benefits of short sidewall might have.

 

[cactusgray]

The 18’s on my BB were a must-have for me strictly based on looks. For on-road driving, no complaints. I don’t plan on any off-roading unless absolutely required.

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