How well do 20" wheels perform

04SCTLS

04SCTLS

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Messages
2,884
Reaction score
6
Location
Lockport
Thinking of putting some Verde Madonna 20" wheels and tires on my LS.
This was the best deal I could find online.
I like how they look similar to the old truespoke wheels but better.

http://www.victoriatire.com/wheels....V8 00-06&checkAvailable=F&&pkg_tire=245/35x20

How well do 20's perform in comparison to the stock 17" size my car came with.
Specifically how good is the ride over marginal roads with potholes and bad pavement in the city and how smooth are they at 80-100+ miles per hour on the highway.

Here's a few pics on ebay of the wheels on a car where the guy was selling them.
 
They feel solid, but the car feels heavy with them. The ride is a little rougher, not extremely big difference. You gotta watch your road though, stay away from any big bumps. Gas mileage goes way down so do the acceleration figures. But I think the way the car looks with em pays it off.

I say put em.
 
I prefer 19's but I have been in all kinds of cars with 20's. I wouldnt say they preform, they just "SOMETIMES" look good, but I never noticed any difference unless they were chrome with a very thick design or along those lines.
 
I think I'll stay with my 17's and get a lower profile tire.
There's enough bad roads around here and I really like how solid the LS feels going over them.
 
HyeLifeLS said:
They feel solid, but the car feels heavy with them. The ride is a little rougher, not extremely big difference. You gotta watch your road though, stay away from any big bumps. Gas mileage goes way down so do the acceleration figures. But I think the way the car looks with em pays it off.

I say put em.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I agree with HyeLife - I just put set of 20s on my LS and it doesn't feel all that different but a little heavier is a good way to put it. A little rougher on the bad bumps, but other than that I think it's pretty close. Very smooth at higher speeds on the highway and I fell like I can take the exit ramps even faster and smoother than with the original 17s. Definitely gets a lot more looks!
 
Lower profile tires are going to have the same effect whether you put them on 20" rims or 17" rims. Shorter sidewall means there is less tire to absorb pavement irregularities, so you're going to get a harsher ride. It's always a trade-off between appearance and ride quality.
 
+1, plus it's gonna look pretty nasty with small 17s and thin rubber.

MDavis0424 said:
Lower profile tires are going to have the same effect whether you put them on 20" rims or 17" rims. Shorter sidewall means there is less tire to absorb pavement irregularities, so you're going to get a harsher ride. It's always a trade-off between appearance and ride quality.
Click to expand...
 
Well winter is coming and I have the factory 04 8 spoke wheels on which to mount blizzak snow tires, and some aftermarket 5 spokes I'm running now with the factory tires.
I think I'll sell the 17' 5 spokes in the spring and get some 18's or maybe 19's.
Like the style of the Verde Madonna wheels so I'll look for something similar in an 8.5" width instead of the 17" 7.5"
 
Yea, get at least 18s, they ride just like the 17s.

04SCTLS said:
Well winter is coming and I have the factory 04 8 spoke wheels on which to mount blizzak snow tires, and some aftermarket 5 spokes I'm running now with the factory tires.
I think I'll sell the 17' 5 spokes in the spring and get some 18's or maybe 19's.
Like the style of the Verde Madonna wheels so I'll look for something similar in an 8.5" width instead of the 17" 7.5"
Click to expand...
 
I suggest doing a very thorough search on this forum and research. Don't ignore the posts from members with 20's who were excited and proclaimed "not much difference from stock ride" initially, then 6 months later, you notice "twinkies for sale" ads from those same members going down to smaller diameters. Also do a search on "rubbing" or "tires rubbing"..including one guy who actually suffered fender damage. Then do a bit of research on the negative effects of increasing unsprung weight.

..after all that? Draw your own personal conclusions.

Good luck
 
From what I've read here so far I think I'm going to go with 18" wheels in the spring.
Performance is more important to me than appearance.
Having driven my Camaro hard for 5 years as a daily driver
before getting the LS I'm used to a certain level and don't want to go down from there.
Even though the LS has independant rear suspension the live axle Camaro handles better and can take highway off ramps 10-15 mph faster.
Of course this is due to the lower center of gravity and wider stance where you sit between the wheels instead of on top of them.
I really do like my LS as a kindler gentler performance car
especially now that I'm almost 50.
It won't smoke the tires and put down twin 200 foot patches of rubber or put quite the smile on my face as the
Camaro does but is still quite a lot of fun to drive and sure takes the bad roads a lot better.
 
Good choice. I researched myself..4 years ago, and went with 18's. Dropped the suspension a tad with Eibach Pro Kit springs 2 years ago (replaced the stock Sport Package shocks/struts with new ones) and still amazed at how well the ride quality is. The slightly lower stance gives it a more aggressive look as well. No rubbing, but do get a bit of scraping if I dont go VERY SLOWLY over steep speed bumps in shopping centers. I've had excellent experiences in the past with www.tirerack.com and www.discounttiredirect.com. I've used the latter for my last 4 wheel/tire purchases. (different cars)
 
Oh..and if you have the V8, and switch the traction control off..and brake torque it to about 2500rpm then floor it? You can put down some pretty good rubber....if that's your thing. ;-)
 
I think most rubbing 20s are just the wrong offset or just to wide. Mine have never rubbed, even with my 3 brothers in the car with me and a lightly loaded trunk a total of about 1000lbs. Now my LS is not lowered but I don't think I would rub even lowered under normal conditions, maybe with 1000lbs on board I would.

The LS handles a 20 well. I was surprized what little difference it had on the ride and performance. A little heavier feel like mentioned above but the car still rides and handles great. Bumps are tougher of course.

Any heavier larger diameter wheel will slow the acceleration. Even a 18. I figure my 20s vs. stock 17s to be about .3-.4 slower in the 1/4 mile. A member here came to the track by me on his 18s that weighed as much as my 20s. He ran several times, switched to stock and dropped nearly .3 seconds. So IMO the difference in performance between most 18s and 20s to be very little difference. When it comes to after market wheels, most are heavy don't matter what size.
 
I don't really want to burn rubber in the LS.
It's not a posi and I don't want to risk damaging the transmission.
I have line lock with a button on the shifter in the Camaro and a full race pro built transmission with 2800 stall converter and 3.73 gears. It will break the tires loose if I just floor it off a start which is fun every now and then.
If I use the line lock I can spin the tires in a stand still
then let the button go and put on quite a show.
If I feel the urge to burn up tires I'll do it with the Camaro.
You don't see Bimmers and Mercedes doing burnouts at the track.
It's just not done...
 
Ye Im Gettin 20's Next Spring I Want Eneki Kapone Wheels. My Car Is Already On Eibach Springs So Ijus Need Sum Sick Wheels To Finish The Look Off!
 
They don't really "perform" for say, even though the smaller sidewall is better for handling.
 
Burning rubber or doing donuts puts on a great show and screams out high performance "muscle car"
But yes it's not the thing for best ET.
 
Sure,
Here's a few.....
Love this car as much as the LS
Now she only goes out on the good days.
Enjoy.
 
Makes me smile a lot then stretches it every time the 9lbs of boost kicks in.
It's like "hey, let's do a blast!"
The fun part is asking a passenger to reach for the glove box and then pinning them into the seat with the throttle LOL!

"Now you're scaring me" the gf would say, but I like it...
It's a controlled explosion!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 3,019 (members: 0, guests: 3,019)
Back
Top