16x8 or 17x8 wheels

I finally found and decided on a new set of wheels I like, now the question is stick with 16 inch or go to 17. Ill be running 33 inch KO2s, at 59 or 58 pounds each, with the 24 pound wheel. I do a good amount off offroading, but not as much rock crawling. I usually drop the pressure on my current e rated ko2 to around 22 pounds for it.

Any advice in wheel size in this situation? Gas mileage differences between the two? Other input?

 

More sidewall is better for offroad right? I would probly base my decision more on tire prices for each size wheel, that may be pretty close tho.

 

Yes more sidewall is nice if you want to run really low, but I'm thinking with that much sidewall on either size as long as I'm not wanting to go into the lower teens with pressure there wouldn't be much difference? Cost is 200 vs 220

 

Agreed...I'd go 16"

 

If its only a few pounds difference between the sets i dont think there will be much of a difference in mpg, decision might just come down to which you think looks better i think 16s look alittle small for 3rd gens but thats up to you.

 

I personally like more sidewall, makes the tire look chunkier and meaner

 

Opinions are like......

Here is what I know coming from the Jeep TJ Rubicon world....there are far more tire size choices with a 17 " wheel than 16's. As far as air pressure I routinely aired down to 10-12 psi rock-crawling and never lost a bead, not that it won't happen, it will eventually. 22 PSI? all day long....

 

I personally am a 16 fan. You don't see them much anymore and I think they just look meaner

 

He's right about more tire size options with 17".

275/70-17
255/75-17
34x10.5x17

And especially when you go really big like 35/37 options are very limited with 16".

 

I went with 16s, but wanted to stay with p or c tires. Just 265 75 16 which are available with p rating. If you jump to 285 and don’t want lt tires, go with the 17s. No 285 75 16 available that aren’t lt. Quite a few p or c rated 285 70 17. Also be careful with balancing weights. Front stick on weights got knocked off by the calipers so they had to use hammer in weights on the inside of the wheels.

 

16’s are better. Mine look nice and big. 16x8 -25 on 285/75/16.

My wheels weigh 19lbs
My tires weigh 59lbs. Can’t beat this combo. And I air down to about 13psi when I crawl/offroad.

 

285 70 17 bfg in c are 50 pounds. Not listed on their website, but are for sale on eBay and can find the weights online.
Could also find some rubicon takeoffs for cheap.

 

I would just keep in mind that your wheels and tires are a part of your suspension. 16" wheels may be bouncier than 17" wheels with 33" tires. That is a lot of rubber on the sidewall either way though. Not a great scientific tire for tire comparison but my ride firmed up quite a bit on stock suspension when I went from 16" SR5 alloys with 245/75/16 Firestone LE2 to 17" 4Runner alloys with 265/70/17 standard load Falken AT3W. The new tire is way beefier and has a higher load index so that obviously contributed to a firmer ride as well.

 

Not bouncy at all.

 

If that were true then everybody with tires larger than a 33 would have a bouncy ride and that’s just not the case,

 

I think I want to stick with E rated tires for off road durability, I have put a lot of rocks into the sidewall and there are a a lot of sharp rock areas here. I won't ever be going bigger than 33s, 285/75 r16 or 285/70 r17s. That does suck weight wise, but it's better than getting flats. I run King suspension with helps a lot with roughness, but a 16 would have that little extra absorption. It'd be nice if there was a lighter tire that has the strength, traction, and road driveability of the KO2, but I havnt really found one that has it all yet

Thanks for the insights and constructive thread guys, keep it going if you have other thoughts.

Pics of those two sizes could be nice to compare too if you've got them.

 

I went with 17's. Better tire selection and I plan on doing big brakes later down the road.

 

When you do off road, how much must, vs sand, vs rocks? Worth considering.

17" pick up dings because of the lower sidewall ratio. This matters if they are powder coated vs painted and thus harder to hide scratches.

Hard to say you will regret one vs the other.

 

285/75/16 STT Pros DOMINATE off road and for me they have been comfortable, well mannered, daily driven road tires too. And they only weigh 59 lbs in that size. Impressive.