Changing wheel sizes - advice welcome!

Jarlaxle wrote:

NewsW wrote:

fickman wrote:
Consider me successfully talked down from the 18" ledge.

Are all of these concerns just as valid for the 17"? To keep the same overall diameter the same, I believe I'd go from 75 ratio tires to 70.

I'll definitely ask around about the stability control. It's still under warranty, so the local dealership is always helpful with random queries.

A few answers to questions from other posts:
- Unloaded on city streets, the 3500 can be pretty rough. It smooths out on the highway and is like butter with a camper hooked up, but we're in between RVs right now and only take one out (my parents' or my inlaws') a couple of times a year.

- i'm not opposed to staying with 16". The main goal is to continue to transition from a fleet look to a private vehicle look.

- my BIL said the price difference for LT tires in 16" and 17" is reasonable ($20/tire)

Thanks a ton for the advice so far, it's really been helping me think through this!

Be aware that any one with a risk of liability is going to be real quesey about answering questions about a passenger van and mods that affect handling and stability.

Example: Wally I have been to will no longer install wheels and tires that are non-standard size (defined as those not listed on the manufacturer's door sticker).

I would love to show up there with my father in law's Firebird and watch them try to figure out exactly what an H70-R15 is! What do they do if the sticker is illegible or, as is the case with my Caddy, Liz's GN, and my first Caprice wagon, simply missing? Or the OEM tire size is simply no longer available? (220/55R390, anyone?)

Having said that, if you are seeking comfort, why are you going lower profile?

Why not keep what you have, but drop the tire pressure to what is required to carry your load (check with tire manufacturer chart)?

Door stickers pressures assume a full load --- and you are not carrying one now.

Your cheapest transition from fleet to private vehicle look is to get some hubcaps!

No, that will make it look like a fleet van that someone is trying to make look like it's NOT a fleet van.

They usually look up the tire specs in their computer data base which covers most cars on the road. There are size conversions available for the old sizing nomenclature. To properly convert, all you need is a metric tire with a similar width, height and weight rating, not the same actual tire size nomenclature printed on the tire side wall.