I got an 02 Tahoe and I want to put rims and tires on it, but I'm looking for somewhat of a specific look.

The rims I want are the American Racing Dagger (all silver). Now here's where I need your help. I don't know if I should get 20s or 22s?

As for tires, I don't want low profile tires or aggressive off road tires.

What I want is to fill the wheel well with the rim/tire set. I hate having the big gap over the tire in the well, if that makes sense.

The closest tire I've found by looking through the web is the Nitto Terra tire, but again not sure about the size. Should I go with a 285/55/20 or something a little samller with a 22" Rim. I'm sure there are other tires out there but I can't seem to find what I want. I've looked through web images with no luck.

BTW, My truck is mainly a street truck with the occasional dirt road.

Thanks

 

If your sole objective is to eliminate the gap, a 2/3 drop would be easier and a lot cheaper.

Also when consider a large increase in wheel diameter, don't forget that larger brakes should be considered also due to the extra rotating mass.

 

yeah i just got off the phone with a rep from Tire Rack.com and he mentioned that same point. My only concern is I dont want that dropped look.
To be honest the reason I picked the 20" Rims is because I was under the impression the bigger the rims the larger the overall diameter of the whole setup, but I guess that's not the case.
Maybe with a smaller rim I can can put on a tire with a little more sidewall and still get the look I want.

 

The visual problem I have w/ 22"+ wheels and low profile tires is that it makes the truck look like a stagecoach.

 

IF you've already bought a set of Rims, then you've already decided what size tire to use. Or you should have !

The width of the Rim and the width of the Tire should be the same, IF you want them to preform correctly.

The rule of thumb for best performance is the Tire not be narrower than 1/2", or wider than 1" than the Rim Width.

Once you've got that settled, you can vary the Profile to most accommodate the overall diameter you need. However, lots of guys don't care about that, and run some rather large tires on their ride. Of course, you possibly can adjust the computer to make the speed correction, but a reduction in your perceived power and breaking is going to be noticed, when changing to a much larger diameter tire.

 

Hey SWHouston,
I haven't purchased anything at this point. I'm trying to do all my homework before I dig into the pocket. Like you said, once I get something, that's that.
I'm not looking for anything to large to be honest. At this point I think I'm looking at 20" with 285/55. I'm considering 305/50s but more than likely 285/55. If that works then the next step is to find a tire pattern.

 

Good for you !

There's a couple choices in that size, (just off the top of my head) being...
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO &
Michelin LTX A/T 2
So, you'll need to get those 20" rims in a 9" width, to get the best performance from the 285 width tires.

I will say this...
If you're going to do any Towing, the Michelin are going to be more load capable, which should be about 6600 Lbs. That should be comfortably above what your Hoe is rated at. However, the BFG's tread is more OTR but you do loose some Load Capacity, and a couple other features you may care about.

And, with the 55 profile, you're going to be at about 32.4/32.5" Tire Diameter.

You can sorta see what that may look like by dividing that diameter in half (that being about 16 1/4") get your steel tape and put that 16.250 in the center of your Axel, and just swing the tape around that center point in a semicircle to trace where the approximate outer diameter will be at.

Do you know what your OEM tire diameter is ?

You may have to do a lookup at the Michelin website, to see the tread pattern on the LTX's.

 

Thanks for that info. I'd seen the BFGoodrich tire but not the LTX. I'm also considering the Nitto Terra Grappler.

I need to call American Racing to confirm but do the 20s come in 8.5 and 9"? I've seen the 8.5 somewhere.
The tire sizes I was thinking about were the 285/50/20 or 285/55/20.
I also came across a 295/60/20. But I still need to speak to the tire reps to confirm. To be honest at this point I'm just narrowing down the sizes I would like, then from there pick one that will work, if you know what I mean. If those sizes dont work for whatever reason then I'll move down to the 275/50/20.

Again, thanks for the info. This will help me make a more educated decision.

 

Rick,

ALL those tires you mentioned will work, even the 295 !
Just keep in mind, if you go with the Nitto 295's, that'll be a 34.5" diameter.

You just need to decide which Tire you want, THEN buy your rims in the correct width for that Tire. The important thing is, having the sidewalls running straight up and down. That's the key to sold performance and maximum life of the Tire.

PS:
Many Tire manufacturers state parameters in rim widths which are exaggerated. They WANT to put their Tires on as many vehicles as they can. DON'T fall into a lax position of accepting a Rim Width, which will force your Tires to perform marginally. If American Racing can't furnish you with a set of Rims which are just right, then you need to do business with someone else.

 

Hey SWHouston,
I think your right. I still have to speak to AR but il'll do it after I make a decision on a tire. This way I can got to AR with as much info as possible.

Again thanks for the info, it was very helpful.