dnoraker

Just bought a 2003 Suburban LT 4x4 in awesome condition and I'm starting to work on wet sanding and buffing the whole thing for a show car finish and want to add the icing on the cake and get some chrome rims.

I already bought some used Boss 304 20x8.5 chrome rims and, while they look awesome, the handling sucks. This is a family hauler and I have 3 kids (maybe 4 down the road) and it's too rough with these 20s, plus there are a lot of rutted roads around here and it's annoying when I have to hold on with both hands so the rims don't pull all over the place.

My complaint with shopping is that one site will say a certain rim is compatible with my Burb and another one doesn't. The American Racing site says a certain rim doesn't fit, but Tire Rack does, for instance. I'm very frustrated with this.

Here's what I want:
- 16-18" (preferably 17 or 18), no wider than 8"
- chrome (durable enough for MN winters with proper sealant and regular cleaning)
- no "busy/cluttered" designs; I like clean lines and something that looks like it was a dealer option
- ***advice from someone who has 17s or 18s to tell me how it handles
- ***preferably gently used and has good tires for under $1000 or possibly new if I can somehow keep it under like $1200-1300

Rims I'm considering so far:

American Racing (my BIL has 140k on his with no peeling)
- Circuit 18" (AR site doesn't show this as an option, but some sites do)
- Trench 17"
- Fuel 17"
- Python (discontinued, but my BIL has these on his Tahoe and they look great)

Eagle Alloys
- 140
- 146 (someone locally has some used, though they might be sold as they haven't responded)

KMC Skitch 18"

Thanks so much for any advice given!

MDTAHOE

Believe Tire Sacks site just be sure the wheel is exactly the same. We are a authorized Tire Rack seller and recommended installer. I have never seen them be wrong. My wheels came from tire rack, they fit perfectly. What size tire are you using? That is what makes the ride rough not the wheel. I have 20 but in the winter months I put 17 on, I can barely tell a difference in the ride quality

dnoraker

Thanks for the info. Tire Rack doesn't carry the Boss rims, but I just checked "Wheelplususa.com" and they suggested a 275/55-20 for my 20x8.5 boss 304 rims. Other places I usually saw 285/50-20 and I thought I saw somewhere that the speedo would have to be re-calibrated with the 275.

Tire Rack recommended a 55 series with the 18x8 rim I was looking at, which doesn't make any sense to me. Other places I saw a 60 or 65.

50-series on my wheels right now is pretty rough.

ousig2408

the stock 20 size for a 2007+ is 275/55/20
so I would not think a 55 series tire on an 18 inch rim would work. why dont you confirm what the stock size was for your burb (on the driver size door or kick plate area) then go to a tire size estimator to see what would be the same size/diameter if you got a different rim size vs stock. that way you can confirm if you will need to have the speedo re-calibrated or not. Tire size calculator
this shows a 275/65/18 is basically the same as the 275/55/20 or various other sizes if you play with it


if the 20 inch rims are too rough it could be a combination of the tire itself and your stock suspension. 20 inch rims on my Tahoe are very smooth - but this truck was designed with them as stock.

dnoraker

Stock is 265/70-16

Boss 304s have 285/50-16, which is the closest to stock size and will show 1.2 mph faster than stock, which is what I've been experiencing.

275/55 would make it 5.7% faster, which is obviously way too high. It would ride a tad smoother and maybe wouldn't wander so much on the rutted roads, but I still have my braking issue. I talked to a friend of mine who has an '05 Denali XL and he has 20" rims with 275/55-20. He also said it's AWD and has bigger brakes, and that he doesn't feel any wandering on rutted roads.

If I go with an 18" rim and put on 265/60-18, the speedo is almost identical. The 60 profile is in the middle of the wide range I've seen for 18" rims (55 to 65 profiles)

If I went with a 17x8 or 17x7.5, which is a stock size for the Z71 and I'm guessing would be okay on mine, the tire size is 265/65-17

My conclusion with all of this is maybe I shouldn't mess with the engineering of the truck and stick with my stock rims/tires, or don't venture past an 18x8" rim which weighs the same as the stock rims.

If I'm not going with 20s, I really want something I can run year-round so I don't have to store my nice rims in the winter. something with a quality chrome plating that will hold up to the elements with regular cleaning and a quality sealant (Opti-coat, as soon as I can get my hands on some). My BIL ran American Racing chrome rims for 140k miles without any flaking problems. He washes it maybe weekly.

ousig2408

i like the sound of the stock Z71 size rims/tires for your needs. sorry I dont have any specific suggestions for rims since we dont have the road salt issues here where I am.

dnoraker

Other factors to consider:

1: I have a pregnant wife and 2 small children and safety and ride comfort are important.

2: I have a small detailing business and I am probably going to put my web address on a window or two, so appearance is important. I has started the process of wet sanding and buffing and will be having any flaws touched up. It has 110k on it, but is a 9 out of 10 for its mileage. I would really like some durable chrome rims of the 17-18" variety. 16s look too small to me, like I could go snow tubing with my tires. My stock 16x7 rims have some corrosion on the face and are starting to look unsightly.

I'm kind of ready to say "screw it". I'll get the best traction in snow and rain, the best gas mileage, the smoothest ride with my 16x7s. Stand-out they are not, practical they are.

73shark

There are shops that will refinish your stock wheels and make them like new. If you decide to go that route, have the balance weights put on the center part of the of the inside of the rim. That's the way they do the new, flange-less wheels. Otherwise they will wear thru the clear-coat and the salt will soon ruin that nice shiny aluminum. I'll bet that they have some serious spots around the rims where weights are or have been.

dnoraker

Attached are a few pics with some options:

1: my truck with the 20" Boss rims that I will sell. Smoking hot, can't stand the handling
2: same-era Suburban with 17" American Racing "Python" that my BIL has on his truck with 140k and they look like stock wheels to me (his were dealer installed new)
3: my truck stock
4: American Racing "Circuit" - these are actually 20s, but it's the only pic I could find and because this truck takes bigger tires, the proportions aren't far off from where they would be as an 18

I found a set of chrome 17x8 Pythons with good tires on Craigslist and I'm seeing if the guy will ship. They're very common rims, so I think I can find them used again if he won't.

The Circuits are a new model and I can't find any used. They are also more expensive than the Pythons for the same size. I probably can't afford new ones. I can't find a picture of a real truck with these in 18 and the wheel visualizers aren't much help with seeing different angles. Theoretically these would look cool.

Having seen the durability year round and reputation of AR rims, I'm gravitating that direction. Of the ARs that fit my truck, a few of them just don't look right, a couple I'm not sure of, and the two I've picked seem like they would look great.

The 17 and 18 diameters shouldn't mess with the handling, braking, mpgs much at all. Maybe slightly better cornering. The weights are about the same as the stocks or a little less (about 27 lbs stock, 22-24 lbs for the ARs)

Here are my options in a nutshell that I've narrowed it down to:

16x7 stock and maybe just refinish (my tires are almost new)
17x8 American Racing Python (find used, then sell the stocks)
18x8 American Racing Circuit (buy new (may be a year or two before used ones will pop up), sell the stocks)

dnoraker

I forgot this one:

KMC Skitch 18x8 in chrome

The picture has 20s, but the tires are oversized so the proportions should be similar.