what range do 20" tires get?

[GAMBLR]

g'day all

I'm tossing up the idea of a set of 20's for the new car when it comes. I've pretty much narrowed it down, and we'll just say it'll be a 3rd gen Commodore.

My issue is that i'm doing at least 500km a weekend most weekends, if not more. A trip from Whyalla to Adelaide is about 1000k round trip. So is it pointless looking at 20's?

This is appealing to anyone who has 20's, particularly on a slightly lowered 3rd gen commodore (VT-VZ). How many km do you get from a set of tires, and wot are decent tires and what $ are they worth a set?

Cheers
CC

[ducker85]

just run stockies on the highway, n put the 20's back on the rear when you reach the city

[VT97CALAIS]

Should get around 100,000km's with the 20's I reckon

































































however, this is when the 20's are in the back of the ute/car hehe

[danja]

Tyre life has much more to do with the tyre compound and driving style than the rim size. The tread itself will be pretty much identical to the same tyre in a smaller rim size.

To put decent rubber on 20's you won't get much change out of $400 per corner (and you can spend well over that too if you want better), you can get cheaper tyres too, but you pretty much get what you pay for.

Then of course there is the delicate fact that most aftermarket 20's look about as classy as Paris Hilton on Saturday morning...

[GAMBLR]

just run stockies on the highway, n put the 20's back on the rear when you reach the city

thats a whole lot of stuffing around for me bud the cbf'd factor comes into play, and I won't have much boot room or a towbar to tow a trailer to cart them around.

Should get around 100,000km's with the 20's I reckon



however, this is when the 20's are in the back of the ute/car hehe

haha good point. they just don't look quite as good not on the car.

Tyre life has much more to do with the tyre compound and driving style than the rim size. The tread itself will be pretty much identical to the same tyre in a smaller rim size.

To put decent rubber on 20's you won't get much change out of $400 per corner (and you can spend well over that too if you want better), you can get cheaper tyres too, but you pretty much get what you pay for.

Then of course there is the delicate fact that most aftermarket 20's look about as classy as Paris Hilton on Saturday morning...

danja, i knew driving style had an impact on tires, but apart from burnouts and stupid behaviour, i didnt think it affected it that much... i drive reasonably sensible, don't hammer the car and i try looking after it. How extreme must driving styles be to have a decent affect on the tires?
Also, i knew compounds played a huge role. I'll be looking at a hard to mid range compound. from what i've heard, they produce a bit more road noise but last that bit longer and are generally cheaper.

also, considering thats around the price I payed for my last set of 18" tires, and they're very average tires, i'd probably be happy paying a little extra per corner.

and as for the final comment... quite amusing. but I'm a fan of aftermarket rims. A car on standard or Holden rims is too commonplace and 'boring' in my popinion. each to their own however.
Cheers for the replies guys, anyone else?
CC

[danja]

danja, i knew driving style had an impact on tires, but apart from burnouts and stupid behaviour, i didnt think it affected it that much... i drive reasonably sensible, don't hammer the car and i try looking after it. How extreme must driving styles be to have a decent affect on the tires?

Well, in a nutshell, the more extreme, the more wear you can expect. Driving a little bit harder will wear tyres a little bit more, driving a lot harder will wear them a lot more

Taking corners fast, and braking hard will take out front tyres quicker, and heavy acceleration and braking to some extent will take out rears. Obviously burnouts/skids will destroy rears in no time.

also, considering thats around the price I payed for my last set of 18" tires, and they're very average tires, i'd probably be happy paying a little extra per corner.

Strongly suggest going to a couple of tyre shops, and getting quotes for the same tyre in various rim sizes. By way of example, on my last car I had 19's and got a set of Yokohama Advan Sports, they were very nice tyres, but cost about $400 a corner. The same tyre in 18" would have been $300, 17" was quoted as $220.

If you think about that, if I'd had 17's, I would have had a more comfortable ride, and saved $700 each time I put new tyres on.

and as for the final comment... quite amusing. but I'm a fan of aftermarket rims. A car on standard or Holden rims is too commonplace and 'boring' in my popinion. each to their own however.

Indeed each to their own, and I don't know how old you are, but for what it's worth, rims are one of those things you tend to grow out of. I thought my 19's were cool at the time, now I wish I'd saved the money for something more worthwhile, because after all, you don't get to enjoy your wheels while you're driving.

Anyway, whatever you end up getting, all the best with it.

[GAMBLR]

some good points there Danja, and thanks for your input
CC

[LowVZ]

maybe just buy 20's for cruizing or shows/events
and just run stockies seing as u do so many kms

[GAMBLR]

cheers for the input mate, but if i'm buyin a set, i may as well get my use out of them. I don't do enough shows or events to warrant a set purely for 'show'
thanks anyway

[wrx884]

Id say it would b a lil pointless tho i guess it all comes down 2 how deep r ur pockets?? ur roughly lookin at 30-35,000kms on 20's.

[Troy711]

Just make sure you get regular rotations, balances and alignments done I'd suggest rotate front to back every 5,000km and left to right (which will mean refitting them at a shop) every 10,000km.

[HamaTime™]

Id say it would b a lil pointless tho i guess it all comes down 2 how deep r ur pockets?? ur roughly lookin at 30-35,000kms on 20's.

Nah, not 35,000 man

18's probably only just get that. My mates BA XR8 ute had 19's on it and that barely got 10 - 15,000 out of them... 20's would be around 10,000 I reckon

[TMM]

How long is a piece of string? Some 16" tyres with soft compounds will be lucky to last 15,000.

Really depends on the compound of the tyre, driving style, road condition/surface and how good your suspension geometry is.

Strongly suggest going to a couple of tyre shops, and getting quotes for the same tyre in various rim sizes. By way of example, on my last car I had 19's and got a set of Yokohama Advan Sports, they were very nice tyres, but cost about $400 a corner. The same tyre in 18" would have been $300, 17" was quoted as $220.

If you think about that, if I'd had 17's, I would have had a more comfortable ride, and saved $700 each time I put new tyres on.

Couldn't agree more. I'm running BS RE001s in 16" and thats $235 a corner. I'd hate to know much my wallet would be hurting if i had 18/19/20s

[GAMBLR]

Id say it would b a lil pointless tho i guess it all comes down 2 how deep r ur pockets?? ur roughly lookin at 30-35,000kms on 20's.

if i'd get that out of a set of twenties, i'd be on ebay buying a set now. any set i'll be lucky to pull that out of my 18's i dont think these are overly flash, cheers for the input mate.

Just make sure you get regular rotations, balances and alignments done I'd suggest rotate front to back every 5,000km and left to right (which will mean refitting them at a shop) every 10,000km.

Something i don't currently do and i should. means i gotta do the whitewalls on both sides :P

Nah, not 35,000 man

18's probably only just get that. My mates BA XR8 ute had 19's on it and that barely got 10 - 15,000 out of them... 20's would be around 10,000 I reckon

thats what i've heard, makes it a bit pointless if it's only that many

How long is a piece of string? Some 16" tyres with soft compounds will be lucky to last 15,000.

Really depends on the compound of the tyre, driving style, road condition/surface and how good your suspension geometry is.

i agree, you can make something last longer by looking after it, but im happy with just a rough estimate bud.
lets see...
driving style: reasonably good
road surface/condition: S***!!!!!!!!!
suspension geometry: no idea :P

cheers everyone for their input, anyone else care to add something?
cheers
CC

[ducker85]

just for my two bob's worth my 18's would last around 12 to 18 months but dont know how many km's my biggest problem was camber or scrubbing on the outside edges of the tyre's i've never worn out the middle of a tyre

[glavas]

i sold my 07 lancer at 38000km with original tyres from factory! i rekon they could have gone at least another 25000km they were 16 inches

[wrx884]

if i'd get that out of a set of twenties, i'd be on ebay buying a set now. any set i'll be lucky to pull that out of my 18's i dont think these are overly flash, cheers for the input mate.

CC

Well u should b gettin at least 30,000kms providing all ur cambers been adjusted, u havent got it dumped on its arse, have kept ur tyres rotated every 5,000-8,000kms aswell as keepin ur eye on ur tyre pressures weekly or every few weeks. Being a low profile tyre it can trick the eye and with out knowing u could b down 5-10psi which is not good.

Ive got 17s on the VT and even with a camber kit 4 only about 5000kms atm im sittin on 45,000kms and they do need replacing very soon.

The VP how eva on 18s ive just chewed my rears coz the cambers pretty bad on the irs there, i dont have a camber kit either but just managed 10,000kms on those, the fronts r like new tho.

But as i said b4 how deep r u pockets? cheap **** wont last u long as others have said specially tyres off ebay which is really a waste IMO.

I still think its pointless puttin 20's on neways coz most of the stuff u cant justify the money that they r worth, they r 4 looks only not performance.

[GAMBLR]

Well u should b gettin at least 30,000kms providing all ur cambers been adjusted, u havent got it dumped on its arse, have kept ur tyres rotated every 5,000-8,000kms aswell as keepin ur eye on ur tyre pressures weekly or every few weeks. Being a low profile tyre it can trick the eye and with out knowing u could b down 5-10psi which is not good.

Ive got 17s on the VT and even with a camber kit 4 only about 5000kms atm im sittin on 45,000kms and they do need replacing very soon.

The VP how eva on 18s ive just chewed my rears coz the cambers pretty bad on the irs there, i dont have a camber kit either but just managed 10,000kms on those, the fronts r like new tho.

But as i said b4 how deep r u pockets? cheap **** wont last u long as others have said specially tyres off ebay which is really a waste IMO.

I still think its pointless puttin 20's on neways coz most of the stuff u cant justify the money that they r worth, they r 4 looks only not performance.

As I think I mentioned previously, I don't rotate my wheels at all... now that is a stupid thing to own up to on here but I'll live.
Tyre pressure gets checked and topped up as often as I see fit, moreso now with whitewalls, to prevent further cracking.

Need a camber kit, but it's not dumped, just low enough to warrant it. Next car will have the camber kit however, if just to spare the tires an extra few thousand km's.

Pockets would be able to handle the tires being replaced about once a year, equating to about 30,000km... I'm doing the maths and somehow can't see this working out well :P

And as for price justification? I'm all for fast cars, but I don't see the point in having too many 'go fast' mods when I won't use them. For me, it's more about asthetics (spellcheck turned off) and comfort.

Cheers
CC

EDIT: PS, I'd only buy eBay tires if I desperately needed to get myself out of trouble for a bit. Either that or thats what stockies are for. Don't trust eBay THAT much

[hsvpunk]

does anyone know how to spell TYRES???? it has Y not and I.
ive read 4 posts/threads and noboday has spelt it right.

[M01ST]

Ive got 19s and have done over 50,000kms with the tyres on it now and have done some skids on them but they have lasted ages.
The front ones need replacing my last wheel alignment, the guys said they were lumping and when going slow it makes a whirring noise from it. But other then that theres still fair tread left.

[Disturbed_vegeta]

the thing is you have a calais and you will have to take the camber wear on the rear into consideration...when i had my stato on the bumpstops i went through a set of wanli tyres in about 3-5 weeks. but that was without a camber kit. but with my senator i put used 20' tyres on the rear (had about 50% tread) and ive gone through 1 tyre in about 3-4 months. i think it all depends on camber i think

[GAMBLR]

Ive got 19s and have done over 50,000kms with the tyres on it now and have done some skids on them but they have lasted ages.
The front ones need replacing my last wheel alignment, the guys said they were lumping and when going slow it makes a whirring noise from it. But other then that theres still fair tread left.

if thats true then thats a decent effort. What tires do you have on yours and do you have IRS?

the thing is you have a calais and you will have to take the camber wear on the rear into consideration...when i had my stato on the bumpstops i went through a set of wanli tyres in about 3-5 weeks. but that was without a camber kit. but with my senator i put used 20' tyres on the rear (had about 50% tread) and ive gone through 1 tyre in about 3-4 months. i think it all depends on camber i think

Camber will inevitably be part of any car I put them on (I'm more thinking 20's for the next car). Of course, I'll be looking at lowering whatever i get, but since we have different laws in SA, we have to keep vehicles higher than other states, so it limits the amount of camber wear that'll occur.