Why are 20" and 21" tires so much more $$$ than 17-18" tires?

[andyd]

You kids,Get off my lawn! I'm old and cranky. 20" tires, heck 17" tires are a style not a function. Anything less .70 aspect ratio compromises ride and suspension wear. Big wheels are useless. Side walls used to be part of suspensions. Bearings bushings etc were engineered for a certain un-sprung weight. Parts never changed but weight increased. At least fins and boobs on Cadillac s didn't affect the ride.

 

[pitzel]

I suspect there's a hefty insurance/lawyers reserve embedded into the cost of those lower-profile tyres for high performance cars (that have unfortunately drifted into some mainstream vehicles such as the Accord). They really don't contain any extra materials, but they are more likely to fail and attract lawsuits.

 

[Skippy722]

This thread made me curious, so I looked up the 17" tire size for my car vs the 20". There is a $50/tire premium for the 20" Altimax RT43... I can live with that. Love the way my car rides and handles. Bigger sidewall tires don't feel as nice when cornering IMO.

 

[bachman]

Originally Posted by andyd
You kids,Get off my lawn! I'm old and cranky. 20" tires, heck 17" tires are a style not a function. Anything less .70 aspect ratio compromises ride and suspension wear. Big wheels are useless. Side walls used to be part of suspensions. Bearings bushings etc were engineered for a certain un-sprung weight. Parts never changed but weight increased. At least fins and boobs on Cadillac s didn't affect the ride.


Of the many theories or answers here, this one closely hits on what might be part of it.
Just about anything that is the newer in-fashion "thing" is a hot item and usually gets away with being a bit more pricy. " All the cool kids have them !! "
Small-ish or too small looking tires and wheels can at best, look odd or other times, destroy the look and style of many trucks, SUV's and even cars.

16's on my VW look a bit small but I'm getting the use and worth out of them before going more to scale on wheels and tires. In fact, I may get a taller tire and stick with 16". Won't take much to fill a bit of gap and I've been avoiding going low profile tires for years now. Keeping some sidewall = comfort, quiet and ride that I prefer. I did this with my Infiniti and it actually looked like it was lowered.

 

[Olas]

more rubber, more metal, less demand * if you can afford a car with 21" wheels you can afford the more expensive tyre to go with it.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by Olas
more rubber, more metal, less demand * if you can afford a car with 21" wheels you can afford the more expensive tyre to go with it.


In other words, it's basically a luxury tax...

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted by ondarvr
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by grampi
I don't get it. There isn't more rubber on the larger diameter wheel size tires, in fact there's less rubber because they have shorter sidewalls. Is it more costly to manufacture tires with a larger diameter hole in the middle? Makes no sense...



Why would you think there's less rubber? It's fairly obvious the larger tires require more material just by the weight difference. Demand also impacts cost. Unique tire sizes have limited demand which drives up cost per unit. A unique size can be large or small vs the population.

PS A/S 3+:
245/45R20 - 30 lbs
245/45R18 - 28 lbs



You aren't comparing tires of the same size, the 20" is 2" taller

You need to go to a 245/55 18 to get the same diameter to compare the weight.


True.. here are the numbers

235/55R18 - 29 lbs
245/45R20 - 30 lbs

 

[CapriRacer]

And don't forget manufacturing changeovers. Every time a different tire size is made, the equipment has to be changed - and that costs money.

Built 1000 tires and the changeover cost per tire is 10X what it is if you build 10,000 tires.

In other words, there are costs beyond the per pound basis of rubber.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted by 97prizm
Actually even finding 13" tires for my Mazda is becoming difficult. I have a feeling those tire sizes will get more expensive.


Yeah, the only reason I can still readily get the 175/654R14's that my Escort uses is probably because they were also used on the Corolla. By readily I mean that Walmart stocks them, and other places will have them overnight.

 

[surfstar]

One of the reasons that I love our "base" model cars (plenty loaded with features IMO)
2016 VW Sportwagen S
2020 Prius Prime LE

both run 195/65r15 - common and cheap

 

[2K2AcuraTL]

When i bought my MDX.. 19" rims were stock.. and didnt pay much attention to it..
....until I needed tires...... its a real odd ball size.............
they are expensive and I have 50% less tires available to me... Whatever the brand... General is my -go to- brand... and [ at that time..] couldn't offer me any options.
Luckily for me.. Continental [ not my fav brand ] had a well reviewed tire, the DWS06... so far I'm happy with them..
with 20" you have many choices..
J.

 

[hank2]

I've got to go with the "get off my lawn" crowd on tire sizes. The huge rim/super low profile tire look started way back in the late 80's as an urban only style. Along with body colored painted bumpers. Of course they didn't have some of the wheel sizes available as today. Just my unneeded opinion, but I think it's been beaten well to death by manufacturers and many others. Likely a 15 or 16 on a car and 16 or 17 on any truck is a good place to be.

There are still some 13 inch tires available, not sure how many. At the independent tire dealer I always use, a set of General RT43's in 175/70/13 for my stepson's Geo Prism cost 1/2 of what the same tires cost in the 205/55/16 size that I use on both of my Scions. Not that that's a very large tire either.

Prior to 1982, every tire dealer listed the cost of the federal tire excise tax to be paid along with the tire price. After that year, it only applied to about one ton pickup GVWR's and up. In 2011 it went away altogether. When it was levied on passenger car tires, I believe it was based on the weight of the rubber. My Dad, always looking for the best buy in tires, compared the fed excise tax on same size tires and bought the highest tax models.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by hank2
…… The huge rim/super low profile tire look started way back in the late 80's as an urban only style. ……..


I'm either disagreeing with the time frame or the definition of super low profile.

My recollection is that somewhere in the 1980's, removal of the asbestos in brake pads prompted many car manufacturers to start using larger diameter rotors - and those needed larger diameter wheels to clear. But my recollection was it was a movement was from 70 and 75 aspect ratio down to 60 and 65 aspect ratios. Yeah, the trend continued, but the wheels sizes ceased to be driven by the brake rotor size in the 2000's.

I think the "urban style", super low profile started about then.

 

[wdn]

16" seems to be the sweet spot for price. If you look at huge tires the first thing you notice is a set of them costs an arm and a leg. The second thing is the mileage warranty is no better than it is for the smaller tires of the same type. 13" is just a loss leader so tire stores can advertise a low tire price, but it only fits a 20 year old beater.

 

[hank2]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer
Originally Posted by hank2
…… The huge rim/super low profile tire look started way back in the late 80's as an urban only style. ……..


I'm either disagreeing with the time frame or the definition of super low profile.

My recollection is that somewhere in the 1980's, removal of the asbestos in brake pads prompted many car manufacturers to start using larger diameter rotors - and those needed larger diameter wheels to clear. But my recollection was it was a movement was from 70 and 75 aspect ratio down to 60 and 65 aspect ratios. Yeah, the trend continued, but the wheels sizes ceased to be driven by the brake rotor size in the 2000's.

I think the "urban style", super low profile started about then.


I believe that your are right about the larger OEM brake rotors requiring larger wheels and somewhat lower profile tires by the late 80's. 13 and 14 inch wheels which had been common, were replaced by 15's on mini vans and such. The 60 and 65 series tires were starting to be used OEM. I was mostly referring to people doing larger rims and lower profile than stock on things like rwd pre '86 Corollas, low rider Impalas and such. Perhaps 16 in. wheels. Urban "customs". I don't think there was much available lower than 45 or 50 series at the time. Not something you saw in the suburbs or mainstream. When it became mainstream faddish, 10 or 15 years later, Detroit and Kanto jumped in late and still run with it.

About 10 or 12 years a go, I had a sometimes coworker who showed up very late for work or not at all about once a week. His excuse was always that he had gotten a flat tire. I had long regarded that as a fairy tale. Until I got a look at his ride one day. I forget what it was, but he had crazy big rims and probably about 35 series tires on it. Every time he hit a minor Pa. pothole, he blew a tire from the impact or instant tire rub.