wheel & tire size choices

Discussion in 'Challenger Wheels, Tires and Brakes Forum' started by Model maker, Apr 10, 2013.

  1. Apr 10, 2013 at 12:50 PM #1
    Model maker

    Model maker Full Access Member

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    I want to get a new 2013 Challenger R/T and while deciding which options to get & not get, the Wheel & tire choices are something I want to get right. I am old school when it comes to wheels & tires and really don't care for the BIG wheel & rubber band tire look, as I like some rubber on the wheels. There are wheel sizes from 18 - 20 & maybe even larger however with the larger wheel size comes the smaller tire size. What are the pros & cons of the different size wheels & tires, I mean what is all this HUGE wheel size with tires that are hard to even see ? I think rubber band looking tires would provide very little protection for the wheels, as tires can take a scrape or two but wheels would be damaged with those same scrapes. I may buy after market wheels later on but still want the car to look good and not leave big empty wheel wells. do those small tires on big wheels provide better ride quality or do you feel every pebble & crack on the road ? I just want to get the best ride & handling as possible
    Bert
     
  2. Apr 16, 2013 at 10:12 AM #2
    IN2Huskers

    IN2Huskers Member

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    ride

    My 13 R/T came with 20's with the F1 Supercar's (summer tires) so I bought snow tires right away 18s ran them from November to end of March the F1s werent wide only 9.5" so I did a lot of searching and research from other Challenger owners I wound up getting 10 x20 wheels(I have to run a .125 (1/8")spacer up front as the wheels have too much back spacing) for both the front and rear as they didn't mfg the front fitment anymore I am running 275/40 up front 10" of tread on the ground and 315/35 on the rear with 11.9" tread on the ground. I was also concerned the ride of the 20's would be harsh but I see no ride degradation from the 18's. The Challenger is a heavy car by todays standards so the ride will be better than the lighter competitors and since she is heavy I wanted the most rubber I could put on the ground and my search did not find many 18" wheels with the width I was looking for so I went with the 20's. For some comparison I was driveing a 06 Cadillac STS and I am not dissapointed whith the ride of my R/T.
     
  3. Apr 22, 2013 at 9:20 PM #3
    Model maker

    Model maker Full Access Member

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    I see that the challengers wheel wells are designed for the larger 20s and it looks good however it seems the tires are so small. the 18s have more tire but still look small compared to the tires I used to run on my mopars in the 70s. thank you for the information as it is very helpful in helping me decide on which wheels I want.
    Bert