Should I trade in my 20inch rims?

[ttforcefed]

id go 19s and use nokian wrs all year round

 

[jwest]

I bought a set of 5 perfect RR 20" rims for $400. I'm sticking with this route because they become disposable.

I think this makes sense if an owner started with 20's on the original vehicle purchase but makes zero sense if deciding what to do going from 19's.


Costs:
1-20" tires are almost always significantly more expensive than 18".
2-both the tires and the wheels are more likely to be damaged off road or even in a bad curbing event thus requiring more $ to replace either.
3-less fuel efficiency due to heavier wheel and tire combination and that usually a 20" tire will be wider than an 18" due to the 20" wheel being wider. This may not matter much per tank, but if you take all of the above over 10 years or 100,000 miles. The numbers can be worth considering unless you truly enjoy tossing cash out the window.

Durability:
1-20" tires usually have a lower load rating which may matter if you modify the rover to it's upper weight limits or use it for towing.
2-obviously the less sidewall, the higher psi is required off road and more chance for damage

Off road function:
1-lower psi equals more traction, this will be appreciably better with the 1" more sidewall the 18" can provide.
2-traction is also increased by ground pressure which increases as the tire narrows. For example, a 12" wide tire will spin much sooner than a 10 or 11" wide tire. On loose things like gravel narrow is better but also in mud or snow where digging down in gains traction.

Aesthetics:
-20's do look "cool" (I had them too at first, had the RRSport SC "stormer" 9" wide wheels) but also a bit ridiculous and anti-intuitive. The opposite of the vehicle which is more "form follows function".