Steel vs. Aluminum Wheels

[mr jits]

Offroad people go to great lengths just to go 1 inch down, from 17 to 16 or 16 to 15, by grinding or changing calipers in order to fit a smaller rim. More is better when it comes to rubber (edit) , when offroading.

This train of thought is changing quite a bit. A lot more people are running larger wheel diameters to offset the "bounce" effect of massive amounts of sidewall on a large tire. If float is the desired outcome, then sidewall is a primary concern; but if a person is looking to crawl boulders and finds it necessary to hammer down on occasion, then there is definitely such a thing as having too much sidewall.
I like the road feel of a 33x18 better than a 33x16 as the truck seems to track better and feel more solidly planted in corners. This is the same thought I had when running 39.5's on a 17" wheel, I found they tracked better and were more predictable in the rocks than a 39.5x15.

 

[Bear Lake Cruiser]

On a 60, (old truck, no ABS) a reduction of the tire size by 1.5" will increase your stopping power by about 5%, which could be noticable. That they were narrower as well could also have given you better friction.

Less aggressive tread too. I went to Terra grappler from bfg mt. Whatever the case it handles much better and stops noticeably better. 5 percent 10 percent I don't know but there is a kid still running around due to swap which I am thankful for.