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20" vs 18" Wheels

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20" vs 18" Wheels

Postby Ryanjones0143 » Sun Jul 09, 2017 1:03 pm

I'm in the middle of a dilemma on which size alloys fit.

I know 18"s are probably more practical but I think some of the customs I've seen with 20" wheels they fill the arches a bit better. Obviously I don't want it to vulgar going to purchase the wheels below but they do them in 20" or 18" what do you guys recommend. Is there any issues with speedo etc fitting 20" wheels

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Re: 20

Postby sparker000 » Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:04 pm

The rolling circumference will be the same give or take a small margin. The bigger the wheel and the wider the tyre the lower the tyre profile. Lower profile harder ride and easier to curb. Tyre load rating will need to be looked at, they will need to be safe for your axle weight or the insurance will be an issue.
Look at a tyre size converter/calculator, to see what tyre sizes will work against your standard tyre size. I have 18" wheels with tyres size that are fitted to the Sport, they are 101 load rating. If the load rating is safe for your axle weight these tyres will wear down much quicker being softer walled and not being run at as high a pressure.
That said I am very happy with the 18" I have, ride feels better and the slightly wider tyre gives better grip.
As long as the wheels are designed to fit transit custom which they need to be for stud spacing they should be fine. Wheel nuts will probably need changing from original, make sure they are the correct length, too short and they will bottom out on the studs.
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Re: 20

Postby S60r » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:39 pm

I've been looking at 20's also... I have the calibre 18's in black and I'm happy with the ride. I am worried about going to 20's with the already bouncy oem ride. If you do go to 20's please post back how they compare.

No doubt they look better but i'm not willing to sacrifice the practicalities for aesthetics.
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Re: 20

Postby mavericktc » Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:28 pm

sparker000 wrote:The rolling circumference will be the same give or take a small margin. The bigger the wheel and the wider the tyre the lower the tyre profile. Lower profile harder ride and easier to curb. Tyre load rating will need to be looked at, they will need to be safe for your axle weight or the insurance will be an issue.
Look at a tyre size converter/calculator, to see what tyre sizes will work against your standard tyre size. I have 18" wheels with tyres size that are fitted to the Sport, they are 101 load rating. If the load rating is safe for your axle weight these tyres will wear down much quicker being softer walled and not being run at as high a pressure.
That said I am very happy with the 18" I have, ride feels better and the slightly wider tyre gives better grip.
As long as the wheels are designed to fit transit custom which they need to be for stud spacing they should be fine. Wheel nuts will probably need changing from original, make sure they are the correct length, too short and they will bottom out on the studs.


Well, it all depends on what profile you use.
I don't know how low you must go on 20" to get a correct speedo reading but it must be sub 40.

On a van I like some more meat on the tires. 18" 235/55 looks good. The speedo should be accurate (50 profile is standard on the sport and the speedo shows 5% less then real speed).
20" 235/50 and the speedo is probably way off.


In order to "fill the arches" you have no choice, the speedo will read wrong.
Going for 20" and less rubber and keeping the speedo accurate only means that you changed the ratio between rim size and profile on the tire. A standard 16" have a small rim but a high profile.
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Re: 20

Postby jue » Sat Jul 15, 2017 6:20 pm

S60r wrote:I've been looking at 20's also... I have the calibre 18's in black and I'm happy with the ride. I am worried about going to 20's with the already bouncy oem ride. If you do go to 20's please post back how they compare.

No doubt they look better but i'm not willing to sacrifice the practicalities for aesthetics.



Hi, Do you have a picture of your Black Calibre wheels ? Just wounderd if you where thinking of selling if you went for the 20" ?

Cheers Julian
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Re: 20

Postby Largada » Sun Jul 16, 2017 7:29 am

Hardest problem is finding 20" that are loaded rated, as a previous op mentioned you'll have insurance issues if they aren't, which to be honest will be least of your problems if you have a blow out at speed on the motorway :?
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Re: 20

Postby S60r » Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:13 am

The tyre is easily found load rated for our needs. 106 is pretty standard on a 20" xl tyre.

The alloy will obviously need to be load rated but they are definitely out there, the issue for me is the sidewall. It will need to drop to around 40 to keep the rolling circumference and that is much too low for my needs. I carry 700 kg permanently and 40 will be seriously bumpy and not site friendly.

No doubt the 20's look great but the practicalities must work, so I guess 18's are the sweetspot for me.
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Re: 20

Postby S60r » Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:17 am

jue wrote:
S60r wrote:I've been looking at 20's also... I have the calibre 18's in black and I'm happy with the ride. I am worried about going to 20's with the already bouncy oem ride. If you do go to 20's please post back how they compare.

No doubt they look better but i'm not willing to sacrifice the practicalities for aesthetics.



Hi, Do you have a picture of your Black Calibre wheels ? Just wounderd if you where thinking of selling if you went for the 20" ?

Cheers Julian

Hi Julian, sorry just seen your post.....

The calibres are found at vanstyle I think, they also pop up on eBay regularly, i think I'll be keeping mine as the 20's are too much of a compromise in practicality.

The wolfrace assassin looks good on my friends custom, but can't be had in black which was key for me....

Worth looking at the calibres though, they are good value and look great in black.

http://www.vanstyle.co.uk/van/accessori ... _5968.html
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Re: 20

Postby jue » Sun Jul 16, 2017 9:27 am

S60r wrote:
jue wrote:
S60r wrote:I've been looking at 20's also... I have the calibre 18's in black and I'm happy with the ride. I am worried about going to 20's with the already bouncy oem ride. If you do go to 20's please post back how they compare.

No doubt they look better but i'm not willing to sacrifice the practicalities for aesthetics.



Hi, Do you have a picture of your Black Calibre wheels ? Just wounderd if you where thinking of selling if you went for the 20" ?

Cheers Julian

Hi Julian, sorry just seen your post.....

The calibres are found at vanstyle I think, they also pop up on eBay regularly, i think I'll be keeping mine as the 20's are too much of a compromise in practicality.

The wolfrace assassin looks good on my friends custom, but can't be had in black which was key for me....

Worth looking at the calibres though, they are good value and look great in black.

http://www.vanstyle.co.uk/van/accessori ... _5968.html



Hi cheers for the reply, Think the black set of wheels look good I was looking at thesehttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-TRANSIT- ... Swd~RZSjdC
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Re: 20

Postby S60r » Mon Jul 17, 2017 11:13 pm

Yes I see they do a new style to mimic the msport style... I have these..but with Ford centre caps to give the oem look.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=calib ... K-HFB2CHPM:
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Re: 20

Postby yasser » Tue Jul 18, 2017 4:55 pm

just had my van serviced and whilst i was there i saw these on a custom. Now i'm not interested in wheels at all but i know some of you are so i took a pic. i've no idea what make (i'm assuming it a ford insert) but it has 245/40/ZR20 tyres on

20170718_091849.jpg
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Re: 20

Postby Ktmcustom » Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:54 pm

Has anybody made the jump for the 20s yet? I'm in the same predicament and can't decide wether to go for the 18 inch calibres or 20s :?:
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Re: 20" vs 18" Wheels

Postby kulataz » Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:36 pm

Its about time we had more options. I see many people crying out for a decent wheel for a custom. I have spoken to wheel suppliers, wheel makers(compomotive) and nobody wants to do anything. I have also looked into hubcentric adaptors and even redrilling hubs but I would prefer proper wheels.

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Re: 20

Postby Mike » Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:52 pm

kulataz wrote:Its about time we had more options. I see many people crying out for a decent wheel for a custom.

If that were the case people would be making them, if you genuinely believe there’s a market, have a batch made and make some money?
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Re: 20" vs 18" Wheels

Postby kulataz » Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:03 pm

I would Mike, Compomotive quoted £20k+ for a new mould. Do you not think there's a market for 5x160 wheels?

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