Not looking to do anything fancy or spend loads of money ($0 is good), but....

I use my truck to do light off-roading to get to trailheads here in Colorado for hiking and biking. The roads need decent clearance and 4WD, and my 2nd Gen Dakota was perfect. It's also my daily driver.

My '06 Dakota came with the chrome 17" rims, but I wanted to get people's thoughts on the pro's and con's on changing out for 16" alloys. Obviously, the tires are what make the biggest difference, and I've gone back and forth over raising the front end to get rid of the rake.

Any opinions?

 

16" give you more rubber. Personally I went with 16" (Mine came with stock 16" Steels) and I just bought 16" 2010 Alum Rims, So I didnt have 2 different tire sizes between Winters and Summers.

For off-road, I dont think there is much differences as long as you have good tires.

 

I say just keep the 17's. Unless you're just looking for a reason to buy new wheels.
The tire selection is pretty much the same for both sizes.

 

I just went thru this trying to find some winter rims/tires. It's easier to find aftermarket 17" rims but I found that for the same size 16" tires are cheaper than 17s. Also way easier to find used if you are on a budget.

The only 16" rims I could find locally were factory take off alloys. They cost me almost as much as aftermarket 17s would have new but are not as likly to get stolen and don't need special lug nuts.

 

My M/T 16x8 111$can each

 

Your not going to notice a difference. The only thing or reason to consider switching for an inch is, price, availability, style, and to match tires. But changing rim size means changing tires. So if they don't have what you want in 17" than get 16 but new tires adds to the cost. I think 16 is a more universal common rim size and I seem to see more styles and tire sizes available for a 16.

Just my .02

 

i got a pair of those same exact 17's ill sell for cheapp!!! i wanna reason to get new rims.

 

Thanks all for the thoughts. You confirmed what I was really thinking, but just wasn't positive - stick with what I have.