All that matters is the height of the tire which can be easily compared on Tirerack website. Wheel size is not relevant.

Changing wheels to 20" on a minivan has to be the most silly thing I've ever heard today. The lateral G forces can't be appreciably increased without fear of rollover so the larger wheels only reduce comfort from less sidewall flex. Wider tires will reduce gas mileage and increase hydroplaning. All cons and no pros isn't my idea of an "upgrade". Race mods on a minivan can only induce chuckling from folks who know better. The reason mfrs upsizing wheels on 4500lb minivans is to allow fitment of larger brakes. A 2013 GC weighs about 20% more than a 2003, so it needs 20% larger brakes to provide similar braking capability. Most aftermarket wheels are weaker than stock and prone to breakage, bending and/or failure. They are generally strong enough for little cars used for street pedestrian use, but often inadequate for heavy vans. The stock wheels are bulletproof, safe and ideal for such a heavy vehicle full of passengers.

 

Yea...... but it will standout in a crowd of the 200k Caravans that have been sold in the last year and a half. Mr. LSC man....is their a weight rating for wheels?

 

Blah - Blah - Blah... They've been saying the same thing since the first time someone took the 14's off their car and replaced them with 15's back in the 60's. After changing mine over a year ago I can report that I get so many compliments and comments that it's truly annoying. I have been asked to pull over for a photo from a young guy and I've caught others snapping photos when I walk up to my van. I lost count of how many men have said this statement: "I've been fighting with my wife for years about buying her a minivan. If I can get one like this I might do it!" Chrysler even put one in their booth at the SEMA show a few years back. They called it the "Man Van" - google it. Let's face it, be honest, a man driving a minivan can be emasculating.

Bottom line - does it ride differently? Yes, of course it does. Is it a more harsh ride? Sure is. Does it handle better? Yes again. But at the end of the day my thought is: If I have to drive a van, at least I don't look like a P-whipped guy moping around in a soccer mom van.

 

If you're changing your overall diameter there are more problems to contend with than just your speedometer being off a little. Your odometer will be off as well. Factor this product into your budget if you're going with an aftermarket wheel/tire upgrade. This will set you straight:
http://www.hypertech-inc.com/product...alibrator.aspx

 

Thanks for the product.

I live in Canada. Snow tires are pretty much a given up here. Unless I can buy them to match the diameter of the summer tires, that would mean correcting the speedometer/odometer twice a year.

Is it worth the extra effort? That kind of depends on how great the error is.....waiting for someone with oversized wheels to compare the speedometer and GPS generated speed to see what the actual difference will be.

 

We can not discuss tastes but I've never liked the very large wheels. A family-oriented vehicle, it is even more questionable, and I doubt that the money will never be recovered upon resale.

I think for the R / T and TC Limited models Chyrsler could equip them with 18" to better differentiate them from other models. But nothing bigger.

 

Your analogy with a '60's technology car that can actually take advantage of lower sidewalls does not apply at all. The ideal wheel for a '60's muscle car is in the neighborhood of 16-17" (not 14") and whitewall bias ply's are definitely not the hot ticket either. Technology has changed, but vehicle testing has shown what wheels sizes are optimal. The sweet spot for heavier street pedestrian vehicles with tires around 28" OD necessitates running wheels in the 17" to 18" range. I'm talking about your GC van. You are well out of tolerance and entering ghetto territory lol.

ok, Blah blah blah. I was considering the technical merits of the modification, not realizing you just wanted to "stand out", as you say. You could stand out more for $50 with a magnetic racing number on the door and STP sticker on the fender or a fake wind up key taped to the rear window.

You will never impress anybody remotely intelligent with a minivan with huge wheels and tires. That is for sure. And for the record, a 16yo urban ghetto kid with a $300 1980 Impala with $2K worth of bling 22's won't be impressed with it either.

You have a serious vanity complex, out looking for compliments from fools impressed by mods that have zero technical merit. I obviously can't help you with that so I'm trying to discourage you from wasting your money on silly stuff. Maybe chop a couple coils off each spring to slam it or bolt on a J.C. Whitney hood scoop.

If I take a pic of your van or one similar, it'll be strictly for amusement only, not envy. Any man who feels any less masculine driving a minivan is really not a man. They lack testosterone, possibly afraid of being exposed. They spend waaaay too much time each day worrying about what other's think and staring at themselves in a mirror.

I honestly feel no different driving my BMW, Corvette or Grand Caravan. With me it's all about function, reliability, utility & performance, definitely not vanity. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. You will NEVER see me cross-dressing my vehicles, for example, trying to convert an off road vehicle into a street performance car by running low profile tires on it. This totally defeats it's only redeeming quality (off-road capability). Ever see that? I also won't jack up my Vette to look like a Hummer or try to put AWD on it. You are wasting money degrading your van with juvie mods. I could care less what weirdos think about my wheels and when you find a way to do that, you will begin enjoying yourself instead of worrying what people think and wasting time & money trying to change them.

I don't care what jaw-drop stuff Chrysler displayed at SEMA trying to celebrate diversity and extremes. Function should NEVER follow form on the street.

 

Opinions are like elbows, everyone has one or two, and some of them stink.

 

Agreed!

Opinions can be driven by subjective factors like fantasy, vanity or more objective measures and facts. Subjective opinion is nearly impossible to defend. It stinks to even try because failure is imminent. However I did enjoy the testimony about hords of fans with cameras taking pics.

 

Wow Lscman, are you proud of yourself? You may shun vanity but you certainly embrace a superiority complex. The O.P. did not ask for Dr. Science to take time away from solving the worlds problems and weigh in on how his van will be scorned by every man, woman and child with more than two brain cells. He simply asked for opinions on color choice and followed that up with a tire size question. Last I checked the highways of this great land are not littered with bodies due to wheel/tire upgrades so your warnings and "facts" are merely an attempt to push your own taste and preferences on others. He owns the vehicle and has as much right as anyone to spend HIS money to change how it looks without having to endure your attempts at ridiculing his decisions.

Your analogy of a "$300 1980 Impala with $2K worth of bling 22's" does not apply either. Both his GC and mine have very subtle changes and I could argue that many factory stock GC wheels have much more "bling". The appropriate term is OEM+ as these are factory appearing wheels meant to eliminate the Winnebago effect and one-size-fits-all factory offerings. Nine out of 10 people on the road will not notice any difference (mine especially since the wheels are black) but it does appeal to the car-guys (and women). Also registering high on the absurd comment meter is your assertion that only "fools" would like the look and "anybody remotely intelligent" would never be "impressed". I can tell you that the three surgeons I golf with very much enjoy the "look" of the van and they are not "fools". My wife has a PhD and has received compliments from her peer's. I'd say that they all have some "remote intelligence". Lastly, on this subject, a local Dodge dealer requested to feature my GC (with the 20" OEM SRT style wheels) as the representative of the GC line at an annual car show with thousands of attendees. Quite an honor I'd say and I doubt they thought it was foolish or would impart ridicule of their products. They placed it between the SRT Viper and an SRT Challenger. This would apply to your "testimony about hords of fans with cameras taking pics" statement. Yes, I would say that there were many photos taken of it that day and it was even the header shot on their online blog for 3 months garnering over 60 comments of which only 2 could be considered negative (both stated that they don't like black wheels but made zero mention of the size). But then again in your mind it seems that everyone but you is a fool or has no intelligence. This obviously includes surgeons, PhD's and Chrysler service and sales managers and ASE techs who nominated it in the first place.

You may think me to be vain (you don't know me at all) but if I judged you in the same manner I'd have to conclude that you follow your "function over form" credo throughout your life. I'd follow you to the extreme and say that I'd fear the sight of your wife if your top priority was function (insert Borat reference here). I'd love a view of your closet to see all of the matching brown jumpsuits you wear daily as these would be the most efficient way to cover the body. Heaven forbid we let the hair on our head grow beyond stubble as that would imply that we've looked into a mirror in the last decade and mistakenly bowed to a sense of style. I could go on but you get the point. Oh and by the way, when you say you "could care less" you're proving my point in that you actually DO care. Maybe you meant you "could NOT care less" but what do I know, I'm not even remotely intelligent due to the fact I've changed out the wheels on my minivan.

In conclusion I would assert that anyone buying a Corvette and/or BMW has no ground to stand on while pointing fingers at someone with a minivan and calling them vain. One of these is known as a car for fat, balding, gold chain wearing mid-life crisis men. None but a couple newer models even qualify as a competitive example in their market. If you have one of these models then kudo's to you, I hope you at least bought the manual. The other example is a highly overpriced example of the ultimate status symbol for all of my daughter's high school friends. And you want to defend sensible wheel sizes let's start with these BMW's. They are the poster child for overly humongous wheel additions. But of course you wouldn't have one of these cars since you subscribe to the function before form philosophy. I could argue your vehicle choices all day and prove my points just as easily as you on why both a Corvette and BMW are "foolish" choices for the way you frame your beliefs - but I won't. You see, you are a web forum know-it-all that inserts his supposed "superiority" into a thread on wheel color selection in an attempt to prove something. You should learn from the phrase: "Arguing on the internet is like competing in the Special Olympics. Even if you win you're still retarded."