Wheels and Tires on Yukon Denali

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Just got the Denali with 17 inch Michelins on the corners, but the spare is a 16 inch Firestone Wilderness ATS spare.... Is this standard?? Dealer says it is.

[flylwsi]

sounds normal... the spare is no different from a regular yukon, which rolls on sixteens... and think about it, why would they give you a 17in spare? that would jack the price of your truck up, and it will only get beat up anyways...
and if we all had 17in spares hangin up under trucks and suvs, they wouldnt be there any more...
there would be some new 17in spare wheel trend goin...

but, i believe that that is why

[DVSNCYNIKL]

Yeah, it's normal. You're not suppose to keep it on for a long time if you get a flat.

I got two Black Walnut / Gray and Black Walnut / Tan steering wheel for sale. It fits for GM car.

ANyone interesed, please write me for price.


^_^

[csubik]

GMC spare? Come on you guys, I've got a Ram w/ the 20"s and the spare... 20" like it should be. I had a blemish on one of the four corners and swapped the spare. Saved me $180. Hope I do not have an issue w/ my Denali.

[tonytone]

Yeah the Denali has a 16" spare...just another way for GM to maximize their profits...

[DXL Driver]

I have a Denali on order and was considering new wheels and tires also.
What size wheels and tires are you go with?

[tonytone]

Originally Posted by DXL Driver

I have a Denali on order and was considering new wheels and tires also.
What size wheels and tires are you go with?

IMHO, at least 22", with 305-40-22 size tires (Toyo Proxes or Pirelli Scorpion Zero); or...whatever your tastes and wallet will allow.

[DXL Driver]

Here is the dilemma. When I started shopping for a new vehicle to replace my Tahoe, it took about a week for me to decide on the Denali XL. I also knew right away that I would need to replace the wheels on the Denali, as that was it's only shortfall in the vehicle. Well that decision has been a frustrating pain in the A@@. I am currently deployed and shopping for the Denali over the net was much easier then it has been for tires. First finding a wheel style I liked took a month or so. Then when I figured out which wheel I wanted, I decided to go with a 285/55-20 tire. When I go to order the wheels and tires at Tirerack.com they tell me that the 285/55-20, which 0.7" larger in diameter then the stock tire, is too big. He suggested a 285/50-20 which 0.4" smaller then the stock tire. When I asked what the problem with the 285/55-20 was he said the 0.7" would mess up the computer and systems on the all wheel drive Denali. Realizing that we were talking fractions of an inch in both cases, I realized that I should try to get a tire that matched the 31.6" stock diameter. A 295/50-20 has the same diameter of 31.6" as the stock Denali tire, but I now have to figure out if 295 is too wide. I called a couple GMC and tire dealers and couldn't get a straight answer out of any of them. One even told me that changing from the stock tire wasn't a good idea in the first place. I asked why and he said the vehicle was designed for a certain tire. Well screw that I'm upgrading. This is where you can help. How were you able to determine that a 305 wasn't too wide to work on the Denali. Have you seen a set of 305's on a Denali? Have you spoken to some tire or GMC rep that was able to clarify it? Or have you had chance to do a hands on comparison? Any information or references i.e. websites would be greatly appreciated.

[tonytone]

DXL Driver--assuming that a 295-50-20 tire size does exist, it would be the most ideal size as far as speedometer accuracy is concerned. 305-40-22 (if you go with 22" rims) will work on your Denali because a) that's what Tire Rack recommends; and b) that's what every Denali owner who's upgraded to 22" uses...plus it is also an exact match for the stock 265-70-17 setup. The "trick" is to make sure you get the right offset for whatever wheel you decide to buy, depending on the width of the rim...otherwise, your front tires/wheels may rub when you turn the steering wheel; for 22" it's +15 with a 9.5"- or 10"-wide rim, and +20 with a 9"-wide rim--all this assuming of course you're not looking to lower your vehicle...I don't know what the offset would be if you go with 20" since for a Denali application the tire width would be a bit narrower than if you went with 22".

As far as one dealer telling you that changing from the stock tire isn't a good idea? Well, he is right in the sense that he didn't(?) say that doing so was a "bad" idea. Besides, more than a few dealers offer plus-size wheel/tire upgrades on some of their new vehicles, so it can't be that bad, can it?

Sounds like you have your mind set on 20" but you might seriously want to consider going to 22", your financial situation notwithstanding; I know a few people who went with 20", only to regret it later on when they saw how much better 22" wheels looked on their GM full-sized SUVs. Sure 20" will give you a better ride than 22", but that's not why you're looking to go with at least 20" to begin with, no?

[DXL Driver]

Thanks for the input TT. Now you have me rethinking my position on 20" wheels. I hear you when you talk about the look of the 22" wheel, but with the amount of driving I plan on doing with the family in this vehicle, the improved ride of the 20" wheel just won out over the 22". I figure that I still improve the look of the vehicle by a hundred times over the stock wheel and still keep some of the ride. Fortunately, exhaustive searches on the web, have product many pics of Denali's with 20", 22", and 24" wheels. And by comparing them, I feel good about the look and ride the 20" will give me. One of the best resources I found is

http://www.sounddomain.com/member_pa...Yukon%20Denali

Unfortunately only about 5% of the pics I found advised what tire sizes were used and that's where your input is greatly appreciated. I feel good that if you can go as wide as a 305 that a 295 should work with the right wheel. I'm going with the Falken ZIEX STZ-04 in a 295/50-20. Now I just need to figure out the wheel design to go with. I believe I have it narrowed down to the EVO Slingblade 6 or the Velociti 6. I have to call the tire rack about this offset issue. Do you happen to know of an offset calculator like the ones on the net for tire sizes like http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I feel comfortable able going with a wheel upgrade. Like you said, as long as I go with a tire and wheel which will give me the same total diameter as the original it should be fine.

What brand and style wheel are you going with? Post a pic after you put them on and I'll do the same. My Denali is on order. How do you like your 2004 so far. Have you had any of the little issues, I have heard about with the 2002 and 2003? I figured that the problems I heard about had to be isolated and would be worked out of the 2004 model.

[tonytone]

DXL Driver--I don't know of an offset calculator; besides, it wouldn't work because an offset that might work for a non-lowered (i.e., stock ride height) vehicle may not work for one that is lowered. I hear you on the ride quality of 20" vs. 22"; unless you plan on carrying a heavy load (e.g. lots of passengers and/or cargo) and drive on really crappy and/or rugged roads on a regular basis, IMHO the slightly harsher ride with 22" (assuming 40-series tires; some have gone with 45-series to gain back some of the ride quality) can be manageable. Does it sound like I'm trying to sway you towards the 22's? Maybe, if only because you just can't ignore the visual impact 22's will give over 20's--LOL! But hey, at the same time I won't slam someone for going with 20's--as long as you upgrade to at least dubs, it's all good; anything larger than 17" but smaller than 20" is a complete waste of money IMHO.

What wheel I like and what wheel I can afford are two completely different things...LOL! I've been looking at either the Dip Assail or Akuza Blade or Adana; the Akuza Bounce looks pretty decent, if only because this one site is selling the Bounce 22" wheel/tire package for $2449--not a bad price for chrome 22" wheels. As far as tires, I'd go with either Toyo Proxes or Pirelli Scorpion Zero.

I like my '04 DXL so far--nothing major, a couple of minor issues which of course can never be duplicated at the stealership when you bring the vehicle in for warranty repair, but show up as soon as you drive off the lot after being told that they couldn't find anything wrong.

Did you go for the whole enchilada with your DXL order, i.e. order it with all options? I made the mistake of holding out on certain options when I bought my '03 YXL last year (I was being frugal as to how much SUV I could afford to buy), so I made sure I didn't make the same mistake with my '04 by getting the RSE, Navigation, 2nd-row captain's chairs (didn't really need these but what the hey--at least they recline, unlike the 2nd-row bench seats), and moonroof (didn't really need this either but it's still nice to have both moonroof AND RSE--until '04 you could only get one or the other).

[DXL Driver]

Went on line. I like the look of the Dip Assail. I decided to wait until I return home and have the Denali in hand before trying order anything over the web.

Glad to see that your 2004 Denali is a peach. I how I have as good of luck with mine. As far as options go I went with everything except the rear entertainment center. I was going to get that too all the way up until the week I placed my order. Then I realized with a teenager and a 3 year old in the back I was better off going with two portable units. I figured they could both have their own age appropriate programming with out the sibling battles and could also use the units off the road too. I'll keep you posted when I finally get my Denali and slap on the wheels. Keep me posted on how it goes and I'll do the same.

[tonytone]

I hear you on the RSE issue--I have three kids of my own (one of them is too young to watch anyways), and the two older ones argue over which movie should be playing in the DVD player!

I'm sorta torn between ordering over the web vs. in-store; on the one hand, I can buy wheels from a site that doesn't charge sales tax to CA but the shipping will more than likely offset any gains I'd get from not paying sales tax. OTOH--I can go in-store/local and probably buy a set mounted and balanced that same day and not have to worry about any possible shipping damage...not that one can't get that resolved but then you'd have to wait for replacements. Of course if I buy in-store/locally I'd have to pay sales tax, so for me it comes down to savings vs. convenience. I would have considered Tire Rack if they had a much wider selection of wheels for my vehicle--their warehouse is in the Reno, NV area and I live in the Sacramento, CA area so shipping via UPS Ground would be relatively inexpensive (only $68 to ship a set of 4 wheels/tires) and quick (due to the close proximity of their warehouse from where I live).

Oh well, I've more or less decided which wheel to get...now I just have to convince the wife...