Which wheels should I put on my new Denali...?

I'm looking at new wheels for our new Denali XL. I'm thinking something in chrome to match the Denali chrome accents. Also, I'm leaning towards 22 x 9.5... don't want to get too carried away with 24's.

Now I need your help! I've been looking at wheels all day. They are all starting to blend together.

1. Which of these wheels do you think looks best on the Denali XL?
2. Any others you might recommend? Feel free to post them up!
3. What is the best/cheapest place go get wheel/tire packages online?

22x9.5 Versante 212





22x9 VCT Montana





22x9.5 Chrome Golden 200





22x9.5 KMC Brodie

I know you said 24 maybe too much, but anything that you can get stock these days just isn't big...

22" aren't that big anymore... but it maybe just the way stock ones look.

Of what you've posted I would go the last one, KMC Brodie

I'd go with the Brodie also on Denali.
Of course, I'd rather have the sidewall height of a smaller wheel but style is style.

First or last ones are sick and not gonna look cheese in two years from now

last ones for sure but I would say go with the 24's they are relay not that big.I put a set of 24's on my sierra with no problems and they don't rub and they still have a decent ride 22" rims are not much of a change from the factory 20's

Originally Posted by h20king

last ones for sure but I would say go with the 24's they are relay not that big.I put a set of 24's on my sierra with no problems and they don't rub and they still have a decent ride 22" rims are not much of a change from the factory 20's

What wheels and tires are those? Can you give me the specs, incl. offset and tire size.

Also, you are local to me (Portland). Where did you get yours. I'm wishing there's a local wheels shop with good prices and selection, but I don't know of any (trying to avoid Les Schwad... their selection sucks and their tires are soooooooooooo expensive).

ixfe,
lets see the ride..
Yeah I like the last wheels the best too.

I'd go with the Versante 212. I think the KMC Brodie would look a little cheesy unless you plan to add a big brake kit. Too open of a design for stock brake parts IMO.

I like the first ones the best. I agree with h20king though go with 24s. I have 24s on my avalanche with no issues and the ride is still good.

Originally Posted by tyler97217

ixfe,
lets see the ride..
Yeah I like the last wheels the best too.

What about these:

Diamo 25 Karat:

Hmmm.... I like the stock wheels better than all those. I suppose I'm just not blingy enough for 22's or 24's. If I were to do anything on that truck it'd be 22's with black centers and polished lips. My brother has Momo's on his Avalanche that look pretty good. IMO 24's ride like crap and return crappy mileage.

I just re-read everything I wrote..... I must be getting old.

Oh, I fogot to mention.... SICK RIDE! Congrats.

Originally Posted by guido

Hmmm.... I like the stock wheels better than all those. I suppose I'm just not blingy enough for 22's or 24's. If I were to do anything on that truck it'd be 22's with black centers and polished lips. My brother has Momo's on his Avalanche that look pretty good. IMO 24's ride like crap and return crappy mileage.

I just re-read everything I wrote..... I must be getting old.

I agree with you on the 24's. I honestly don't like the look. The tires are just too small looking, like rubber bands. It only looks good if you lower the truck, which I'm not willing to do.

22's are okay... lots of trucks come with 22's from the factory these day (e.g. Escalade).

However, I disagree with putting black wheels on. I can't stand black wheels. Sorry, I know that puts me in the minority these days. I don't like them because like all things black, it's hard to see the details. The lines just don't show off very well on black. Also, every time I see black rims my first thought is... "Somebody needs to clean the brake dust off those wheels!"

I would probably keep the stock wheels also. We have 24's on my wifes truck and you can feel every bump (we have air suspension also), it tows worse then it did stock, gas mileage went down a bit around town but still get pretty decent driving on freeway's. The only way I would put 24's or 26's on my next rig, is if I wasn't towing anything. Also... IMO - if you don't lower the denali after you put 24's on it, it looks funny. I tried it and could not stand the way it looked - my wife also said she did not like the look.

edit - I typed this while you were typing... my post sounds redundant.

22's are proportionate to the older Denali's, 24's are the perfect size for the newest body style, IMO.

If you don't lower the Denali any, I think it looks goofy. Doesn't have to be slammed, just take out the fenderwell gap.

My recommendation is a U2-55 wheel. They've got a huge lip, solid spokes, and don't have a bunch of crap like rivets or split spokes, that makes them look bigger from a distance.

Here's ours with 22x9.5's, with a 2/4 drop




Without the drop

Check out Cache Vienna wheels. Thery're more filled in than the ones you are looking at but I think they look killer on Denalis, Rovers, etc.

The Brodie for sure !!

I got 24's on my escalde and i told you its never too big !! If i need to rebuy i will go on 26's so dont get 22's you will regret it for sure !

Trucks came stock on 22's these days.


If you want to be badass take these in 24's :

Dub Dirty Dog 6

Don't matter what trucks come with. If the wheels are unproportianate, it looks like the ghetto sleds on 30's.

^^haha^^ I love those!

When it comes to wheel selection for me, I am getting old but I look foward to NOT spending 1hr or more just cleaning my wheels. With that said of your choices, I would go with the last one's, the Brodie's. Clean and simple!

They're called Donks

If cleaning them is an issue, anything with narrow slots or fake bolts like in pics 1-3 will be a PITA to clean up.

John's Denali has always been the best looking one I have ever seen from that body style. he is 100% correct. If you are going to go bigger lower the rig slightly. 24's definetely need to go on the newer Denali's. My buddy had 26's on his newere escalade and it was just slightly excessive.

Okay... I know all of you are begging me to get 24's. I'm telling you right now, it's not happening. The main reason is that I don't want to lower the truck, and 24's look lame on a stock truck. I should have stated this in the original post, but what I'm going for is a clean, classy look. The stock 20's look too small, and 24's look too big (unless lowered). So I'm going with what I think the truck should have had from the factory... 22's.

Here's what I DON'T want people to say when they see my Denali...

"Dang! That truck is rimmed up, yo!"

Here's what I DO want them to say...

"That Denali is the cleanest I've ever seen. I can't put my finger on it, but it looks different than most others."

To that end, I'm thinking about spending way way too much money on a set of GM's 22" accesory wheels. I love the clean, factory look. Yet, nobody else has these (at least not in Oregon). Probably because nobody is stupid enough to pay what they cost!

I'm thinking I'll do them up with the red GMC center caps to tie into the red GMC logo on my grill.








This picture makes my knees weak. Clean, classy, truck that says, "Look at the total package, not just the wheels."

Go to my photobucket page. There's a set of those OEM 22's on my Denali before it was lowered. That may give you half an idea of what they look like, even though it's the wrong body style. I'd post it myself, but PB doesn't work at work.

My buddy has 24's on his stock Sierra Denali and I think it looks awful. To me it just screams "I'm from the ghetto", when a middle aged white guy like me steps out of the truck he just looks goofy. The wheels are very similar to the Brodie at the beginning at this thread. One trip to the lake and the entire front lip is covered in brake dust too. The lack of center ridge also gives you a clear view of everything behind the wheel and the butt side of the wheel, nothing there worth showing off. If there were some nice color keyed brembo calipers wrapped around a drilled rotor with a polished center it might be worth showing off, but not the stock brakes. After seeing his wheels age a bit I would never get a wheel without a center ridge.

I really like the way that new Silverado above looks, those wheels are a nice improvement. In general I like a clean wide 6 spoke wheel on our truck/suv's, chrome or polished, moderate lip and nothing that looks like jewelry, no pointy things, and no particular shapes (like a flame) and never anything colored other than chrome, silver, machined, or black. I bought my buddies stock chrome 20's off the Denali and put them on my 2000 Silverado. I am usually happy with the nicest factory wheel that fits my truck but I was not this time. After one week I decided I could not stand them as the truck/wheel combo screamed ghetto fabulous wanna-be old truck. So I traded the chrome wheels for the polished 6 spoke 20's from another Denali belonging to another buddy. Even these are a tad blingy for my work truck so they will probably get swapped over to my wife's Tahoe and the 17" Z71 wheels will go back on the work truck.

It's all personal preference.

^^^^ Too funny, Mike. I definitely LOL'd.

The more I think about it, the more I'm liking the GM 22's above. The last thing I need to be is a wannabe. I just want a sharp, clean looking rig for me and wife to drive. I've felt a little uneasy about this whole wheel process from the beginning. I know the truck needs a change, but I couldn't get comfortable with any of these choices (which is why I came here for advice). Those GM 22's are the first set I don't worry about getting tired of, or looking like something I'm not. I wish they were less $, but I'd rather spend a bit more $ on what I love, then less $ on something I have doubts about.

Originally Posted by jonyb

Go to my photobucket page. There's a set of those OEM 22's on my Denali before it was lowered. That may give you half an idea of what they look like, even though it's the wrong body style. I'd post it myself, but PB doesn't work at work.

I only found one PB page with "jonyb" as the owner. It only had one phote... not a Denali.

What is your PB name?

Man, you nailed it with the accessory wheels. I hate blingy aftermarket wheels on trucks. Sorry, just not my style. I still use my trucks for truck stuff. My obsession with black wheels comes from my love of all things race. I've been running black rims on everything I owned since my very first 1980 320i. i'm actually kinda bummed that it's become trendy now. For race cars it's totally about the brake dust thing. It's the only way to keep it looking good at the end of a track session.

Incidently... I love the stock Caddy 22's. When people change them I always wonder why.

Those wheels on the Sierra look great and will be killer on your Denali - but that truck is lowered like 6" so the "look" is not to scale..

Instead of forking over the HUGE dollar from the dealer on those wheels - maybe try to find a set of take offs from a new one online somewhere - try Jaxed or E Gay or something..

The OEM 22's at the jam though, I'd go that route..

Originally Posted by jeff_mn

Those wheels on the Sierra look great and will be killer on your Denali - but that truck is lowered like 6" so the "look" is not to scale..

Instead of forking over the HUGE dollar from the dealer on those wheels - maybe try to find a set of take offs from a new one online somewhere - try Jaxed or E Gay or something..

The OEM 22's at the jam though, I'd go that route..

Yeah, I realize that truck is riding low and my big Denali won't look as cool. But that's okay. That's just one of the only pics I could find of that wheel. It's very rare... almost no pics of it on any of the GM trucks forums. I still think it's going to be a big improvement over stock 20's. And better than anything else I've been looking at.

I will never find these wheels as take-offs because they don't come from the factory on any SUV... they are an accesory upgrade. Anybody who has them (and there are very few... I've never seen them in person) paid big money to get them after the sale, so they are not likely to take them off later. Besides, I don't want used wheels or tires on my brand new rig.

I placed my order this morning for them. They will ride on Goodyear Fortera SL. They'll be here in a 2-3 days. I will post pics as soon as they are mounted up!

In the mean time, here are more pics of the Fortera tire and some more of the GM CK375 rims.

keep it OEM

sick wheels..

what did they run you with tires?

I only found one PB page with "jonyb" as the owner. It only had one phote... not a Denali.

What is your PB name?

jonyb1

The only thing i dont get is people sometimes complaining about cleaning issues on wheels that takes 10 minutes to clean ..... but we all got 21-23 foot boat most of them black that take 4 hours to clean .... hahahaha thats funny !

You and I must have the exact same taste! I've been reading your Suburban vs. Denali thread all summer and am myself wanting to get a white on black Denali and then put those same GM OEM wheels on it. Those are the wheels that come standard on the Denali Hybrid and every time I see the Hybrid version of it, I think it looks so much better because of those wheels. Make sure to post up some pics when you get the new wheels installed and great looking truck!

Originally Posted by ixfe

Yeah, I realize that truck is riding low and my big Denali won't look as cool. But that's okay. That's just one of the only pics I could find of that wheel. It's very rare... almost no pics of it on any of the GM trucks forums. I still think it's going to be a big improvement over stock 20's. And better than anything else I've been looking at.

I will never find these wheels as take-offs because they don't come from the factory on any SUV... they are an accesory upgrade. Anybody who has them (and there are very few... I've never seen them in person) paid big money to get them after the sale, so they are not likely to take them off later. Besides, I don't want used wheels or tires on my brand new rig.

I placed my order this morning for them. They will ride on Goodyear Fortera SL. They'll be here in a 2-3 days. I will post pics as soon as they are mounted up!

In the mean time, here are more pics of the Fortera tire and some more of the GM CK375 rims.

That's gonna look real good. Definitely Gentlemen's Choice right there!

Now they'll let you into the gentleman's clubs down there in the PDX.

Dealer called today... wheels are in! Amazing... 24 hour turn-around time!

Truck goes in tomorrow for installation. Then tint!

I'm psyc'd!

lets see this bad boy man!!!!!

They should be giving you a $G for your take offs if you are not going to keep them.

Okay, I had the wheels installed today. Couple of things I'm not too happy about:

1. They shipped the wrong tires... I had opted for the Goodyear Fortera SL because they were cheaper, looked cool, and I was excited to try something new. But they shipped Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza. In the end this is no big deal. They didn't charge me more; the Bridgestones should have cost me $150 more. So whatever.
   
2. They shipped the wrong center caps. I wanted the GMC logo in red. They sent the chrome ones. No big deal, they are getting the right ones ordered. Today they put the chrome ones on until they ship out the new ones.

None of this is my dealer's fault. They ordered the right part numbers. For some reason the distribution center in WA just ignored the special instructions and sent the standard package (Bridgestones and chrome caps are the default).

Also, it took the dealer 90 minutes to do the install. Not usually a big deal, but I had my wife and four kids with me. They were bored to tears. It took that long because they had to call the wheel swap into GM to get a special code to program into the vehicle... I guess the tires are ever so slightly different in size so the truck must be re-programmed (speedo, shift points, etc.). Anyway, it took a while for GM to call back. Frustrating.

Long story short... the wheels are on and they look great! I couldn't be happier with the look. Honestly, it's a crime they don't ship this way from the factory.

And for those wondering, I sold the 20" take-offs for $1,500 to Wentworth Chevrolet. They came and picked them up from the GMC dealer today with a check in hand. They bought them for a customer who's putting them on his new Tahoe. So everybody wins!

Here are some pics from the Blackberry. Weather is crummy, but I knew you all couldn't wait. Better pics to come.

Looks great! Much better than the factory wheels, they won't get "old" and you won't look like a gangsta wannabe. Win, Win, Win!

looks good!

Those compliment the vehicle extremely well. They look stock but fancy.

Thanks guys. One of these days I'll post up some real pictures: DSLR, Sunlight, clean truck, and tire shine!

Here's a new one from today... still dirty, still cell phone pic. But this time with red center caps and 20% tint on the front windows. I'm loving the tint!

I posted on your other thread...I have the exact same denali. When you first posted for rim ideas, I cringed a bit as I have yet to see aftermarket wheels that look better than the stock 20's...but you did it. Those 22's look tremendous, congrats!

Don't think I'll be upgrading mine anytime soon, but if I do, that's exactly what I would want.

One nice upgrade I have done (as the only thing I'm not overly impressed with on the Denali is the brakes), is that I put a big brake kit on the front. Yours might look nice with those red calipers peeking through as well...lol.