My own situation:
Going from stock 14" steelies to Cragar Soft 8... in the middle of deciding 15" or 16".

I live in a rural area where the roads aren't in the best shape. I'm a trades guy and mine is a work truck, although I'm going to be borrowing some ideas from this forum for my ride. Probably 50% of the driveways I visit are gravel/dirt.

So my question is: although 16" is still pretty mild in terms of profile compared to stock, should I be concerned if I go with car tires on those rims -vs- light truck tires? They'll certainly take a beating. Weight isn't really an issue for the most part. My truck wears a canopy and I carry two extension ladders, and some tools in the box. Maybe a couple times a year I'll be on the highway carrying a load of between 500 - 1000 lbs in the back, but that's about it.

You guys driving with low profile tires - do you have to be choosy about which roads you drive down, or is it even an issue?

 

You made your point with the fact that its a work truck. I understand that you want a cool looking truck,... but you need to use a good sidewall to safely haul your load. I'd stay with 15" or 16". Below is a gauge of what tires will be similar to the original tire diameter so your speedo will mark correctly.
Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
195/75-14 5.8in 12.8in 25.5in 80.2in 790 0.0%
195/70-15 5.4in 12.9in 25.7in 80.9in 783 0.9%
205/60-16 4.8in 12.8in 25.7in 80.7in 785 0.7%

 

What size tires were you planning on running?

When I went from the 215/70?R14s (whatever stock is) to the 225/55R16 front and 245/50R16 rear....

The ride quality definatly went down. Not as comfortable over cracky/rough roads. But it wasnt so rough it would bend wheels. Rode really good with less than 30 PSI.

Now the 215/40R16s I have feel like I could bend a wheel if I hit a pothole hard....

 

For 15x7's I was looking at 215/60/R15

For 16x7's I was looking at 225/55/R16

Leaning towards the 16's. even though everything will end up being more expensive in the end. Not at all low profile, but I'm just now beginning to understand a bit more about tires.

 

I'm never worried about my tires on rough roads, just low ground clearance. The sizes you mentioned have a lot of sidewall; just keep the tires aired up good and they should be fine.

 

when you mentioned "low profile" i was more so thinking in the ways of a 45 40 35 or 30 series tire. that (IMO) is a low profile tire.

anything above a 45 series tire really isnt much of a low profile given there is more than 3" of sidewall. considering you do use your truck for work, have slight concerns about the roads, yet still want a sportier look to your truck, i would suggest going no smaller than a 50 series on a 16 or 15 inch wheel. the width of the tire all depends on what kind of look you want to go for. given the width of the wheel, i say anywhere between a 205 and a 235 tire would be fine.

if you want a better idea of what your tires will do on your wheels, use this site here and insert different size wheels and tires side by side to compare.

Custom rims, wheel tire packages for your ride - RIMSnTIRES.com

 

My truck always been used as a truck. Carried bed fulls of dirt, gravel, cinderblocks, etc.

But the tires have always been "street" tires, all seasons you'd find on passenger cars and vans.

how wide are the wheels? I'm running 215/65/60's in the rear (taller than stock) and these have plenty of sidewall. I'm about to run 215/60/16's in the rear (shorter than stock) and for 16" wheels on our trucks, it looks GREAT. I'm running 205/40/16's in the front soon (because I need the 215/60/16's in the rear).

Your only concern is to make sure you take your time to avoid dips and stuff. usually when you go lower than 45's, it'll increase risk of wheel damage, but that's because most people just aim straight for potholes....

 

Well Nam, it sounds like you haul heavier loads more often that I do.

Haven't bought the rims yet, but I really like the look of 16's. There appear to be a lot of choices of 205 or 215 or 225/55/R16 out there. I'm not far from Vancouver, BC and on Craigslist there are plenty of people selling decent brand tires in those sizes as well... like, I'm talking 80% tread, or people just running them one season.
This would compensate for the extra cash I'll be shelling out for that next size up. With the Cragars, for 7 inch rims going from 15 to 16's it's an extra $20 per rim.