IS BIGGER Better? Those 26-inchers could be ruining your truck.(News)

Byline: WES RAYNAL

it's no secret: Trucks and SUVs aren't simply trucks and SUVs anymore. Haven't been for quite a while. More and more they are a lifestyle accessory instead of a workhorse. For proof, just check out the parking lot at any record company or movie studio-filled to the brim with tricked-out H2s and Escalades and Mercedes G-Wagens. Along with this popularity rise, aftermarket wheels and tires have become huge, and we mean that-both in terms of their sheer size and their over-the-top look (the more spokes, the more chrome, the better), as well as numbers sold. According to the Specialty Equipment Market Associa-tion, sport/ute and truck owners dished out more than $1 billion (that's billion with a B) in 2002 on flashy custom chrome wheels for their whips. That $1 billion is a 48 percent increase in just five years, SEMA says. In fact, custom-wheel sales have shown roughly a 10 percent increase every year since 1992. And the numbers are only going to get bigger. Industry experts agree trucks and SUVs are really where the growth will come in terms of custom wheels. There's only one problem, and it's potentially a big one: Those 26-inchers might look cool, but they could be ruining your ride.

How so? Truck chassis engineers say your 'Sclade and/or Tundra simply wasn't designed for oversized wheels and tires. They could be playing hell with your wheel bearings and suspen- sion bushings. They also could be adding too much unsprung weight, thus not helping your truck's ride/handling equation-not so hot in the first place, as some would argue.

"Custom, oversized wheels and tires are not good for trucks,'' says Tom Chapman, Ford's Special Vehicle Engineering chassis systems supervisor. "They overload bushings and bearings and everything wears out faster. And the extra unsprung weight slows down the vehicle's handling and reactions.

"You really don't want to go with more than 18s,'' Chapman says.

You might be thinking, "Yeah, whatever Tom.'' That these greedy OEM guys are just seeing too much money flying to the aftermarket industry. So they want to bad-mouth it and steer you toward their own ever-growing inventory of custom wheels and other add-ons, right?

"You wouldn't be the first one to make that argument,'' says Frank Bohanan, SEMA ...