My 4Runner is currently sitting on 15" after market rims. The tires are puny 225/50R15s. As soon as I can justify the expense I want to replace them with some larger all terrains but I'm wondering if I should upgrade rims at the same time. This is a rainy day commuter as well as a hunting and adventuring rig, but I'm not looking at doing anything crazy, just getting to some out of the way hunting spots in the south Texas hill country and occasional wheeling.

 

finding 15'' tires is alot easier than anything else

 

I disagree. 16" and 17" tires are much more commonplace these days. To the OP, is there a reason you don't want to stick with your 15" wheels?

 

not around here i was looking for a good set of used 285s forever never found any

 

My only purpose in going up a size on the rims would be to increase off road performance, whether directly or indirectly, or to decrease maintenance costs, like tire replacement. Would a 30" tire perform similarly on the two rim sizes? I don't know that much about sidewall size affecting performance.

 

In a few years 26" wheels might be commonplace, better stay ahead of the pack and get them now, you will be happy you did

 

A 15" tire will have more sidewall than a 16". More sidewall offers a softer ride (usually). 30x9.50-15 is going to be less expensive than a 245/75-16 (which is a bit larger than 30"). Wheel size is not going to affect how long your tire lasts. Alignments and air pressure will.

 

I Was just shopping for 16" tires. 15" are cheaper, easier to find used. Also, in 15", the ones you find are truck tires and not passenger tires like if you find 265/70/16.

But if you throw caution to the wind, totally get the 26's.