My daughter's '97 4runner SR5 has 16" aluminum wheels with P265/75R16 tires. She wants to change them out. I have a set of P225/75R16 tires. The shop manual that I have looked at says that the proper tires for her vehicle are P265/70R16 and P225/75R15. Since the manual says that P225/75 tires are an option, albeit on 15" rims, can I use the tires I have on her 16" rims? She has the 3.4L V-6 engine. Thank you.

tommy b

 

Thats pretty skinny for a 16".

 

Highlux,

Thanks for your quick response. What confuses me is that the aluminum wheel size for 16" is designated as 7JJ x 16 and the one for 15" is 7JJ x 15. If I read it correctly, both are 7 inches wide so it shouldn't make a difference. Granted, the P225 tire will be narrower and lower(by about 17 mm or5/8" per side), resulting in the total tire height being about 1-1/4" smaller in height. Right now she has P265 x 75 x 16 tires which are 1" taller than the spec. size. Since the vehicle is sluggish off the line, (like you're starting out in a higher gear) I thought the smaller tires would help out in this regard. Anybody else have an opinion on this subject?

tommy b

 

You can't use a 225/75/15 tire on a 16" rim

 

Definitely. But I have 225/75/16 tires that I am considering putting on her 16" rims. Will they work?

tommy b

 

Oh ok, I see what you mean know. Yes, a 225/75/16 should work on the 16x7 rims

 

I did some measuring and came up with this:
The tires she has on now (P265/75R16) are 30 3/4" tall with an 8 1/4" tread width. The ones I have (225/70R16) are 27 1/2" tall with a 7" wide tread. I figure the smaller diameter tire will improve her acceleration off the line. Another reason to change them is that they are studded snow tires and since she lives in the mountains (Estes Park, Colorado), they should give better traction in the winter. Thanks to all for your help.

tommy b

 

P265/75R16 = 31.65" OD x 10.43" W

P225/70R16 = 28.40" OD x 8.86" W

There will be improvement when acceleration but there will be an increase in RPM at highway speeds. So if most of the travel is on the highway, then there will be an increase in fuel consumption. If most of the travel is on city streets, fuel consumption MAY improve, depending on the stop/go condition.