i am curious about something: what, exactly, is the advantage of a 16" or even a 15" wheel for 4x4ing?

 

I personally think for 4x4 ing the more air, the better. 16" will give you better cornering characteristics on road. I guess that's why most trucks come with 16" wheels nowadays. I am running 15x8 wheels on my '97 4runner and the difference between 7" and 8" wide rims is light night and day with 31" tires. I guess this accomplishes the same result for on road cornering.

 

clearance for larger brakes and better on road handling

 

i guess i should clarify:
what are the benefits of 15"/16" as opposed to larger (i currently have 17" wheels)?

 

My rule of thumb is if you're running a 31 inch tire, you ought to run a 15 inch rim. The result is a higher sidewall. With a 16 inch rim, you're going almost low profile with 31 inch tire.

Anything above 31/265 would be OK to run a 16 in rim.

 

Well, you won't be able to fit 16" wheels on your truck AFAIK. The brake rotors are too big. Like for me, with my 3rd Gen with 16" wheels, no 15" wheels will work.

The benefits to smaller wheels are that tire prices are smaller too. The benefits to larger wheels is more stability since for a given tire size, the sidewalls are shorter and therefore stiffer. Also the ability to fit larger brakes versus the 15" wheels.

Hope this helps.
G

 

thanx for the insights. i believe i can get 16" wheels to fit my 4th gen because it was offered as an option (actually i think th 16" were standard, and i got the 17" aluminum option). any 4th gen'ers want to weigh in on this?

 

Michael:

Since you have the 03 4runner sr5, you can install some 16" with no problems. You just got the option of getting 17" wheels but I see no problems downgrading to 16".

Reason why ppl get smaller wheels is due to many factors. Price is key (everyone likes to save $$$). Tires get more expensive as the wheel size gets bigger. Also the larger the wheel the limited the tire selection. Another key factor for the smaller wheels is the smaller the wheel the bigger the tire you can get (I mean sidewall). And when you deflate the tires, you can get a better foot print too.

Hope I didn't say anything wrong

 

My SR5 came with the 17" alloys installed. Since I am a long time believer in summer tires for summer, and winter tires when it gets white out, I like to have two sets of wheels so I can swap complete sets each season. Since I couldn't talk my wallet into a second set of alloys, I opted for the factory 16" steel wheels for the winters and splurged on a set of REVOs. Because it is a lease, for now, I am not willing to go into any serious lift mods. This kept the
tire size choice to close to the 17" 265/65 overall height. I got 275/70s, and after six months think it handles as well, maybe even a little better than with the 17s. Of course, the REVOs may have a lot to do with the great handling. I haven't been able to compare them to a lot of other tires, but I have never had any tire handle in the rain and snow as well as these have.

So, all that being said; It depends on what you want your tires to do for the vehicle. If you want on road looks, a bigger wheel with a low profile tire may be the way to go. If you want off road performance, a taller sidewall tire will require a smaller rim or a bigger wheel well to fit.

 

well lance, 16" wheels would be offended by the fact that you say i would "downgrade" to them, and i believe the politically correct way to say "smaller wheels" is "vertically challenged wheels" but other that that i do not think you said anything wrong...

 

Wheelers off road has a 15" rim that wil clear the brake calipers for 16" equipped trucks

 

i have been eye-balling those. anybody w/a 4th gen 4runner try these yet?

 

just talked w/wheelers off-road and they say "I'm sure that they won't, the brakes are too big on the 03. You'll have to get 16" or bigger" re: '03 4runners.

 

I use a set of Tundra take-offs in 16" for my BFG A/Ts.

 

i have a 15in rim right now on my 99 4runner... least i think???? it has 15x9.50. im about to buy my buddys Xtreme Alloys off of him. they are 15x8 and im putting a 33 12.50 on them.. i wont have any trouble doing that right? if there are already 15in rims on it. Why im asking this is because every 3rd gen 4runner has 16" rims... thanx

 

The larger brake calipers are an upgrade option on the sr5 and standard on the limited. So if you have a base model runner or an sr5 that was not upgraded (very few) then you still have 15" calipers.

 

thanx