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Choose your Wheel Option( if you chose Option 3 or 4 tell us why)

16's or 15's & Why

22K views 66 replies 33 participants last post by  TheosTaco 
#1 ·
My truck came stock with the silver(aluminum?) 16's on it. I recall my brothers older Tacoma had 15'' Mickey Thompsons with some Dunlop Mud Rovers. Is it typical to stick with the same size wheel that originally comes with the truck or do people go a size smaller for any reason?

What would be the reasons, advantages/disadvantages of going from 16's to 15's ?
 
#2 ·
Advantages are generally lower cost tires and larger options of load ranges and sizes. Disadvantage is that many 2001+ models cannot run 15" rims due to the size of the brakes and those that can have limited rim options available.
 
#3 ·
As long as you don't have VSC, the brakes are the same as the older years...

Not to mention, on a 33" or less tire, you'll appreciate the extra sidewall that a 15" offers.
 
#7 ·
I have the 33x10.50r15 BFG KM's on my wheelers steel wheels. I absolutely love that size. I think I am going to put my OE wheels on and do the tundra brakes... Which sucks because I have 5 BFG KM's in great condition and I probably won't be able to sell them for what they are worth. People around southern Utah seem to like wide tires... I have been thinking about 255/85's for the 16" rims, but I don't know. I just think 33x10.50's are a great size and it's the only reason I haven't done the tundra brakes and put 255/85's on.


I remember hearing the Cooper 255/85's are really small, almost as small as the Truxxus. So the 33x10.50's may be about the same size, just a little wider. FWIW, mounted on my truck with normal air pressure, my tires measure 32" exactly.
 
#20 ·
I remember hearing the Cooper 255/85's are really small, almost as small as the Truxxus. So the 33x10.50's may be about the same size, just a little wider. FWIW, mounted on my truck with normal air pressure, my tires measure 32" exactly.
my cooper 255/85 16 are bigger than my 33 x 9.5 15 bf's were buy about 3/4 an inch off the truck , and on the truck the c rated bf's had much more sidewall flex compared to the cooper's at the same psi
 
#17 ·
Not sure if they will clear the calipers or not, but you can order one and gently try the rim out and see. That is what I did, and I bought mine from Summit. On a side note, a 3.75" backspacing is going to kick your wheels out pretty far. Factory wheels are 7" with 4.5" backspacing. Those will stick out almost 2" more than factory.
 
#18 · (Edited)
So, if I got a 16'' Wheel with 4.5 inch Backspacing it would fit like the stock wheels I currently have. But, if I get a 16" Wheel with 4 in backspacing, they will stick out a bit?

So basically my question is, The less the backspacing, the more they stick out right?


Now, if I decided to get a 15" Wheel, would the amount of backspacing determine whether they would provide the proper amount of clearence for the breaks & such? So, Am I correctly understanding how this works?

I was actually looking at these: http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/tacomablackalloys.htm


They have bigger holes around the rim. Black Lugs & Center Caps to match. Not sure if I'll get them but, I was looking at em'.
 
#19 ·
Backspacing has no bearing on whether it will clear the calipers. The shape of the individual wheel is what determines that.

You are correct, the smaller the backspacing number, the more it will stick out. A 16"x8" wheel with 4.5 backspacing will stick out one inch further than factory, since factory wheels are 7".

I believe those Wheelers wheels are designed to clear the calipers of Toyotas. They will stick out futher than factory because:

A. they are an 8" wheel, so that adds an inch.
B. They are 3.75 backspacing so that adds 3/4"...for a total of 1.75" further out.

Depends on what tires you want to run, the fatter the tire, the smaller backspacing you want, to keep the tire away from the spindle etc.
 
#21 ·
The website actually says that the 16" x 8" Black Wheels have 4'' Backspacing not 4.5. But, yeah...I get what you're saying.

Another concern is that I don't want to get a wheel/tire combo that turns out to be a lot heaver/lighter than my original set up as I don't want to add any unnecessary or excessive wear on other components on the truck. ex: Breaks and such. Anyone know how heavy the stock 04 tacoma wheels are?
I have these:


http://www.finishlinewheels.com/TOYOTA/TACOMA/2004/A-69418U20/
 
#22 ·
Bet the weight between aluminums is similar. I think those factory wheels are decent, but would look better if they were an 8". They are too sucked under for my liking.

I just bought a set of 16x8, with a 4.5" backspacing. They fit perfect and stick out an inch wider than the stock wheels. If I were to go any wider than a 265, I think a 4" backspacing would be better.
 
#23 ·
Those 16" x 8" wheels will work with some 255/85/16's though right?

And if so, can someone let me know if I'll have to do any MOD work to the wheelwells so there's no rubbing involved?
 
#28 ·
Nothing wrong with stock wheels...I am cheap so I bought one wheel a month for 4 months, then had them mounted up to my new tires. Sure made it a lot easier than coughing up $500 at once.
 
#31 ·
This might be the route I have to go. I'm flat busted at the moment & christmas is right around the corner. This clutch change is gonna drain all the extra money I've got for the month. I'm going to slowly tuck a few bucks here & a few bucks there away so i can this this stuff done already.
 
#33 ·
I currently run the stock 16" stars on my 01 Taco.
But I have been looking and waiting to get the Land Cruiser's 16x8s that fit the later model Tacos. The FZJ80 models (early 90s) will work on the Taco fine.
Plus I love the look it gives as a big Hotwheel :D



If not those, then I would get Wheeler's - either their 15s or 16s
Hoping to get something this year.
 
#34 ·
had to go from factory 15's to 16's to clear tundra front calipers
 
#36 ·
I went from 15's to 16's when I put in the tundra brakes. It all works great for me.
 
#37 ·
Another Tundra brake modder....15 to 16 for me.

I also like the added tire choices although many of the 16 inch tires are of a higher load range since that tire size is made for larger heavier trucks.
 
#38 ·
I went from 15" wheels and 33x10.5 to both 17" and 35x12.5s and 16" and 315s for my winters. Fitting the tundra brakes was well worth it. The Wheeler's wheels are a great option ... They'll clear the 231mm Tundra Calipers as well if you decide to go that route in the future.
 
#39 ·
All this 15" - 16" talk... this may have been covered somewhere else on this forum, but does anyone know if the first gen alloys (mid-late '80's) will fit an '05 Taco? I have a sport with 17's, but hate the idea of buying those tires when needed. I would prefer to pick up a set of 16's or 15's. I have a pretty good line on 15's, so they would be the easiest to come by.
 
#43 ·
thanks guys, i think that cleared things up for me.

reading through all of that it looks like i should probably try used wheels on before reaching into my pocket.
 
#44 ·
How about some photos of your Wheels and specify the size & backspacing of them. That way we can get an idea of what each one will look like & fit.
 
#45 ·
I'm mainly just answering the "Why go from 16s to 15s?" So, I doubt this will help especially since I doubt you can get these rims.

Anyway, I went with 15s, per discussed earlier, I wanted to save some $$$ on tires.

So I did some research and what gave me hope was what this guy posted up:

http://parksoffroad.com/tacomamods/lift/tireswheels/tireswheels.htm

So I bought a set and went through the same crap he did with people telling me they would not fit.

But a picture says a thousand words:









The calipers come REAL close but they clear.

Those rims are Pro Comp 15x8 Steelies Series 87 with 3.75 backspacing.

As mentioned before I don't think you can get these rims anymore so you might have to go with what wheelers offroad has.

This is all a mute point now that I went with a pre-taco truck, for my wheeling rig.

Good Luck.
 
#46 ·
I'm mainly just answering the "Why go from 16s to 15s?" So, I doubt this will help especially since I doubt you can get these rims.

Anyway, I went with 15s, per discussed earlier, I wanted to save some $$$ on tires.

So I did some research and what gave me hope was what this guy posted up:


Those rims are Pro Comp 15x8 Steelies Series 87 with 3.75 backspacing.

As mentioned before I don't think you can get these rims anymore so you might have to go with what wheelers offroad has.

This is all a mute point now that I went with a pre-taco truck, for my wheeling rig.

Good Luck.
Nice!! What size tires are those? I know it sounds silly but, I have no idea what bolt pattern I need to have to fit my 04....could you clue me in?
 
#48 ·
I'm running 16's mainly because... well... it's what i've always had. The same style on my truck as well.

Originally i went from 235/75/15 on my old 92 to 265/75/16 because 33's were too much for me at the time.

Then when i got my taco, i didnt want 33x10.5's anymore because I wanted to go a little bigger, but i wasnt ready for 35's. So i went back to 16's again for the 255/85/16. Once the 255/85's were dead, i went to the q78-16 since it was perfectly sized for what i was looking for at the time.

During the time of having the q78-16 tire/wheel combo I went to an FJ80 rear end (disc, elocker, etc etc.) and now i cant go back to 15's. I almost went to 17's because i wanted to go 37's, but opted back into 35's again (315/75/16).
 
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