Question about offset. Trying not to rub UCA.

Hello all. I am new to the forum.

I have a 99 4Runner SR5 2WD with 2inch Bilstein lift in the front and 1inch in the rear. I’m running 265/65r17 tires on stock 2015 Tacoma wheels.

I noticed that after the lift, the UCA sits really close to the tire. Too close for comfort! I’ve been driving around and haven’t had any UCA rubbing going in a straight line or making u-turns....thank god!

I want to upgrade to better looking wheels and was interested in the ‘Vision D Window’ wheels in 16x8 with -12 offset (from America’s Tire). Will these wheels fit and if so, what tire size do you guys recommend so that the tires do not rub the UCA?

wheels: https://www.americastire.com/buy-wheels/vision-d-window?storeCode=1047

I was considering 285/70r16 but will also consider something skinnier like a 255/70r16 or 255/75r16 and even a 255/80r16. For now, I want to go the wheel route as opposed to spacers or aftermarket UCA. Thanks in Advance for your recommendations.

Here are a few pics of the front tires and UCA. The white thing is a Bic Lighter for size reference.

 

-12 offset will move out or away. See below taken from Tirerack:

Positive
The hub mounting surface is located in the front half of the wheel closer to the wheel face. This tucks the entire wheel in toward the brakes and vehicle suspension.

Negative
The hub mounting surface is located in the back half of the wheel closer to the back lip flange. This moves the wheel out away from the vehicle brakes and suspension.

 

Like @21Venture mentioned, a negative offset will move the tires away from the suspension. Ideally, you'll want to find the offset that moves the tire out far enough to clear the UCA, but not so much that it's going to rub the fender or bumper. Knowing the offset of your current wheels will help. I'm sure some of the 3rd gen people here can help toy more.

Which wheels do you have currently?

 

Hello. Thanks for the replies. I’m currently running 2015 oem tacoma wheels that are 17x7.5 with +30 offset. Current tires are 265/65r17. The steel wheels I’m interested in have a -12 offset. They are the Vision D Window steel wheels from America’s Tires. Will a -12 offset stick out too much? What about a 0 offset, will that rub UCA? Thanks

these are my current wheels


My goal is get a wheel/tire combo that won’t rub the UCA.

 

A +30 offset pulls the tire over in inch towards the suspension from center if hub. I would try to get wheels with 0 offset for the best chance at not rubbing. A small negative offset might be ok, too, but will depend on tire size and alignment. I know a 5th gen will rub on the outside of the tire at full lock with a negative offset, but usually just on the mudflaps.

 

When lifting a 4Runner, does it make the UCA stick out more? I don’t recall how my UCA was like prior to doing the lift. UCA might have been close to wheel/tire since I have a +30 offset on the oem wheels. I’ll see what options there are for 0 offset. I’m a little hesitant to pull the trigger on some new wheels because they’re expensive and don’t want to be stuck with a combo that rubs the UCA. I reached out to America’s Tire but they don’t seem too knowledgeable as to what will work with my scenario.

 

From what it looks like, the UCA gets closer to the tire as it droops further. So, unless you're extending travel, it shouldn't make a difference. 0 offset will move the tire out over an inch, so I would think it would be fine. But, you might want to hear it from a 3rd gen guy as they'll know better than me.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll post up on the 3rd gen threads and see what they say. Is this a common problem? I have a 99taco with the same lift and the UCA is over 2inches away from the wheel/tire. The UCA and suspension looks identical to the 4Runner. On the 99 taco though I have stock oem steel wheels which I think are 0 offset. In general, how much does the wheel stick out with a -12 offset? Thanks again for the help!

 

Let me begin by saying that I’m no expert, just gleaning from what I’ve researched myself.

Your factory wheel was probably FAR less than than 30 (internet searches bring up many numbers, but none near 30). So I wouldn’t call this a “common” problem so much as an “I put wheels from another vehicle onto mine” problem. Maybe try some spacers to get back to 4Runner offset.

 

A -12 offset will move your wheels out about 1-5/8". I don't know how those will sit on a 3rd gen, but on my '19 the tires sat nearly flush to the wheel wells with -6 offset.

I hadn't thought about spacers. Good idea!

 

appreciate all the comments.

I’ve been browsing around on America’s tire site for some new wheels and seems that 0 is a common offset for available wheels for my 99 4Runner. One of the America tire tech said -12 would stick out too much. I’m going to post on the 3rd gen threads. Really appreciate all the help.

Not be off topic but what is meant by “full lock”?

 

I'm running -12 on a 2021 Venture with LT265-70-17 KO2's. They rubbed on mud flaps. Removed them and looking at rokz blokz. Also had a very small rub on front side only in reverse that a lil trim, less that 1/8 took care of.
I thought offset numbers were in mm's. So a -12 would be 12mm? TBG above mentioned a -12 would go out 1-5/8 inch. The -12 puts tire sidewall flush with fender.

 

First of all, it’s your thread, hijack away. Second, it’s not off-topic anyway. Related to your clearance issue, “full-lock” is the state when the steering wheel or, more accurately, your steering rack, reaches the end of its range. Basically, if you turn your steering wheel until it hits on the left, and then back to the right, you’ve gone “lock-to-lock”.

Full lock is where most people have the most clearance issues because 1) your tire/wheel are poking into the inside of the wheel well and 2) your tires are slightly longer (is longer the right word?) when turned on a diagonal axis. Think about looking at a tire from above it. The opposite corners are farther away from each other than the flat centers.