Downsides to 18” Wheels

Hello all,

I’ve been patiently waiting and saving money to buy a 4Runner for a few years now, and finally sealed the deal on a 2015 SR5 with some tasteful upgrades. It has a Gobi rack with some nice Rigid lighting, and it came on a set of Black Rhino Warlords which to my surprise are 18”.

I’d like to get a set of Wildpeaks or K02s on it very soon, but would prefer to be on a 17” TRD wheel. Realistically this vehicle is going to be hauling my wife and 2 kids around. Camping, maybe an off road park a few times a year, but lots of highway miles.

I guess my question is this: Are their any disadvantages to 18” wheels? I would think tire options would be slightly limited, especially in a C load range, and also that in order to have a decently tall sidewall, I’d need to be on an overall tire diameter that would require a level in the front which I would like to do anyways. And I’m certainly not against some trimming, just want to get some understanding of the big picture from some people with much more experience.

I don’t dislike the wheels that are on it, but would imagine there are advantages to a 17”. So do I just bite the bullet and buy a full set of 17” wheels on top of tires? Or shell out $1000 for tires to put on the 18s?

Thanks in advance!

 

Well 17” wheels will give you more sidewall (as you stated). The big issue though is those street tires. Those won’t do you any good at off-road parks (unless keeping it minor and not getting into rocks). Funny thing is that is what I told my wife before I tore up the stock tires and had to go get new ones the next day.

If you have the funds and know you want 17” wheels don’t regret it later as it will just cost more down the road. See if you can sell what you have (by keeping them in good condition). Find the wheels and tires (285/70/17 is common for people who lift their 4Runner). Anyways save and then buy what you want once.
Good luck and nice looking 4Runner. That is a pretty blue.

 

You nailed the only issues - comparative price and total optional size and load. Do a quick search on Discount Tire for A/T only and you get:

5th Gen OEM height
265/65/18 - 26 tires in A/T

5th Gen OEM height
265/70/17 - 82 tires in A/T

The upside is that those wheels are far more expensive than a set of TRD Pro style wheels. You can buy a set of new Pro wheels for less than $1k (knock offs as low as $650). Those Rhinos are going new for $1,400 - $1,600 new and there are none for sale currently on FleaBay, used. You would be straight money or better selling them.

However, there is nothing wrong with what you have, though the tires are "OK" offroad capable and they appear either mismatched or black wall out in front, white in the rear. Do you lose a bit of side wall with an 18, yes, but unless you are really going in deep trails with tons of mud, rocks and roots and airing down to 12psi, you are more than fine. Jeep JKU and JLU Sahara come with an 18" and are more than capable offroad from factory.

BFG, Toyo, Falken, Goodyear, Cooper, etc all make excellent A/T's in 18. 18" 265/65/18 come typically in SL (Standard Load) or lesser so XL (Extra Load) and are both 4-ply sidewall tires, as opposed to C-Load which are typically 6-ply. XL is rated to a higher psi than SL. The primary difference is the MAX psi is higher for the C than the SL, which is something you don't need to worry about unless you are going to tow a large trailer or boat regularly. An SL is excellent for around town, highway but capable if need be offroad.

Great find on the truck. Good looking rig.

 

Thank you both for the info! I’m probably going to run the street tires that are on it for a while and then go the 17” route. They are unfortunately not a matching set that are on it now, but they are name brand and the dealer flipped the rears to get the white lettering facing in for me.

So for now I wouldn’t mind getting rid of the rake by doing a small level up front, and then be a tax-season baller and buy a set of 17” TRD replicas. I would imagine there isn’t a huge market for selling used 18s, but I would imagine I could at least break even as Overland WT said.
Thanks to you both, I’m glad I found this one and I’m looking forward to my future with it.

 

The only disadvantage is, more 18s weigh more then 17s... but you can run 265 70 18s, which is a great tire size for 4runners

 

Good looking truck, congrats! And welcome from SoCal

 

Bought myself some Method 316s on 265/70R17 KO2s. Very happy so far! Also was able to sell the 18s for $800 and a full set of SR5 wheels.

 

Those Method 316 looks great!

 

@Dabigono i appreciate it! I have a level on the way for it now.

 

Looks great! Nice choice on the wheels!