15" rims?

[TCinVA]

My son wants to lift our '96 4Runner and run bigger tires. It's 4WD and has the stock 16" rims and 265/70/16 tires now. He has a set of almost new tires on steel 15x8 inch black 8 spoke wheels that are for a solid axle truck- they used to be on our '83 pickup. Would these fit and if not, could we grind the calipers down a little? I realize the offset will put the tires out some, that's okay with him as long as they bolt on. Thanks for your input.

 

[Brake Weight]

You may have to run a 1/4" wheel spacer to clear the sides of the calipers. My '99 Tacoma came with 15" wheels, so I'd assume that you should be able to clear the '96 4Runner calipers.

As far as the bolt pattern, I don't know off the top of my head.

 

[TCinVA]

Thanks for the reply, that helps. The bolt pattern is the same.

 

[Brake Weight]

I run some 15x8 Cragar Soft 8s. I forget the backspacing, but to clear the sides of the calipers I had to run some small spacers. I also changed out my wheel studs to some longer ones. The stud knurls should be the same for yours. If there's only a few threads holding the wheel on, go to Autozone or whomever and get/order the rear studs for about an '04 Matrix. It calls for a Dorman 610-463.

Some put in for reference

A completly side shot to show the diffence in lengths

The brake rotor takes up almost all of the shoulder, and you'll have the spacer and wheel.

 

[coloradobound]

Pretty sure a number of the early 3rd gen 4runners came with 15" rims from the factory. So it shouldn't be a big issue if at all.

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

If the 4runner came from the factory with 16s, it will have larger diameter brakes and for sure will not fit a 15" aluminum wheel. The steel wheel will have different clearances so I think you'll have to test fit to be 100% sure.

Also, don't trust the door jamb sticker for the factory wheel size. Mine got the 16" wheel package from the factory but says 15s on the jamb sticker because base SR5s came with 15s.

 

[TCinVA]

Thanks for the info and great pictures, we're ready to go now!

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

Thanks for the info and great pictures, we're ready to go now!

Can you please get some pics when you test fit? If a 15" steel wheel will fit, we'll have a lot more tire options.

Thanks!

 

[TCinVA]

Will do. It might be a while, the truck's in Georgia and the wheels are in Virginia. I might do a quick test fit on my wife's 4Runner.

 

[ken_79-fj40]

It's not hard to swap out the 16" brake components for the 15" wheel components too. I almost did that on the 00 we had but I used the nice 15" wheels on my FJ40 instead. The wheels I have are aluminum but they weren't even close to fitting on the 4Runner.

 

[Jetboy]

FWIW, I've tried to put a set of 15' steel wheels on my 96 ltd 4runner (big brakes) and it wasn't even close to fitting. I don't remember the back spacing. They were off my FJ40. I think I've heard of some 15" wheels fitting, although they must be almost no backspacing.

 

[Brake Weight]

I know WheelersOffroad has some high clearance 15" steelies sold to fit a Toyota 16" vehicle.