15" vs 16" Wheels Pros and Cons (1 Viewer)

[Spike Strip]

Time to change out my 15 year old cracking BFG Mud Terrains.

I'm contemplating going to the 16" Vintiques steelies people like while I'm at it.

Can those of you with 16" wheels of any flavor chime in about what you've noticed, if anything, good or bad, when switching to a 16" wheel. I will most likely will run a 33"ish x 10"ish tire, prolly not the BFGs again.

Things like Off Road air down traction, Tire selection, Tire availability, cornering, etc ...

There's threads all over the 'net on this topic, but I'd like input from folks with 60-series wagons.

TIA

 

[Seth S]

I still have 15's but when I can I will switch to 16" wheels and stay at or close to the 31" tires I currently run. The 16's help reduce the sidewall portion of the tire and are typically a little wider so they help hold a 10" wide tire with much less of the ballooning you get on a stock 15" rim. Your handling will improve and with a 33" tire you will still have plenty of tire deformation available if you air down. TIre availability might even be better than the 15" size given that 15" is old school these days

 

[HemiAlex]

Tire selection is the main reason. And they run true to size. Run a 235/85-16 if you want an all terrain or a 255/85-16 if you want a mud (km3 or Yokohama Mt are the way to go). I’ve got 25,000 on my km3 and that’s still 9/32 left. This is as close to a 33x10r16 as you can get. They measured 32.8” new.

My 33x10.5r15 were 31.25 new. No comparison.

I’ve run my km3 down to 12 psi on the 16x6 70 series wheels. I even drove back to camp on the low psi down 550 to Ouray. Didn’t die, just took it slow. Zero issues. The E rated sidewall isn’t noticeable to me, and people love to complain about them. Usually those who haven’t run them.

I’m on 005 OME heavy duty springs, bilstein 5100 shocks, poly bushings, 80 series box and a front and rear sway bar. I wheeled all of 2020/2021 with the rear bar connected. I only took it off for one trail. The truck drives great. The tires helped a ton.

I’m changing all the trucks to 16” wheels now.

 

[quasi]

16" also gives the ability to switch to an 80 full float axle

 

[Godwin]

My preference is a 255/85/16 tire on 70 series wheels. I've run 33/10.5/15 BFG KO2 and KM2 and 255/85/16 BFG KM2 and Yokohama Geolander MT and my preference for the road and trails conditions I drive is for the Geolander. The main difference I've noticed between the 15 and 16 inch tires of similar size (note that BFGs tend to run small) is the weight difference with the 16s being heavier and extracting a mileage penalty. I'm also committed to the 16s because I've swapped in an 80 series FF rear axle and gone Tundra brakes in the front.

 

[BurntToast]

What about 17” even? I went to 17” wheels on my other truck and even that has limited selection on tires, can’t imagine 15” or 16”

 

[Spike Strip]

16" also gives the ability to switch to an 80 full float axle

I have a non-USA 60-series Full Float Rear already.

If I go with the Vintiques, I'll most likely run the Geolanders MT

 

[DFXR]

I have a non-USA 60-series Full Float Rear already.

If I go with the Vintiques, I'll most likely run the Geolanders MT

I have the Vintiques in 16x7 with 255/85-16 Cooper Discoverer S/T. Love the setup. As you probably know, no spacers necessary with the Vintiques.

Driveability is great… but I came from 33x9.5x15 which always felt a little squirrely in the turns. So that experience is relative.

I am heavier at all 4 corners now but again, that’s relative to the 9.5s.

Tire selection in 16” is better than 15”, but it’s not exactly growing. The S/T’s that I have are discontinued. Going forward there will probably decent choices in something like 285/75-16 but not so much in the narrower 235 and 255 that you may be after. You might end up with some Toyo M-55s! Something to think about.

All that being said, I think you should go for it.

 

[Spike Strip]

@DFXR

@HemiAlex

How well did the wheels (Vintiques vs. Toyota) balance up? Well-balanced from factory or ...?

Thanks

 

[HemiAlex]

@DFXR

@HemiAlex

How well did the wheels (Vintiques vs. Toyota) balance up? Well-balanced from factory or ...?

Thanks

My 70 wheels came off of a legit rest of world troopy. Used as can be. They balanced out with zero issues.

I had Toyo MT on the same wheels and it was horrible bad pulls to the right from a notorious “radial pull” that many have reported.

I’ll let @reddog90 speak about the details but I’ve driven his truck and it doesn’t have any issues. The g003 are a much more aggressive tire than the km3 and they do feel like “real” mud tires to me. Km3 is like a slightly more aggressive AT over a MT.

 

[DFXR]

@DFXR

@HemiAlex

How well did the wheels (Vintiques vs. Toyota) balance up? Well-balanced from factory or ...?

Thanks

No issues with balancing. I had Big O mount + balance the tires and then I put them on and did an alignment in my driveway, and have been good since (maybe 5K miles).

 

[Tennessee80]

Is this the vintique?

Wheel Vintiques 12-680604 Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Wheels at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[DFXR]

Is this the vintique?

Wheel Vintiques 12-680604 Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Wheels at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

I don’t know exactly which ones @Spike Strip is looking at, but mine are that same wheel, but 16x7. Also 4” backspacing.

 

[HemiAlex]

I recently did a Hunter Road Force balance from discount tire. Worth it. It smoothed out the mud terrain vibration a bit.

I’ve rotated and balanced these km3 every 3-5,000 miles with good results.

 

[Spike Strip]

Is this the vintique?

Wheel Vintiques 12-680604 Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Wheels at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

No..

****EDIT***

 

[ToyotaMatt]

- this is MY chosen path to come for the GHOST ........

- the pre-finished PEUTER will go well with the OEM CEMENT paint code too

 

[Spike Strip]

@Tennessee80

No, I made a mistake on your post, cuz the ones you posted look like them, but those are 8" wide

Wheels I'm after are 12-670604 (7" wide)

Wheel Vintiques 12-670604 Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Wheels at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[Spike Strip]

What is the width on those OE Toyota wheels?

Anyone have a part # handy?

 

[HemiAlex]

16x6”

426016026203.

Double check that number.

 

[The Machinist]

Clearance for bigger brakes is probably the most compelling reason to jump to 16's, with tire choices a close second. Although that may be getting worse over time with most new cars getting 17's or 18's from the factory. 17's seem to have a lot of size choices, but my personal opinion is that the proportions don't look right on a 60 until you get up to 37's.

Here's a useful reference for tire choice sorted by wheel size. Not every tire in existence is listed, but its got most of them. Tire Size Chart - https://tiresize.com/chart/

Just to muddy the waters, here's what a set of 35x10.5r15's look like on 15x5.5 FJ40 steelies. Tall sidewall + bulge from a narrower wheel + narrow section width is my personal preference. (I just wish there was more choice for narrow 35's...)
These wheels and tires belong to @mattressking, just threw them on to see how they fit so I can't say how they drive.