Factory vs non-factory wheels

[BILT4ME]

by some guy who "says he's a toyota engineer"...

If you feel so inclined to prove this out and provide all your research documentation so we all know to what level the unbiased testing occurred, so we can all armchair engineer the right solution.

Oh, and you better prove it in triplicate so know it's legitimate......

 

[rc51kid]

I have never seen or heard of a bent or broken 80 OEM alloy wheel.
There STRONG

I broke one. I dont know how it cracked. I am the only person that drives the truckand i know i didnt hit anything at speed. I think it was just a flaw in the wheel or fatigue. It developed a crack and lost air pressure.

That being said I grabbed a replacement of CL from someone parting a 80 very easily. That would have been much harder to do if i had something less common like aftermarket or even oem steelies.

To me part of the "reliability" factor is how easily i can get a replacement.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I have a slightly different slant when choosing the wheels you use. Some of these newer cast wheels have a very limited clearance for the lug wrench you use to loosen or tighten the lugnuts. Obviously these wheels were designed for looks, not maintenance. A while back, I stopped to help a rig that had a flat on a road back in the woods 25 miles or so from the highway. It was a GM SUV, maybe 10 yrs old or so. Anyway, it had sexy flashy cast wheels on it, not sure if they were OEM and driver was at his wits end because his star lugwrench and factory lug wrench couldn't loosen the lugnuts. Luckily, I carry a fair selection of sockets so was able to help him out. Ended up having to use a 3/8" drive socket to get them loose and broke 2 extentions to do the job due to how tight one of the nuts was. 1/2" drive sockets or even the factory lug wrench were too big to fit into the casting's cavities for the lug nuts.

My point is, let's say you just bought some el primo wheels that caught your fancy and you just can't stop admiring your rig. Before you take it out of town, lift it up and be sure you can get a wheel off if you have to with the tools you carry. Few things are more frustrating than finding out you're not as prepared as you thought. Tire shops are usually well stocked with specialty wrenches for the wheels they sell. It will be necessary, if this is the case, to have the correct tool. My having to use a 3/8" drive socket was a band aid for an emergency, not a permanent fix. You'll want a tool that can hold up to the torque necessary on lugnuts.

BTDT with my first 80.
I once had to get off the road into the weeds in a hurry when some jack ass came around a tight bend fast and on the wrong side of a remote dirt road.
Result for me, two flats, one broken, one bent and leaking JDM alloy wheels, a wheel nut socket that didn't fit in the rim, and hiking a couple of miles with a 5 year old until the neighbouring farmer happened by.
He drove us to his farm seversl more miles down the road, I used his bench grinder to grind a socket down as much as I dared.
His wife fed us and made us a drink, then he drove us back to my rig and made sure I was all good after i swapped out the broken rim, and reinflated the damaged one

I changed to Procomp steel wheels. I bent a couple of them wheeling over the years.

 

[Dave 2000]

I remember reading OEM Toyota alloy wheels were the only ones to withstand a 40 MPH impact into a 4inch curb without damage.

I like the look of the OEM 16 x 8 rims I already have, having said that I think when off road and away from help, a steel rim is the better option in that they can often be beaten into a usable shape to hold air. As an aside, I always carry two OEM alloys spares when off roading.

Regards

Dave.

 

[JohnVee]

About the noticeability of the weight increase of factory steelies over factory aluminum: My experience was with a stock '97 with 2" OME lift as the only mod. I swapped the 285's (can't recall the brand, but they were C-rated street tires) from OEM aluminum to OEM steel and could most definitely feel the effects of the extra unsprung weight. Acceleration and braking being the most noticeable.

After about 1 year, I went back to the aluminums but switched to wider and heavier E-rated 305 Toyos. That pretty much washed out regaining anything I lost in the original switch to steelies.

All of the above pertains only to road use. I've not had that truck off road before.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Bought our 80 new and still have the window sticker and original brochure. Brochure states 16" forged aluminum wheels and those brochures went past the product teams and legal for review so they were pretty well vetted against mistakes.

 

[bigredmachine]

I remember reading OEM Toyota alloy wheels were the only ones to withstand a 40 MPH impact into a 4inch curb without damage.

i dont know what the testing translates out to but they are tested to truck and bus standards so they are much stronger than car rims. About Us - https://www.wedswheelsna.com/jwl-via-testing.html that explains a bit more how the rims are tested to to get certified in japan

 

[cahill]

I am guessing the OP had the OEM 15" alloys and not the 16" alloys that most of us are probably referring to. I am a fan of the OEM 16" alloys for the same reasons most on here are posting. I like the steelies look too but the weight difference has kept me from going that route. I wish we could still buy OEM alloys.

 

[BILT4ME]

What is the cycle life on these wheels?

My truck currently has 348,000 miles (approx.)

The first 224,000 was with 31" tires and the last 124,000 was with 33" tires.

1 mile = 5280 ft.
31" tires = 8.1157 ft/rev
33" tires = 8.6394 ft/rev

Revolutions with 31" = 145,732,346 revolutions
Revolutions with 33" = 75,783,040 revolutions

Total life cycles on the wheels (assuming they are all original to the truck): 221,515,386 cycles.

 

[SoTexCruiserDoc]

I am guessing the OP had the OEM 15" alloys and not the 16" alloys that most of us are probably referring to. I am a fan of the OEM 16" alloys for the same reasons most on here are posting. I like the steelies look too but the weight difference has kept me from going that route. I wish we could still buy OEM alloys.

You can!!

Lexus LX450 OEM Wheels & Rims at OriginalWheels.com

 

[OGBeno]

I am guessing the OP had the OEM 15" alloys and not the 16" alloys that most of us are probably referring to. I am a fan of the OEM 16" alloys for the same reasons most on here are posting. I like the steelies look too but the weight difference has kept me from going that route. I wish we could still buy OEM alloys.

They are available new from Toyota.

 

[Kabanstva]

I can’t speak for anything else but I really like how the factory 5 spoke aluminum wheels look so that’s my choice. I got two sets myself. Had one set refinished in prismatic Porsche silver and the other prismatic bmw silver and machined face/clear.

 

[BILT4ME]

Wow. I hadn't even bothered to check.....

Thanks @OGBeno !

 

[mudgudgeon]

Wow. I hadn't even bothered to check.....

Thanks @OGBeno !

View attachment 3396230

Spendy!

 

[Dave 2000]

i dont know what the testing translates out to but they are tested to truck and bus standards so they are much stronger than car rims. About Us - https://www.wedswheelsna.com/jwl-via-testing.html that explains a bit more how the rims are tested to to get certified in japan

Yep makes sense.

Regards

Dave.

 

[sunrk]

I found a bloke selling just one almost brand new (!) factory 16 x 8 steel wheel a few days ago so I now have a set of four (with the three that I had on my box trailer included). I got a cheapy $250 (not really cheap!) AT tyre fitted to it.

The four factory 16 x 8's will now go on the 80 and the ROH's with the old tyres will get relegated to the trailer (and the spare for the 80). I've got 9 wheels all up inc. the one with the puncture.

I just received an ARB S2 tyre repair kit yesterday to have a go at repairing the religiously inflicted Cooper AT3 tyre.

 

[wagonteeth]

BTDT with my first 80.
I once had to get off the road into the weeds in a hurry when some jack ass came around a tight bend fast and on the wrong side of a remote dirt road.
Result for me, two flats, one broken, one bent and leaking JDM alloy wheels, a wheel nut socket that didn't fit in the rim, and hiking a couple of miles with a 5 year old until the neighbouring farmer happened by.
He drove us to his farm seversl more miles down the road, I used his bench grinder to grind a socket down as much as I dared.
His wife fed us and made us a drink, then he drove us back to my rig and made sure I was all good after i swapped out the broken rim, and reinflated the damaged one

I changed to Procomp steel wheels. I bent a couple of them wheeling over the years.

I'm going back to oem wheels for this exact reason. I don't have a 4 way that can fit in my method lug recesses, and I'm more likely to lose a special socket than I am a 4 way.

 

[wagonteeth]

Finished my retro-swap today with lx450 wheels x8 thanks to the kind fellows at Rising Sun Club!

This swap removed Method Mr701s and 1 or 1.25" spacers required to make them fit. The Methods came with the truck and while pretty good wheels, they don't work on 80s without modification. The Methods were notably heavier than the oem wheels. The other issue I had was the spacers caused the tired to rub on the kut snake flares, where as the oem offset will tuck 35s nicely.

Before

 

[jjdeneen918]

I went from 16” LX450 wheels to 17” Sequioa/Tundra wheels.

They are similar (5 spoke design) but larger diameter, so was easier/gave more tire options.

It gives an OEM-style look and work great. It give me another 1” caliper clearance, if I would ever upgrade the rotors/calipers too.

I believe the OEM wheels are engineered stronger than after market sets. (JMO).

You can see the 17” wheels (front) compared to the painted 16” wheels on the rear.

It’s also way cheaper to find used OEM wheels than aftermarket online.

I did have to use the Spyder tax wheel spacer, from SLEE to make them fit.
I went with 35X11.5 tires ( which were difficult to source), as opposed to the typical 35X12.5 tires. So my stance/width we’re back to factory after the spacers.

 

[sunrk]

I now have a full set of factory 16 x 8 steelies and have discovered another one (not damaged but a bit rusty).

That will give me 5 in total so I can either carry an extra spare or just replace the current spare (on a ROH trak-2 rim with old worn cooper tyre).