NATO Spec Wheels on Toyota Gibraltar 70s? (1 Viewer)

[araco100]

Can anybody advise on where these NATO spec style wheels can be purchased? I found a few older threads with some sellers in the USA but they appear to now be defunct or no longer available from those locations.

I would need them in a 6 lug pattern (1995 HZJ77). Not really concerned about color, much more concerned about service compatibility and interference with hub disassembly.

I have seen all the Toyota Gibraltar Stockholdings 70s are equipped with these and they appear to me based on photos to be a 16"x maybe 6.5" wide steel wheel painted in an ANSI gray powder coat I assume?

See photos here:

Source:

HZJ76-RKMRS - Land Cruiser 76 Hardtop

Official supplier of Toyota 4x4 vehicles, spare parts and accessories to the UN, Governmental Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations worldwide.

www.toyota-gib.com

I was also wondering the following:

- Will this type of wheel interfere with anything on an HZJ77?
- Will this type of wheel be compatible with manual locking hub conversion kits?
- Will these look terrible with a fender flare 70 series?

Thanks for any input.

 

[OGBeno]

These are available from any Toyota sourcing operation globally in 6-lug fashion. They are still made and readily available.

They are split-rims. Good luck finding a tire shop in the US that wants to mount tires onto these rims.

There will be no interference with your HZJ77.

How they look with flares etc., are aesthetics. That’s for you to decide.

 

[Hulsty]

Arent they just stock wheels? Heaps of 70's get delivered with them here (5 stud new car) Hilux has a variant of the wheel too in 16 and 17'' 6 stud.

 

[prwillard2]

They are split-rims. Good luck finding a tire shop in the US that wants to mount tires onto these rims.

This is the issue you'll run into here in the states. Split rims are radioactive to most tire shops, I visited nearly 10 of them to try and find someone who'd work on them. OSHA requires them to be caged to be worked on now.

 

[bkfj40]

It all depends where you live. Here in rural Virginia, I have two tire shops that have put tires on split rims back when I had a set on a troopy. You aren’t going to your Costco or Firestone shop. You have to go to the small Latino run shops where they sell used tires, work outside with only jacks, and only take cash. God bless the American dream!

 

[Shyrock]

I've got some 16" split rims that were on a 40 I had, but don't know if NATO spec. Let me know if you get to Wilmington and want to take a look.

 

[FJ73Texas]

Those look cool but I am not sure I will last more than 20 miles on them on the highway at 60+ mph.

I have worked with split rims before but not the Toyota ones. I am told the Toyota ones are actually a different (and safer?) design. That being said, most tire shops still won't touch them as others in this thread mentioned.

 

[African]

Stock Spit rims,
We used them in South Africa and guiding in remote Australia.
We ran trailers with matching rims and tires as the trucks, plus spare full tires and just rubber.
We'v replaced rubber on the side of the road with split rims, so you can do that yourself in a pinch

 

[OGBeno]

Those look cool but I am not sure I will last more than 20 miles on them on the highway at 60+ mph.

I have worked with split rims before but not the Toyota ones. I am told the Toyota ones are actually a different (and safer?) design. That being said, most tire shops still won't touch them as others in this thread mentioned.

Agreed. They are meant for field serviceability.

Not good riding experience.

 

[araco100]

Agreed. They are meant for field serviceability.

Not good riding experience.

Noted, will go in a different direction.

 

[nuclearbeef]

I don't feel like the ride is too bad on mine.
Well balanced, even at highway speeds; although they only have <15k miles on them.

 

[prwillard2]

Noted, will go in a different direction.

I enjoy my EvoCorse wheels, 16x7, ET:-10. Expensive, but light and very strong.

 

[Onkel]

the split rims are 5.5x16 inch , 6 bolt until 1999 , after that 5 bolt . I drove these for about 300000 km without any problems . The rims from gibraltar are 6x16 , 5 stud non split rims . They look very good with classic bf goodrich 7.50R16 pizza cutters or Michelin XZL

 

[RHINO]

I have worked with split rims before but not the Toyota ones. I am told the Toyota ones are actually a different (and safer?) design. That being said, most tire shops still won't touch them as others in this thread mentioned.

they are different and they are called split ring. super easy to work on, not bad at all on the hiway. i like them alot, but getting tubes in my size is difficult.

 

[Lo2aY]

I was never sold on splits until we had a tire failure on the edges of the empty quarter. Our guide back then had a single cab 79 with two 55 gallon fuel drums strapped to the bed of his truck and a lot of other cargo he was carrying. Just before our exit to the desert, his tire failed and the cruiser was sitting on the rim. The failure was due to neglect of maintenance and the tires were really worn out. Long story short, he used basic bars and a tube he had behind the passenger bench seat. It was amazing to watch someone use basic tools and a rock to install a new tire along with tube. Sure it wasn't balanced but it got the job done.

Had the tire failed on a non-split rim wheel, it would have been a lot of effort to get a new tire mounted. The nearest fuel station from our location was a good 200kms away.

I'm more comfortable with splits than I am with regular wheels for that purpose alone. You sure cannot lower your tires as much when you drive in the sand but that's okay. And your rolling mass is a lot when compared to a non split rim of the same size and material.

My experience is strictly with Toyota OEM wheels. I'm not sure if the same is applied to other OEMs/aftermarket wheels.

Here are the O.E. splits on the 105. These did not ship on the car. But I changed them after the fact. Tire spec here is 255/85R16 Toyo M55 AKA the best all around tire on the planet.

And here are the O.E splits on my 2023 VDJ78 with factory sand tires. Sorry, it's the best picture I have of the car right now, I know, weird. Tire spec here is 225/85R16

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

I've had a good deal of experience with split rim (or split ring, or retaining ring, take your pick) wheels in East Africa. I also ran them in the 90s (with BFG ATs) while I was leading sea kayak trips into remote areas of Mexico, with that field serviceability in mind. Indeed I could repair punctures in the field with simple hand tools.

And did so. A lot. Nail hole? Disassemble the wheel to patch the tube. Creosote bush dagger hole? Disassemble the wheel to patch the tube. Any puncture required the entire procedure. My clients were fascinated by the process (which is not remotely dangerous if done correctly). After a while, I wasn't. And those wheels are heavy. The romance wore off, I reverted to standard wheels, and never looked back. The ride absolutely improved.

The simple fact is, with modern plug kits, and Tyrepliers and tire irons to remove a tire from a standard wheel when necessary, there is simply no reason to run split-rim wheels. Now we have the Gluetread exterior sidewall repair kits, which can temporarily repair sidewall splits that used to require tire removal.

In Africa on rented trucks with split rims we collect very few punctures. Why? Two reasons, I think. First, tires there tend to be bias-ply with a ten-ply rating, and simply shrug off thorns. Two, in remote areas, nails and screws are valuable, and very few are left lying around.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

I have OEM Splits (I think they aren't really split rings but locking ring rims?) on my '82 FJ45 Troopy and the '94 FZJ75 Pickup. I drive the pickup 70+ often and the ride is very smooth as long as the road is smooth. Of course the tires are also relatively new so perhaps that helps.

Any truck tire shop should be able to work on those rims without issue. As others have said, your neighborhood Goodyear or Firestone dealership isn't likely to touch them.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Aircraft have been running “split rims” for decades and many far exceed 70 mph.

 

[joekatana]

To all the NAY sayers and Doom scenario thinkers here I believe it is high time you stop repeating what you HEARD and get a set of these and use them . I had many sets over the years and the last set was on my troopy that I drove from TX to CA over the highways without any hiccups while maintaining 75 mph ( when wind conditions allowed it and not uphill) . I also mounted and dismounted several sets of tires on them and these have nothing to do with the old 3 piece dangerous semi wheels that created this fear mongering .

Please gents just talk about stuff you have actually used instead of repeating other peoples guesses

Biggest downside to these is that they are heavy and use expensive inner tubes , best thing about them is that with some hand tools anyone can change a tire anywhere , these are still first choice of wheels for people actually traveling the world , I know you probably wont see many at your local REI or "overland expo" but go drive around n South America , Asia and Africa and they will be everywhere

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

To all the NAY sayers and Doom scenario thinkers here I believe it is high time you stop repeating what you HEARD and get a set of these and use them . I had many sets over the years and the last set was on my troopy that I drove from TX to CA over the highways without any hiccups while maintaining 75 mph ( when wind conditions allowed it and not uphill) . I also mounted and dismounted several sets of tires on them and these have nothing to do with the old 3 piece dangerous semi wheels that created this fear mongering .

Please gents just talk about stuff you have actually used instead of repeating other peoples guesses

Biggest downside to these is that they are heavy and use expensive inner tubes , best thing about them is that with some hand tools anyone can change a tire anywhere , these are still first choice of wheels for people actually traveling the world , I know you probably wont see many at your local REI or "overland expo" but go drive around n South America , Asia and Africa and they will be everywhere

View attachment 3340896

Not a doom sayer . . . as mentioned I've used them extensively, and they're perfectly safe. They're just not necessary any more, and not worth the weight and hassle. I can mount and demount tires on standard rims anywhere if I need to, and have done so, using Tyrepliers and the same tire irons I carried when I ran split rims. Why face the hassle of completely disassembling a tire and wheel for a simple puncture when a plug kit can have it fixed in two minutes?