Need help fitting a TRD PRO wheel with 265/70R17 Wildpeaks in spare location

[khalid7412002]

Hey everyone, need a little bit of guidance on what others have done to get a bigger size tire to fit in the spare location.

I purchased a set of 5 OEM TRD Pro Wheels + Wildpeaks A/T 265/70 R17 to replace my factory tires on my 2023 Luxury Trim with factory hitch.

However, I am trouble fitting it in the spare tire location. I have deflated it down to like 20 PSI, I pushed the factory hitch as far back as I could but it's still rubbing on the KDSS bar I believe. It looks like even my factory tire was rubbing as there are marks on the bar.

My ideas
-take it a body shop and see if they can grind away some of the metal on the backside of the hitch as I think that should give it enough clearance.

Any other ideas or products I can get to get a spare to fit in that spot? It's really tight on the GX compared to my prior 2017 4Runner.

Also, does anyone have a body shop or mechanic they recommend for GX work in the greater Los Angeles area, or northern California area as I travel there now and again?

 

[Rednexus]

Unless you plan to be running the spare for long distances (say, 50+ miles), you can swap our the 265/70R17 for a 265/65R17 which should fit (please of course verify with a tape measures). The GX has a Torsen center diff which can accommodate minor differences in speed front-to-back and side-to-side much better than a conventional 4x4 (like a 4Runner) that does not allow for front-to-back changes in speed. If you do get a flat, you'd want to go right to a tire shop and avoid driving extended distances.

If you aren't towing more than 5,000# and aren't using a weight-distributing hitch, you can also look at the smaller pintle-style hitch that only bolts to the rear crossmember and does not tie into the rear frame rails like the OEM 6,500# hitch does. It's still a perfectly fine hitch up to 5,000# and should handle small trailers and bike racks without a problem, you just can't exceed that 5,000# limit and can't use a WDH (which is something only typically used for things like campers).

 

[ericm979]

I had that problem with the same size Rubitreks. KDSS spacers took care of it.

 

[RJinVA]

My Toyo Open Country ATIII tires must be on the small side because I had no issue fitting a 265/70R17 in the spare area

 

[khalid7412002]

Unless you plan to be running the spare for long distances (say, 50+ miles), you can swap our the 265/70R17 for a 265/65R17 which should fit (please of course verify with a tape measures). The GX has a Torsen center diff which can accommodate minor differences in speed front-to-back and side-to-side much better than a conventional 4x4 (like a 4Runner) that does not allow for front-to-back changes in speed. If you do get a flat, you'd want to go right to a tire shop and avoid driving extended distances.

If you aren't towing more than 5,000# and aren't using a weight-distributing hitch, you can also look at the smaller pintle-style hitch that only bolts to the rear crossmember and does not tie into the rear frame rails like the OEM 6,500# hitch does. It's still a perfectly fine hitch up to 5,000# and should handle small trailers and bike racks without a problem, you just can't exceed that 5,000# limit and can't use a WDH (which is something only typically used for things like campers).

I already bought all 5 rims and tires. I did not know about the Torsen center diff allowing a little bit of minor differences.
So that would make it ok to run the 5th tire into tire rotation, even though the current 4 have 5000 miles on them and the spare has 0?

I had that problem with the same size Rubitreks. KDSS spacers took care of it.

thx for the suggestion. Did you buy from Dr.KDSS? KDSS Drop Spaces Rear for $180 or Treaty Oak Offroad for $150? looks like Dr.KDSS is made by Treaty Oak??

Is this something that you can install I could install on my own with minimal tools and space or is it best to have a body shop do it?

My Toyo Open Country ATIII tires must be on the small side because I had no issue fitting a 265/70R17 in the spare area

In my research, the wildpeaks have a larger and aggressive thread, which is why more people run into spacing issues in the rear with this tire, and also individual GX spare tire tolerances are different from car to car, my space seems to be super tight

 

[Rednexus]

I already bought all 5 rims and tires. I did not know about the Torsen center diff allowing a little bit of minor differences.
So that would make it ok to run the 5th tire into tire rotation, even though the current 4 have 5000 miles on them and the spare has 0?

5,000 miles vs. 0 miles is a nominal difference, especially on a Wildpeak which is a very long-lasting tire. I would personally have no concerns running the 0 mile spare in a 5-tire rotation with your other 5,000 mile tires.

 

[ericm979]

thx for the suggestion. Did you buy from Dr.KDSS? KDSS Drop Spaces Rear for $180 or Treaty Oak Offroad for $150? looks like Dr.KDSS is made by Treaty Oak??

Is this something that you can install I could install on my own with minimal tools and space or is it best to have a body shop do it?

I got mine from treaty oak. They're easy to install. Don't even need to jack the car up, just slide under there and do it. It's probably easier with the spare removed.

I'm doing 5 tire rotation. I like to have a full size spare that I can drive on at any speed or distance, rather than having to go slow and find an open tire shop on a weekend or in a remote place. But people's opinions differ on this.

 

[WBrown999]

I see no problem with taking an angle grinder and CAREFULLY trimming the backside of the hitch receiver.

 

[Green4Gulf]

I just threw my 265/70/17 spare in the back. Didn’t want it to interfere with KDSS and my tow hitch was in the way as well. Just removed my 3rd row seats today and plan on finding a nice place to strap it down using the bolts from the seats. I’m accepting the risk of it just flopping around back there for the time being.

 

[ericm979]

I just threw my 265/70/17 spare in the back. Didn’t want it to interfere with KDSS and my tow hitch was in the way as well. Just removed my 3rd row seats today and plan on finding a nice place to strap it down using the bolts from the seats. I’m accepting the risk of it just flopping around back there for the time being.

Putting spacers on the anti sway bar does not mess with the KDSS. It's super simple.

 

[Green4Gulf]

Putting spacers on the anti sway bar does not mess with the KDSS. It's super simple.

I never said it did. I was talking about trying to squeeze the tire in there as it is. Some people have said they’ve got it to fit, but I wouldn’t try to shimmy it into place because it rubs.

 

[re_guderian]

Hey everyone, need a little bit of guidance on what others have done to get a bigger size tire to fit in the spare location.

I purchased a set of 5 OEM TRD Pro Wheels + Wildpeaks A/T 265/70 R17 to replace my factory tires on my 2023 Luxury Trim with factory hitch.

However, I am trouble fitting it in the spare tire location. I have deflated it down to like 20 PSI, I pushed the factory hitch as far back as I could but it's still rubbing on the KDSS bar I believe. It looks like even my factory tire was rubbing as there are marks on the bar.

My ideas
-take it a body shop and see if they can grind away some of the metal on the backside of the hitch as I think that should give it enough clearance.

Any other ideas or products I can get to get a spare to fit in that spot? It's really tight on the GX compared to my prior 2017 4Runner.

Also, does anyone have a body shop or mechanic they recommend for GX work in the greater Los Angeles area, or northern California area as I travel there now and again?

Welcome to the multi-thousand dollar odyssey to fit a matching spare on the GX. I gave up and run a stock size spare with 275/70/17's. You know how much grief that's cost me? None, absolutely none...

 

[khalid7412002]

Welcome to the multi-thousand dollar odyssey to fit a matching spare on the GX. I gave up and run a stock size spare with 275/70/17's. You know how much grief that's cost me? None, absolutely none...

So the spare is stock sized but your other tires are bigger?

I just brought mine to a shop and was told that they don’t recommend installing the kdss spacers on a non-lifted gx as they said it will throw off the geometry of the suspension

 

[khalid7412002]

Welcome to the multi-thousand dollar odyssey to fit a matching spare on the GX. I gave up and run a stock size spare with 275/70/17's. You know how much grief that's cost me? None, absolutely none...

So the spare is stock sized but your other tires are bigger?

I just brought mine to a shop and was told that they don’t recommend installing the kdss spacers on a non-lifted gx as they said it will throw off the geometry of the suspension

Putting spacers on the anti sway bar does not mess with the KDSS. It's super simple.

Hey there I brought it to a shop and was told that it would mess with the kdss system since my vehicle is not lifted and has airbags. They’re saying they won’t touch it cause it will make it a bigger issue with no lift and no airbag delete

So you’re saying it won’t damage or mess with the kdss system if my car is not lifted and I install the spacers?

 

[re_guderian]

So the spare is stock sized but your other tires are bigger?

Yes

 

[kpz1234]

I fit two different tires that were 265/70R17 into my spare spot, the trick was to put one side in first and then the other, if that makes sense. I have the factory hitch on my GX. I am using 4Runner wheels.

 

[ericm979]

Hey there I brought it to a shop and was told that it would mess with the kdss system since my vehicle is not lifted and has airbags.

Bull****. KDSS won't care.

They’re saying they won’t touch it cause it will make it a bigger issue with no lift and no airbag delete

So you’re saying it won’t damage or mess with the kdss system if my car is not lifted and I install the spacers?

The KDSS spacers change the angle of the anti roll bar a small amount. The anti roll bars basically travel in an arc where they twist in the mounts in the center as the axle moves upwards. The spacers just move the center mount 1" lower. Nearly all GX lifts allow the suspension to travel up just as far as stock. They just raise the static ride height. Upwards travel is limited by the bump stops mounted on the frame, not the shocks. It sounds like this shop does not understand that.

 

[khalid7412002]

Bringing this thread back to ask how much articulation/movement the rear KDSS sway moves on and off road.

After about 9k miles on my current tires, I decided to see if I can fit one in the spare now after 9K miles worth of driving. To my surprise, I was able to get it to fit, with about a single finger width between the tire and the KDSS sway bar, about a little less than half an inch of space. Both sides are roughly the same distance apart from the sway bar.

Two questions

1. How much does the sway bar move and is a little half an inch of room enough so it clears the tire?
2. I don't want to rotate the spare at this point if it fits. Let's say in 30K miles of driving, I get a flat and I need to use the spare, will I run into issues running this spare with my other tires that have more wear on them? I can't image the difference between 9k miles on the spare and 40K on the other tires will cause an issue but wanted to confirm.
3. I did a front bumper trim cut to the foglights so I can probably run slightly bigger tires now. If I go up to 275/70/17, can I use this spare if need or is the different too much? People that have trimmed the bumper, what's the biggest size tire you can run without having to do a BMC?

See pics.

 

[K Dub]

Bringing this thread back to ask how much articulation/movement the rear KDSS sway moves on and off road.

After about 9k miles on my current tires, I decided to see if I can fit one in the spare now after 9K miles worth of driving. To my surprise, I was able to get it to fit, with about a single finger width between the tire and the KDSS sway bar, about a little less than half an inch of space. Both sides are roughly the same distance apart from the sway bar.

Two questions

1. How much does the sway bar move and is a little half an inch of room enough so it clears the tire?
2. I don't want to rotate the spare at this point if it fits. Let's say in 30K miles of driving, I get a flat and I need to use the spare, will I run into issues running this spare with my other tires that have more wear on them? I can't image the difference between 9k miles on the spare and 40K on the other tires will cause an issue but wanted to confirm.
3. I did a front bumper trim cut to the foglights so I can probably run slightly bigger tires now. If I go up to 275/70/17, can I use this spare if need or is the different too much? People that have trimmed the bumper, what's the biggest size tire you can run without having to do a BMC?

See pics.

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I think you're fine, but don't blame me if I'm wrong. LOL.

The spot directly between the tire and the differential is stationary at all times. It twists along it's axis and that twisting motion is the "spring" that allows flex but returns to level. That exact spot is the center of the twist, so it's more extreme at the extremities but basically unchanged at the center. That's the case with all sway bars. KDSS makes our bars silly thick, and it does offset the range of motion to one side, but the basic premise holds.

My spare tire has been in contact with my trailer hitch and sway bar for over four years. I've had to use that spare a couple of times and it's fine. There's a shiny spot on my sway bar where the tire rests, but no noticable wear or degradation to the bar or the tire. You wouldn't want to contact the bar outboard of the frame brackets, but between those brackets there is very little motion.

If you want to know for sure, just back one tire onto a curb and take some measurements. I checked mine out at this spot, and haven't really worried about it ever since.

 

[jdam]

In this case it's not the twisting motion that matters, though (as in articulation). If you hit a bump dead on and force the suspension to cycle, we need think about where the pivot points are and where anything outside of those pivot points will arc. The center of that pivot line is at the KDSS bushings, meaning the bit that sticks out will rotate and want to return to center, where the tire lives. It's obviously a small amount (I ran a 265/70/17 in there for a while, and only experienced the wear you did) but I won't say it didn't contact and does not contact more than it did. Here's a s***ty paint drawing:

I think it's fine, but it's something to think about.