OEM 15s or OEM 16s on '30 Taco

[OverLand Cruisers]

Thinking about swapping our '03 DC TRD 4WD Taco OEM 16" wheels out for OEM 15s; more sidewall flex, more tire choices, less expensive tires, etc...

265/75s or 31X10.50s for the moment, the suspension & gearing will stay stock for a while.

It is cheaper to buy 5 OEM steel wheels than to replace my existing steel spare with an alloy & powder coat all 5; I want black wheels on the Taco. Thus enabling me to do 5 tire rotations (and balance) every 5k miles.

Alloy vs. steel?

16" vs. 15"?

Is alloy easier to balance perhaps?

I dunno...

 

[SteveH]

Not all 3rd gen 4runners (for instance) can take a 15" wheel where a 16" once sat, due to brake caliper fit issues.

Not sure about your Taco, but I'd only buy 15" wheels if you can test fit a front and rear wheel (with or without tire).

 

[Cracker]

I guess it would depend alot (not only like SteveH said as far as whether or not 15's will even fit), but on exctly WHICH wheels you want.

People may tell you alloys are better than steel if you are in the rust belt, but I disagree. Steel will eventually rust somewhat, but if you keep them clean, especially the backsides, you shouldnt have rust issues other than dings and scratches rusting, which can be taken care of by painting or powder coating every few years.

Alloys WILL corrode in the rust belt, especially around the wheel beads. Once they get corroded, the tires can develop slow leaks. Only way to fix that, is to have the tires unmounted, and cleaned up, then re-clear coated or painted/powdercoated. I think that would be more of a pain than steel wheels.

I have a set of 98-00 Taco 15" rims I would have preferred to use, but being 15", they wont fit the front of my Tundie.

I was recently looking for 16 hole 16" spare steelies for my Tundra, and prices were between $50-80 ea, and many were used and looked it.

I ended up buying one, but then I found some 05-12 Tacoma "5 spoke" steelies on ebay. Got 4 for $244 shipped (IIRC, $38 ea, plus $92 shipping) to my door. They were dealer take-offs, so they are pretty clean. (They even came individually boxed )
Here's the seller's ebay store: http://myworld.ebay.com/bernstra/

Another thing to consider is whether you want the center caps or not, and which ones you can/want to go with.
I didnt like the ones that match these wheels, but I found several styles that will work or can be modded to fit these, from 40 & 60-series LCs, and the set that is in the pics, from the early 90's 4Runner alloy 4-spoke rims.

Here's a couple pics:
Before with one stock Tundra, and one of the Taco alloys (Dont mind the Cali lean...I got OME springs/5100s in the front, and havent lifted the back yet)


New steelies & tires

 

[OverLand Cruisers]

Looks good with the steel wheels!
Hopefully you adjusted your headlights after install the OMEs & 5100s....jk

 

[90FJ]

That's actually good advice, your headlights are gonna be way outta wack.

I like the Cali rake FWIW, nice setup.

 

[Cracker]

LOL...I have much more to do before I get it levelled to the point where I can worry about the headlights...lol

The lean is a bit exagerated, as its sitting on a slope in front of the garage, and both right side tires are flat, in the pics.
BTW, I havent driven it since installing the front suspension.
And the tires, in case anyone was wondering, are 255/85-16 Maxxis Bighorns.

Even with the narrow 255's, I had to use 1 1/4" wheel spacers to get them to clear the stock UCAs. The back inner edge of the tires is about 3/8" shy of rubbing the frame at full lock, otherwise, no clearance issues while just sitting there. When the suspension actually moves may be another matter... LOL