Offroad Rims/Tires & Tail Lights (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 13, 2020
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Location
Denver, CO
Whats up guys, I'm new here and to off-roading. I just got my first 100 series (LX470) and I am in love and I'm trying to give it an overland build to start exploring the rocky mountains of CO has to offer. So I bought a 99 LX470 a couple of weeks ago and it was a one-owner vehicle from an elder couple and promised I would take care of it as well as they did and I wanna make sure I keep my end of the bargain. I took her off-roading for the first time and took out a a damn Aspen tree. Man.. I learned quickly that I needed wider rig wheels and tires... Well, I'm already in the process of replacing the windshield and fixing a couple of dents but now I got stuck choosing a set of wheels & tires.. I've been hearing and seeing a lot about Mickey Thompsons and Pro Comps being pretty affordable set of rims. I understand what the bolt pattern and offset is and I read from a few other owners that the whole wheel should exceed 32" on this truck, but I'm just not sure of what to do. I want to try to keep costs low as possible since its my first rig, so I want to try to keep the rims on the same bolt pattern as OEM, but they seem pretty hard to find unless there's anyone else that has had the same idea. I'm also not sure how far offset I want to go when selecting a rim. Anyone have suggestions?


On top of that, that I'm also looking to upgrade the taillights as I already upgraded the headlights and fogs, but I'm looking at the 2006-2007 LED tail light assembly and not sure if they will fit my '99. Does anyone know if they'll fit and if the connectors are the same?
 
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I'd say generally speaking that if the people you hang around with are generally recommending Mickey Thompson and ProComps and say that you should exceed 32" wheels, then you're hanging around the wrong people. :rofl: You can do a hell of a lot with these truck with 33" tires on stock rims, and frankly there are probably fewer compromises with that setup, although you could go larger. If you're new to offroading, then the general advice is to drive your truck for a while before you figure out what you really need, people often get excited and get unnecessary stuff while neglecting important items.
 
i think you are looking for sliders with a kickout not wider wheels and tires?
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Whats up guys, I'm new here and to off-roading. I just got my first 100 series (LX470) and I am in love and I'm trying to give it an overland build to start exploring the rocky mountains of CO has to offer. So I bought a 99 LX470 a couple of weeks ago and it was a one-owner vehicle from an elder couple and promised I would take care of it as well as they did and I wanna make sure I keep my end of the bargain. I took her off-roading for the first time and took out a a damn Aspen tree. Man.. I learned quickly that I needed wider rig wheels and tires... Well, I'm already in the process of replacing the windshield and fixing a couple of dents but now I got stuck choosing a set of wheels & tires.. I've been hearing and seeing a lot about Mickey Thompsons and Pro Comps being pretty affordable set of rims. I understand what the bolt pattern and offset is and I read from a few other owners that the whole wheel should exceed 32" on this truck, but I'm just not sure of what to do. I want to try to keep costs low as possible since its my first rig, so I want to try to keep the rims on the same bolt pattern as OEM, but they seem pretty hard to find unless there's anyone else that has had the same idea. I'm also not sure how far offset I want to go when selecting a rim. Anyone have suggestions?


On top of that, that I'm also looking to upgrade the taillights as I already upgraded the headlights and fogs, but I'm looking at the 2006-2007 LED tail light assembly and not sure if they will fit my '99. Does anyone know if they'll fit and if the connectors are the same?

Here: throw 285 75 16 tires on there. Add Sliders and get the truck up to date on maintenance. I have done SO Much with my 98 on 285s and sliders...... you dont need to toss $$ at it. Learn to drive it.

Here is a compiled list of armor and suspension available
 
If you want an inexpensive upgrade on wheels, you can look for Tundra wheels -they will fit but do look at the 100 series tundra wheel thread as you may need to modify the caps.

Also, wider wheels/tires probably not the best solution as mentioned above.
 
Check out Rising Sun 4X4. They are the Denver club that can answer all of your questions and you can do some wheeling trips with them. good people
 
ts up guys, I'm new here and to off-roading. I just got my first 100 series (LX470) and I am in love and I'm trying to give it an overland build to start exploring the rocky mountains of CO has to offer. So I bought a 99 LX470 a couple of weeks ago and it was a one-owner vehicle from an elder couple and promised I would take care of it as well as they did and I wanna make sure I keep my end of the bargain. I took her off-roading for the first time and took out a a damn Aspen tree. Man.. I learned quickly that I needed wider rig wheels and tires... Well, I'm already in the process of replacing the windshield and fixing a couple of dents but now I got stuck choosing a set of wheels & tires.. I've been hearing and seeing a lot about Mickey Thompsons and Pro Comps being pretty affordable set of rims. I understand what the bolt pattern an
How did you come to the conclusion that you need wider wheels and tires?
Hehe... well, at first I felt like I was getting good traction with the all-season Michelin tires I have when I went wheeling for the first time on a snow trail and got stuck in the snow. Maybe I'm just really used to driving sports cars all the time, so driving on the highway it felt pretty top heavy and didn't really enjoy the stride, the turning felt a little lose or not very responsive. So I thought, in that case, the wider the stance the faster response time I would get if my rims were offset, spaced or wider. Correct me if I'm wrong lol I'm just an amateur
 
Hehe... well, at first I felt like I was getting good traction with the all-season Michelin tires I have when I went wheeling for the first time on a snow trail and got stuck in the snow. Maybe I'm just really used to driving sports cars all the time, so driving on the highway it felt pretty top heavy and didn't really enjoy the stride, the turning felt a little lose or not very responsive. So I thought, in that case, the wider the stance the faster response time I would get if my rims were offset, spaced or wider. Correct me if I'm wrong lol I'm just an amateur

Wider track widths do help with stability, but its effects are less useful when you're crawling along off-road. Unless you were in any danger of rolling over, it's unlikely that a wider track width would have made any difference.

When it comes to heavy SUVs and traction off-road, you're dealing with a whole different combination of forces at work. On-road, tire performance is usually based on a tires adhesion to the pavement. This is a factor of how grippy the rubber compound is, how large the contact patch is and how stiff the sidewalls are. There's a lot of counter-intuitive physics at work, believe it or not.

Off road, the formula is much simpler. Tires grip uneven off-road surfaces by way of mechanical keying. Imagine the tread blocks on a tire as the teeth on a gear that mesh with the "teeth" of the ground. They also grip by deforming around uneven surfaces, putting more tread blocks down on the ground. The rest is simple physics: Pressure (against the ground) = Force / Area. This means that wider isn't always better when it comes to tires.

If you're after more traction, I recommend you start researching tire selection. If you come out of the other side of that rabbit hole, you'll have a better understanding of what kind of wheel and offset to run.
 
I'd say generally speaking that if the people you hang around with are generally recommending Mickey Thompson and ProComps and say that you should exceed 32" wheels, then you're hanging around the wrong people. :rofl: You can do a hell of a lot with these truck with 33" tires on stock rims, and frankly there are probably fewer compromises with that setup, although you could go larger. If you're new to offroading, then the general advice is to drive your truck for a while before you figure out what you really need, people often get excited and get unnecessary stuff while neglecting important items.
Yeah you've got a good point there man, thanks for pointing that out. I don't want to get too ahead of myself either. Neither do I want to go too big on the size haha I'm just trying to give it a more updated/meaner look. The stock wheels don't thrill me at all hah
 
Actually, I was just thinking of outright removing the sliders - although those look pretty BA!:geek:

You’re confusing. Does your truck have metal sliders or factory Toyota running boards?
 
Sorry, not caught up with all the terminology yet, but yeah they're the stock running boards.

Those won't slide all that well :rolleyes:. Not more than once, anyway. Lots of us take them off because the truck looks a little nicer that way, and we don't have to worry about banging them up at the mall.

Actual metal sliders like others have mentioned are going to be loads cheaper than a wider stance, and (IMO at least) much more useful. There are a couple of really good vendors there on the front range (Slee, BIO), and a few more scattered around the country.

Snow is trickier than it looks, no matter what.

Being careful with tire selection and offset is trickier than it looks—roam through the tire/wheel threads to get a sense of what has worked for others. I have (thanks to one of the POs) a 0 offset Fuel wheel, with 305/60s...and they stick out too far. My passenger fender has a slight bend in it thanks to a little inexperience/overexuberance—the tire just can't tuck inside the fender fully. I mean I think it looks great, but the rubbing might drive you insane.
 
In the below article there are some arguments for each skinny or wide tires:


I spent enough time in the tire industry to tell you that there is not one tire that does it all well, everyone is a balance and you have to find the best tire for your most common application.

To try to make a long story short, i believe wider tires (than what is stock in an LC - 275mm) create a floaty sensation in the snow. I live in Seattle, we don’t get a lot of snow, and the snow we get is slushy so i prefer something that will dig through the snow, not float in the rain and give me linear grip (front to back) from a thinner tire rather than a wider tire that will wider contact patch and is more prone to hydroplaning.

On the other hand, if you are rock crawling, riding in sand dunes, or deep snow, you don’t want the skinny tire that will dig you in and cause you to bottom out. I never rock crawl, ride in sand dunes...

So what do I do? Stick with slightly Taller than stock but not wider (275/75R18) on my 2000 and have all season at’s for summer and winter tires on a different set (same size). That’s how i balance.

Wider stance can throw off your camber and caster too (depending if you go spacers and wide offset ), that may or may not matter to you.

Also, the look... yeah wide tires do look better imo but that says nothing about traction.
 
In this order:
- Dig into 'Mud. Grab a beer (or 3) and spend a couple hours reading here. This site is a veritable gold mine of information, advice and insight - based on real world experience from guys driving your truck.
- Ditch the running boards, replace with sliders. Really - sliders are likely the only mandatory upgrade/armor for these trucks.
- Go wheeling with guys who have a lot of experience and have never yelled "Send it."
- Start thinking about tires, wheels, and other things you "need" to better prepare your 100 for the 'wheeling you're going to do.
 
And replace your heater T's

My advice is that of the others. Read all the sticky's on here and educate yourself some, then circle back and see what questions you have. Search the forum for those answers, I bet you aren't the first to ask. If none of that is helpful, loop back and we are all happy to help. Reading the sticky's will educate you on things like types and size of tires, sliders and other armor, mechanical base-lining/maintenance/repairs, etc. Tons of good info on here. I really appreciate your enthusiasm its a fun hobby and these are magnificent vehicles.
 
I second that you check out rising sun.https://risingsun4x4club.org/
I was a member when I lived in Denver. Great guys.
 

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