Opinions on keeping an 18" wheel or not

[Six7One]

I have just acquired my first 100 series in the form of an LX470. It needs new tires. (Read: I want new tires)

The plan is to use the LX for camping and some off-road'g. But not a lot at first.

How many of you have kept your 18" wheels and run a 285/65R18 K02 or similar tire? Should I consider going to a 16 or 17" wheel first?

Thanks in advance.

 

[DirtDawg]

The real question is what is your intended use? and what look do you prefer more?

For me, I did the opposite of what most hardcore wheelers do, moving up from a stock 16" wheel to a Method Racing 18" wheel. I daily drive my rig, and it sees trails probably once a month. Since I knew that I wasn't going to be bashing my wheels on rocks all the time, I opted for the 18" because I think it provides the perfect wheel-to-tire ratio and still looks good around town. But once again it basically comes down to personal preference.

 

[jLB]

I've still got the same 18" wheels that came on my 06 LX. They've worked fine for the last 10 years. They are currently wearing 285/65R18 KO2s. I have no complaints on the 285/65R18 KO2s, but I'd probably go with 275/70R18 tires next time due to the $25 cost difference between the 2 sizes.

My son's 00 LC still has its 16" wheels. I'd be more likely to move his to 18" wheels than moving mine to 16" wheels. Part of it is most wheels available in "5 on 150" are intended for the Tundra in 18" or larger.

 

[re_guderian]

I ditched the 18's she went back to 16's. I run 295/75/16 nitto TG. 18's don't leave much room to air down unless you're running 285/75/18's.

 

[DirtDawg]

I ditched the 18's she went back to 16's. I run 295/75/16 nitto TG. 18's don't leave much room to air down unless you're running 285/75/18's.

Depends how low you wanna go. Don't have any issues airing down my 275/70r18's to 15 psi, and I'm sure I could have gone lower.

 

[Six7One]

Out here it's a lot of trails and sand. Probably want to stick to 285's. Problem is on 8" wheels, I am just outside of running a 305 or 295. Looking at the K02 specs, 17" seems to be a good, happy medium.

 

[jLB]

Out here it's a lot of trails and sand. Probably want to stick to 285's. Problem is on 8" wheels, I am just outside of running a 305 or 295. Looking at the K02 specs, 17" seems to be a good, happy medium.

17" may be good and happy, but you may be very limited on wheel choices. There may be others, but about the only "5 on 150" 17" wheels I've seen are the "TRD Rock Warrior" wheels. If I'm not mistaken those require spacers to correct the offset for our vehicles.

 

[yeti in ga]

I have both at the moment 16 and 18' rims. I have been switching back and forth , cant make up my mind but I do like the look of the 18 inch rim. Its not a fair compare as my 16 rims have older 285's , 18 inch have 295, bigger tire and MT . such a hard life...

 

[Six7One]

Poor you...LOL
I am going to do the 275/70R18's, same width and taller. They don't make a K02 in an 18 with a 295 width. I worry about sticking a 305 on an 8" wheel and being "squishy" on the road.

I have both at the moment 16 and 18' rims. I have been switching back and forth , cant make up my mind but I do like the look of the 18 inch rim. Its not a fair compare as my 16 rims have older 285's , 18 inch have 295, bigger tire and MT . such a hard life...

 

[Manhattan]

I feel your pain. This comes up a bunch. For me, it helped to take a step a back and look at these wheel/tire sizes - sort of that "it's all relative" thing. When you consider that most high-end trucks this size have 20" wheels, 18s are small. When you look at the tires on any performance sedan or crossover SUV, 33s on 18s net a TON of side wall. But yes, looking at 16s, it's just more of a good thing.

Since i drive on pavement a helluva lot more than the trail, I had to be pragmatic and go with something that worked okay in both worlds. The 175/18/70 was that compromise. Still seems like a good bit of sidewall... when parked on street anyway

 

[Hayes]

Different tires behave differently when aired down, but I did not feel like I had near enough sidewall to work with when aired down on 275/70R18's. Even un-modded Hundies are heavy, and when you plant even a 20 psi tire against a rock and push, you can find yourself practically sitting on your rim with 275/70R18's.

295/75R16 is much more to my liking.

 

[re_guderian]

Depends how low you wanna go. Don't have any issues airing down my 275/70r18's to 15 psi, and I'm sure I could have gone lower.

This may be true, but I like more "give" when off road in the desert. I must say, I'm a little biased against the bigger wheels as I just don't like the look of huge metal and small rubber. I used to run 33x10.50x15's on my FJ60, and 255/85/16's on my 80. As an added, but minimal, bonus, for a given outer diameter and matching width, the 16" rim nets an overall lighter combined tire/rim weight than it's 18" counterpart. I was surprised how heavy my 285/65/18 Nitto's were. The 18" rim is lighter, but the tire is heavier than a 285/75/16. To each, their own, I guess.

FWIW, I have a set of OEM 18" rims collecting dust...

 

[jLB]

As an added, but minimal, bonus, for a given outer diameter and matching width, the 16" rim nets an overall lighter combined tire/rim weight than it's 18" counterpart. I was surprised how heavy my 285/65/18 Nitto's were. The 18" rim is lighter, but the tire is heavier than a 285/75/16.

I don't doubt that the 18" package is heavier, I just can't wrap my head around an 18 inch wheel (with the same construction) being lighter than the smaller diameter 16 inch wheel, and the shorter sidewall 18" tire (of the same load rating and construction) being heavier than the 16" tire. It just seems backwards... more aluminum or more rubber should mean more weight.

For reference BFG lists their KO2 tire specs as 285/75R16 @58.7lb, 285/65/18 @57.2lb and 275/70R18 @57.5lb

 

[re_guderian]

I don't doubt that the 18" package is heavier, I just can't wrap my head around an 18 inch wheel (with the same construction) being lighter than the smaller diameter 16 inch wheel, and the shorter sidewall 18" tire (of the same load rating and construction) being heavier than the 16" tire. It just seems backwards... more aluminum or more rubber should mean more weight.

For reference BFG lists their KO2 tire specs as 285/75R16 @58.7lb, 285/65/18 @57.2lb and 275/70R18 @57.5lb

You're right, I screwed that up. Tire not lighter than the wheel is heavier, is what I meant. The difference is small, but there.

this thread has the wheel weights.

OEM Wheel Weights

You lose 1 - 1.5 lbs in tire weight, but gain 3-4 (or up to 20 depending on which 18's you run) in wheel weight. It's just tough to beat the strength, weight, and "decent" looks of the OEM 16" wheel.

 

[jLB]

You're right, I screwed that up. Tire not lighter than the wheel is heavier, is what I meant. The difference is small, but there.

Depending on which 18" wheel, it can be somewhat significant. Some of those Tundra wheels are heavy SOBs.

Just for reference:
OEM Wheel Weights

 

[re_guderian]

...Some of those Tundra wheels a heavy SOBs...

I know, I ran 18" tundra steelies on highway tires for an 8500 mile around-the-country road trip thinking I would get better gas mileage than running my off road/AT tires. Didn't make a bit of difference, as I think the added rolling weight negated any reduction in rolling resistance.

 

[Six7One]

Went with the 275/70R18 BFG K02's. A tad over 33", nice and quiet.

 

[JayM]

I have 3 sets for my LX all with something different for certain applications. I would keep your 18 inch and run a 275/70/18 as it gives good all round performance on, off road, snow, the jack of all trades setup. Keep an eye out for some 16 inch they come very cheap and you can run the wider set ups for off road and crawling. Nothing wrong with having multiples so when you get a little tired of stuff you can change it up for a while.

The 275/70/18 bfg price point is hard to beat.

 

[H E A V Y M E T A L]

I went with 17", it's between comfy 18" and off-road 16". Method double standard with 33" km2.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I dont think there is much if any advantage between 295/75-16 and 275/70-18 set up.

The major differance between the two would be archer not the arrow.

Im 100% happy with 275/70-18's at 15PSI