So I think the Michelin Defender is the perfect all-terrain tire... (For most of us)

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Just to touch on toddler training wheel size wheels for my 200…

I’m strongly debating on ditching the OEM 21’ LX wheels for a set of HE wheels. We’re relocating the spare to the bumper and I’m pretty sure the factory spare is not the same as the rest of the wheels on this vehicle… I’ll double check this eventually but I’m assuming it’s not.

Anyways, I’ve ran the Michelin Defender on several vehicles before so I’m eying it for these HE toddler training wheels. It looks like the HE tire size of 285/60 is pretty doggone close to the 21’ 275/50’s in the dimensions that count.

Is there something I’m not considering here? If we make this switch I’m guessing we’ll enjoy a slightly softer ride with the added sidewall hight. This vehicle is a pavement princess so no need for anything other than really good street rubber.

We good to go or what else should I look at?
 
Artie said:
Just to touch on toddler training wheel size wheels for my 200…

I’m strongly debating on ditching the OEM 21’ LX wheels for a set of HE wheels. We’re relocating the spare to the bumper and I’m pretty sure the factory spare is not the same as the rest of the wheels on this vehicle… I’ll double check this eventually but I’m assuming it’s not.

Anyways, I’ve ran the Michelin Defender on several vehicles before so I’m eying it for these HE toddler training wheels. It looks like the HE tire size of 285/60 is pretty doggone close to the 21’ 275/50’s in the dimensions that count.

Is there something I’m not considering here? If we make this switch I’m guessing we’ll enjoy a slightly softer ride with the added sidewall hight. This vehicle is a pavement princess so no need for anything other than really good street rubber.

We good to go or what else should I look at?
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Unless you had an unsupervised port guy on his first day throwing HE wheels on the spare location for your rig, it's a regular wheel/tire setup without the bronze wheel.

As for your Michelin's, I'm running 285/65's right now and they're g2g IME. Your speedo will be a little off, but there's gps apps/radar detectors/other options to measure ground speed too. The bigger tires also look like they were meant to be there vs the smaller size that was OE.
 
gasman4u said:
Unless you had an unsupervised port guy on his first day throwing HE wheels on the spare location for your rig, it's a regular wheel/tire setup without the bronze wheel.

As for your Michelin's, I'm running 285/65's right now and they're g2g IME. Your speedo will be a little off, but there's gps apps/radar detectors/other options to measure ground speed too. The bigger tires also look like they were meant to be there vs the smaller size that was OE.
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It’s the spare for the LX, not HE. I had to buy the 5th HE a few years ago.

I’d try and stay as close to the stock LX circumference and 285/60 is a little over 1/4 inch shorter. 285/65 is closer to a inch so I’m not surprised the speedo is off but I haven’t considered the appearance as much as I’ve been focused on replicating the size. I do want this to look good as well, I need to look at the LX more at ride hight and see what I think… I hadn’t considered going taller.
 
Your stock LX has the 21 inch rim as the spare (matching spare as the rest of the rims).

If going 18”, I would recommend getting all 5 new rims to mount 285/65/R18 tires on. That’s really the sweet spot for no rub and defenders offer P-metric in that size for a plush ride. Putting it in comfort mode makes it even better. :)

P.S. - for me, 285/60/R18 would be about 1-2 MPH under what your speedo is showing, but 285/65/R18 for me is dead on for actual speed. It’s almost like Toyota designed 285/65 to be on these vehicles instead of the 285/60’s (both LX 570 and 200’s).
 
Zill said:
Your stock LX has the 21 inch rim as the spare (matching spare as the rest of the rims).

If going 18”, I would recommend getting all 5 new rims to mount 285/65/R18 tires on. That’s really the sweet spot for no rub and defenders offer P-metric in that size for a plush ride. Putting it in comfort mode makes it even better. :)

P.S. - for me, 285/60/R18 would be about 1-2 MPH under what your speedo is showing, but 285/65/R18 for me is dead on for actual speed. It’s almost like Toyota designed 285/65 to be on these vehicles instead of the 285/60’s (both LX 570 and 200’s).
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21? Is that the stock LX wheel size on the 16-21 models? My 2015 has 20s. My spare is the same 20" wheel as the other 4 but the paint on the spare is a lighter silver while the 4 on the ground are more of a charcoal or darker gun metal grey color. Any guesses why the color difference? Did a PO repaint the wheels or swap with darker wheels from a different vehicle and different color scheme?
New LX-1.webp
 
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I will say the 285/65 XLs weren’t yet available when I got my defenders, so it was an easier choice. But after having them for a while I actually prefer the /60s for a couple reasons..

The 65s are surprisingly expensive.
More torque at the contact patch.
 
marcfj60 said:
21? Is that the stock LX wheel size on the 16-21 models? My 2015 has 20s. My spare is the same 20" wheel as the other 4 but the paint on the spare is a lighter silver while the 4 on the ground are more of a charcoal or darker gun metal grey color. Any guesses why the color difference? Did a PO repaint the wheels or swap with darker wheels from a different vehicle and different color scheme? View attachment 4152871
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Often, on special wheel packages, Toyota will use the "Standard" wheel as a spare for cost savings. For example Tacomas/Tundras come with steel spare wheels on packages with Alloy rims even though they are full size. Also notable on the 200 Series, the Heritage Editions came with a standard spare wheel. I would strongly suspect that the silver spare came with the truck, even if it sold with the charcoal wheels.
 
TimCFJ40 said:
Often, on special wheel packages, Toyota will use the "Standard" wheel as a spare for cost savings. For example Tacomas/Tundras come with steel spare wheels on packages with Alloy rims even though they are full size. Also notable on the 200 Series, the Heritage Editions came with a standard spare wheel. I would strongly suspect that the silver spare came with the truck, even if it sold with the charcoal wheels.
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My 2013 came with charcoal wheels and the spare matched.
 
marcfj60 said:
21? Is that the stock LX wheel size on the 16-21 models? My 2015 has 20s. My spare is the same 20" wheel as the other 4 but the paint on the spare is a lighter silver while the 4 on the ground are more of a charcoal or darker gun metal grey color. Any guesses why the color difference? Did a PO repaint the wheels or swap with darker wheels from a different vehicle and different color scheme? View attachment 4152871
Click to expand...
My guess is at some point the wheels were “reconditioned” and they missed the spare.
 
Zill said:
Your stock LX has the 21 inch rim as the spare (matching spare as the rest of the rims).

If going 18”, I would recommend getting all 5 new rims to mount 285/65/R18 tires on. That’s really the sweet spot for no rub and defenders offer P-metric in that size for a plush ride. Putting it in comfort mode makes it even better. :)

P.S. - for me, 285/60/R18 would be about 1-2 MPH under what your speedo is showing, but 285/65/R18 for me is dead on for actual speed. It’s almost like Toyota designed 285/65 to be on these vehicles instead of the 285/60’s (both LX 570 and 200’s).
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I think a lot of speedometers err on the side of overestimating? That would make sense why 285/60/R18 shows 1-2mph under.
 
TimCFJ40 said:
Often, on special wheel packages, Toyota will use the "Standard" wheel as a spare for cost savings. For example Tacomas/Tundras come with steel spare wheels on packages with Alloy rims even though they are full size. Also notable on the 200 Series, the Heritage Editions came with a standard spare wheel. I would strongly suspect that the silver spare came with the truck, even if it sold with the charcoal wheels.
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The tire that was on there when I bought it I believe was the original. It was a Dunlop that was manufactured in late 2014. I just replaced it a couple months ago to match the model and size of the 4 Michelin Defenders that were on the truck when I bought it in January.
 
TimCFJ40 said:
Often, on special wheel packages, Toyota will use the "Standard" wheel as a spare for cost savings. For example Tacomas/Tundras come with steel spare wheels on packages with Alloy rims even though they are full size. Also notable on the 200 Series, the Heritage Editions came with a standard spare wheel. I would strongly suspect that the silver spare came with the truck, even if it sold with the charcoal wheels.
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Just as a counterpoint, I have a 2011 4Runner Trail and the spare on that is the same Trail Edition alloy as the other 4. But I've only had it 2 years so the PO could have swapped it out at some point if it originally came with a steel spare. I recall my '99 Tacoma XCAB V6 5spdMT TRD I bought new had a steel spare. But then my '02 4R SR5 and '05 4R SR5 both had the alloys as spares (also bought used so maybe POs swapped out).
 
Stock wheels on 16-21 LX models are either 20 or 21, including matching spare. I think most LXs come with 21 as part of premium package, especially on 3-row version. The 2-row version had more 20s from factory, but 21s is also common.
 
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IMG_2855.webp


Ok, I just went and dropped the spare to see for myself… 21 inch matching spare is what I found. By the looks of it, this was its first time seeing sunlight. We’ll ride these out until we wear out the rubber, my wife will look like the ultimate mall crawler with the Dissent bumper and 21 inch low profile wheels… this will be comical.

@Zill I need new wheels? I already have the set off of my 2021 Land Cruiser which is what we’d run on this LX, I’m assuming no issues there. I am leaning toward the /65 profile hight since it seems like there’s no rubbing issues and they are available. Discount didn’t have the /60 profile but they carry the /65 in both normal and LT. LT is probably overkill for this application but it’s also our back up tow vehicle should something happen to our Cruiser. In your opinion, would a 24 gallon LRA, drawers, and rear bumper make the LT make sense?
 
Oh gotcha, I didn’t catch that you already have the 18” rims. Do you have a 5th 18” for the spare or are you going to stick with the 21” for the spare?

The reason why I ask is that the stock 21” size is comparable to 285/60/R18, not the 285/65/R18, so if you are going to /65, then you really would want to upgrade the spare as well. You could find a cheap tundra (5-lug) 18” rim if you need the 5th (spare) rim as well if you are not planning on doing 5 tire rotations.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use the P-Metric (116T load index) with the mods you mentioned as that should be well within the load capacity of even P-Metric tires, but it’s more so, what are you planning on doing with the rig? If you’re using it for technical/rock prone trails, then the E size (125 Ioad index) would make more sense for its additional resistance to puncture. Just realize, the E doesn’t ride nearly as well as the P-Metric, and it’s a lot heavier (38 lbs vs. 54 lbs per tire)

If you really want to the E route, then you could look at the 275/70/R18 size, since those tend to be a lot cheaper per tire compared to 285/65/R18. The crappy thing about the 275/70/R18 is it doesn’t come in P-Metric.
 
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Zill said:
Oh gotcha, I didn’t catch that you already have the 18” rims. Do you have a 5th 18” for the spare or are you going to stick with the 21” for the spare?

The reason why I ask is that the stock 21” size is comparable to 285/60/R18, not the 285/65/R18, so if you are going to /65, then you really would want to upgrade the spare as well. You could find a cheap tundra (5-lug) 18” rim if you need the 5th (spare) rim as well if you are not planning on doing 5 tire rotations.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use the P-Metric (116T load index) with the mods you mentioned as that should be well within the load capacity of even P-Metric tires, but it’s more so, what are you planning on doing with the rig? If you’re using it for technical/rock prone trails, then the E size (125 Ioad index) would make more sense for its additional resistance to puncture. Just realize, the E doesn’t ride nearly as well as the P-Metric, and it’s a lot heavier (38 lbs vs. 54 lbs per tire)

If you really want to the E route, then you could look at the 275/70/R18 size, since those tend to be a lot cheaper per tire compared to 285/65/R18. The crappy thing about the 275/70/R18 is it doesn’t come in P-Metric.
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I have all 5 HE wheels so I’m good to go there.

This particular vehicle will be strictly on actual road road trips. Velocirax with 4 bikes and possibly a roof top box for crap. We take a bunch of stuff on beach trips, seine net and fishing gear along with beach stuff. We will be taking that trip in August with this LX after these kids and I can weigh it then and see if I need the LT or not, leaning toward no.
 
Zill said:
Oh gotcha, I didn’t catch that you already have the 18” rims. Do you have a 5th 18” for the spare or are you going to stick with the 21” for the spare?

The reason why I ask is that the stock 21” size is comparable to 285/60/R18, not the 285/65/R18, so if you are going to /65, then you really would want to upgrade the spare as well. You could find a cheap tundra (5-lug) 18” rim if you need the 5th (spare) rim as well if you are not planning on doing 5 tire rotations.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use the P-Metric (116T load index) with the mods you mentioned as that should be well within the load capacity of even P-Metric tires, but it’s more so, what are you planning on doing with the rig? If you’re using it for technical/rock prone trails, then the E size (125 Ioad index) would make more sense for its additional resistance to puncture. Just realize, the E doesn’t ride nearly as well as the P-Metric, and it’s a lot heavier (38 lbs vs. 54 lbs per tire)

If you really want to the E route, then you could look at the 275/70/R18 size, since those tend to be a lot cheaper per tire compared to 285/65/R18. The crappy thing about the 275/70/R18 is it doesn’t come in P-Metric.
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Nitto offers the Terra Grappler G3 in P metric 275/70/18 SL

IMG_4564.webp
 
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