17" wheels vs 16" wheels

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Hey all,

Question for you.

I am evaluating wheels and tires for the new '16 Tacoma.

Some guys are running the 17" FJ steelies (like Jacket did on his taco a few years back) and mounting 34x10.5x17, a popular one I am looking at is BFG TA KO2.

I like this tire/wheel combo because no rubbing, 4lbs lighter tire than 285, and 1.2" taller than a 285.

Do you see any issues with running 17s vs 16s other than I know the issues with less side wall?

This would strictly be a wheeling set. Anyone have any experience/feedback they want to share on wheeling 17s over 16s?

Some issues with the Taco are with width and rubbing body mounts and I don't want to run spacers and avoid body mount chop if possible. Seems like as soon as you go over 11" wide you get rubbing.

Thanks for any thoughts..

285s on left, 34s on right

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Looking back at Toyo AT II extreme, same tire I have on the 100 diff size though.

This tire is slightly taller at 33.9 than the BFGs 33.5 and this Toyo is 11.3 wide.

And almost 100.00 less per tire.

 

[Shark Bait]

I have the same question. What did you go with? I am going to need tires soon.

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

I have the same question. What did you go with? I am going to need tires soon.

Hi Chris,

Nothing yet..

I know a lot of guys are liking the ST Maxx by Cooper also. They make a 285/75/17. Measures 11.1 wide and 34.06 diam.

I think I could get that to fit... That would really be a cool tire.

 

[Corbet]

I'd go 17's as tire selection will only continue to diminish in 16 moving forward. Are you really going to wheel it hard enough to notice an extra 1/2" of sidewall?

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

I'd go 17's as tire selection will only continue to diminish in 16 moving forward. Are you really going to wheel it hard enough to notice an extra 1/2" of sidewall?

That is what Wes said also. Thnkx

 

[Jacket]

Some guys are running the 17" FJ steelies (like Jacket did on his taco a few years back)

Quoting for correctness. Mine were 16x7 steelies that Toyota used for the spare tire on old Tacomas, 4Runners and Tundras. I ran 255/85/16 on them.

I'd have agree with Corbet. You need to do very little with the truck to fit a 33". Going up to 34 or 35 gets you into bigger mods that likely don't align with how you drive and wheel.

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Well I went back and forth on this and decided to just go with the 285/75/16
BFG TA KO2s.

Gonna stick with 16s for now.

 

[Shark Bait]

Well I went back and forth on this and decided to just go with the 285/75/16
BFG TA KO2s.

Gonna stick with 16s for now.

How are these working out? Are these just for off road? What do you use on the street?

 

[DaveInDenver]

285 will rub on your 2011 Chris. I run 235/85r16 but a 255 would just fit with some inner fender rub but then I would not be able to fit chains. Although does depend on the aspect ratio you're talking about.

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Thanks Dave.

I read 285s will rub also. I am going to test this weekend, have not installed yet.

I still have not lifted or installed my UCAs yet. But I am curious where they will rub.

I also have a set of 1/4" spacers I could use. I would rather not use spacers but these are really thin and might give just enough space.

Chris, I am going to keep the OEM set/tires for daily driving for now and plan on using the BFGs for off road.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Pretty sure 285 of all aspect ratios will rub somewhere.

Where they rub depends on the width of the tire, rim and backspacing. The common critical places are the UCA, body mount and frame and the less critical (likely self clearance or fixed with a hammer and/or saw) are the inside of the fender flare, pinch seam on the back of the fender, mud flap or front inner fender skirt.

Generally speaking the 235/85R16 and 255/85R16 on stock rim won't rub on anything important with only the front mud flaps probably needing to be removed for the 255/85.

The other sizes such as 265/75R16, 285/75R16, etc. really depend. With new UCAs you reduce the risk of wider tires rubbing there and less than stock backspacing aftermarket rims can help there, too. But that usually means you rub the sheet metal worse.

The bottom line is beyond 32" tall and beyond about 10.5" wide it's a balancing game (stock OR being 265/70R16, or roughly 30.5" x 10.5"). If you go beyond those measurements in one place you have to be more aware on the other (for example a 255/85R16 is 33" tall but falls below 10.5" mounted so is minimally difficult to fit). I'd guess you'll need about a 1.25" spacer on stock wheels to fit or a 4" backspace aftermarket, but it's hard to say until you mount them and cycle them. It will be very obvious if you have UCA interference, you won't even make it out of the Discount bay. But otherwise you'll just have to see.

The only real major pain in the rear one is the body mount. If you rub there you are looking at cutting and welding, i.e. the cab mount chop (CMC) you'll see referenced. This is part of the reason I went with 235/85R16 because I want to avoid rubbing until I can do the CMC right.

 

[Shark Bait]

I just want to buy one size and stick with it. This article suggests 265/75 R16 or 275/70 R17 with a 2" lift or smaller.

www.tacomahq.com/161/original-tacoma-tire-size/

 

[DaveInDenver]

The 265/75R16 is about 1" taller than the stock TRD OR size, which is 265/70R16 and exactly the same width. You will have no issue fitting that and it would work fine on stock suspension, too. I have about 2" of front lift and about 2.5" in the rear and my 32" tall tires have plenty of clearance, enough for chains to fit without rubbing. I would ideally like about another 0.5" to 1" of width on my 7" rims (a mythical 245/85R16 or 255/80R16) but I didn't want to go any taller right now, so it's not ideal. I eventually will run 255/85R16 most likely, but I'm really happy with the KO2 so far so maybe not.

 

[Shark Bait]

The 265/75R16 is about 1" taller than the stock TRD OR size, which is 265/70R16 and exactly the same width. You will have no issue fitting that and it would work fine on stock suspension, too. I have about 2" of front lift and about 2.5" in the rear and my 32" tall tires have plenty of clearance, enough for chains to fit without rubbing. I would ideally like about another 0.5" to 1" of width on my 7" rims (a mythical 245/85R16 or 255/80R16) but I didn't want to go any taller right now, so it's not ideal. I eventually will run 255/85R16 most likely, but I'm really happy with the KO2 so far so maybe not.

Hmm. I have 265/70R16 on there now that were stock. I did 3" lift. so 265/75R16 would fit, no problem. But you guys are saying if I go taller I will rub?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Hmm. I have 265/70R16 on there now that were stock. I did 3" lift. so 265/75R16 would fit, no problem. But you guys are saying if I go taller I will rub?

Yes, 265/70R16 is the stock size for TRD Offroad, so that sounds right. Also, yes, 265/75R16 will fit without an issue. The 265/75R16 is what a lot of people run with mild lifts.

You can go another size or so bigger before you need to start watching. But depends the aspect ratio. A 285/75R16 is almost 33" x 11.25" and is just at the limit where you need to start checking for interference.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=285-75r16-265-70r16

What height and/or width are you after? As a maximum size rule of thumb you can run a 255/85R16 if you want height without width or 285/70R16 if you want width without height. Anything smaller will fit without a problem. Anything wider/taller will need some work, maybe a little, maybe a lot.

 

[Shark Bait]

I guess I just want more height.

 

[DaveInDenver]

A 285/75R16 is about the tallest, widest tire that will fit with 2.5" of lift and require minor trimming of the inner fender liner and removal of the mud flaps. You can eek out a little bit more height with the 255/85R16 but it will be narrower.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=285-75r16-255-85r16

If you want taller than 33" with 3" or less or lift then you have to be ready to cut or weld something somewhere.

 

[DaveInDenver]

This is a 265/75R16 stuffed into the front and this isn't quite all the way to the bump stop. That's why with mid travel OME, etc. you need to watch beyond that unless you're ready to trim a little. The 285/75R16 is another inch taller than the tire on this Tacoma, so the rub points are the front and rear of the fender flares and inner fenders. The top of the fender can accommodate the height/width.

 

[DaveInDenver]

If you take the plastic flares off you can more comfortably fit a larger tire, BTW. These are 305/70R16, so a 33" x 12", on a less than stock backspacing. To go larger you need to trim the fenders themselves.

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