16" or 17" for TRD Sport

I have been looking at the Toyota wheel options offered from the factory for my future Tacoma purchase. I plan on getting the Taco DC LB TRD Sport. Stock it comes with the 17" wheels but I like the style of the 16" baja wheels and offroad alloy wheels better. I would like some nice style 17" with a greyed or smoked look, but thats not offered. With no lift, does that extra inch of wheel make any real difference? I know I can componsate with a bigger tire, but I don't want all tire. That gets expensive too. Are the 17's smaller tires and the 16's bigger? What are the pros and cons of 16" and 17" wheels? I do plan to take it off road, but that is certainly not the only purpouse. Mostly 4X4 for the snow in the winter, and finding a camping spot vs pulling into the campground. Any thoughts or opinions are welcome, I would appreciate it.

Alloy


Baja

 

Look at the tire size calculator, the overall diameter for both set-ups are extremely extremely close. Just a bigger wheel in the middle.
16" 245/75R16 (Base model tire size)
16" 265/75R16 (I think this is the tire size on the TRD Off-Road)
17" 265/65R17 (Tire size for the TRD Sport)

 

Tire and size choices are almost identical for both 16" and 17". The only thing you might notice is that tires for 17" wheels are generally a bit more expensive than the same size tire for a 16" wheel.

 

If tire size is the same wouldn't ride height still be one inch less with the 16's?

 

A 265/75R16 and a 265/70R17 both come out to almost identical tire diameter. By same size I meant overall diameter, not the individual p-metric ratings.

 

Again, look at the tire size calculator I linked in. The overall diameter doesn't change for the stock 6-lug models regardless of the wheel diameter.

 

Fixed it for you

 

Thanks...except that puts it off.
265/70R16 = 265/65R17
265/75R16 = 265/70R17

 

Are there any benefits to having a smaller wheel our is it just personal preference?

 

Some aftermarket 16" wheels will not clear the caliper.

 

While 1" isn't going to make much of a difference, a smaller wheel (and therefore slightly larger tire) is going to allow more sidewall flex because there is more rubber in the sidewall. On road this can make for a slightly soft or spongy ride. Off-road, however, will mean more shock absorbing properties of the tire's sidewall along with improved traction when running aired down. It can also mean that rocks are that much further away from gouging the wheel.

 

Good luck finding Ivans. FJ 16" TRD wheels also look good on Tacos.

 

Thanls for the info and this was pretty helpful. Now I just have to decide. Does extra cause less MPG, or does it even make that big of a difference? I"m guessing it only sucks if I get huge tires.

 

Whats the biggest tire I can get with the 16" wheels with no lift? I think a 3" lift looks amazing and would be very capable, but I would not be ready to convince myself to pay the bill yet. So a bigger tire my sufice. Can I go much bigger effectivley without rubbing or binding?

 

I went from 245/75R16 (on those Baja wheels you listed in your original post) to 265/65R17 on TRD Sport wheels. The overall diameter was less than 1/10" difference but they were 8/10" wider. I lost about 1-2 MPG's but the new tires are heavier and more aggressive so not all the loss can be attributed to the width increase.

As far as your last post, check this out. You've got much better options than blocks.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/11282-tacoma-lift-faq-guide-read.html

 

Straight from trdusa.com, I have yet to actually see these wheels on a tacoma. I search tacomaworld and can't find any pics as well as find any on google. Does anybody have these wheels? Trying to see what they look like on a truck. Thanksfor any input.

 

I have thoses wheels... I like them a lot. The 4.5" backspacing is perfect. You can see them in my profile.

 

16" TRD simulated beadlocks

 

Hey man I looked at your profile but only saw 3 pics and they were from the front. I would love to see a side profile shot with the wheels. I couldn't ask for a better truck color comparison, I'm getting the new 2012 with the Nautical blue (not the same but close). Thanks if yu could help me out.

 

I am running them, they look great and you don't see them very often, so it is nice to be a bit different. The offset is perfect for a mild 3" lift too, no rubbing on the UCAs and they stick out ever so slightly from the side (looks perfect).