16 inch wheels on a TRD sport?

Hey guys. I have been doing some reading on aftermarket wheel sizes for the tacoma. I have a 2012 trd sport. So i have 17 inch wheels. Right now i am running some aftermarket wheels. they are 17X9 with -12mm backspacing. I love the stance of the truck but i will be up for some new tires soon and i am considering switching to a 16 wheel, as i like the way the smaller wheel looks. I have read that some after market wheels fit, and some don't. I guess i have two main questions. 1. If i run the same wheel i have now in a 16 instead of 17 any guesses on weather i would have fitment issues? and 2. Is there a certain 16 inch wheel/backspace combo that specifically works with the trd sport and avoids the calipers, or is it just a buy it and hope they fit type of thing?

Thanks for any responses guys!

 

go to tire rack and play with selecting wheels for your [insert make/model/year here]
they will show only the wheels that fit, but will also state what offset they are

 

My recommendation is to find wheels that are meant for our trucks. A couple examples are FN wheels as well as SCS wheels. I also had 17s and went to 16s, and was very glad I did.

 

you can go from -12 mm offset to 10mm offset , 8 or 9 inch wide
on a 4x4 2012 tacoma

 

Where exactly are you getting this information from? Those aren't the only spec wheels that will fit.

 

I am just showing an example of using tire rack for ballparking wheels that will fit

 

Ahh. It didn't read that way and didn't want OP to be confused.

 

Good looking out guys. Good information. Ill check out those two brands of wheels and do a little more digging. Anyone else who has made the switch feel free to comment and say why you did it and if you liked it or hated the change. Thanks!

 

So for all 2nd and 3rd gen Tacomas (2005+) you can run 16" and up rims. You CANNOT run a 15 inch rim, this will rub on the caliper. Now for some odd reason certain 16 inch rims will rub on the caliper but from what I have read and found this was only on certain steel wheels, but the fact that these trucks came stock with 16 inch steel and aluminum wheels means you will probably be ok. Best thing to do is use tire rack or Discount Tire Direct, punch in the info for the Tacoma, see what works according to them, and then tweak offset/backspace to work for what you are planning to do.
Terms of offset and backspace, stock TRD sport rims have a 5.5" backspace if I remember correctly. For a good stance a 4.5" backspace is the way to go. It puts the rim out far enough to look good, but not so incredibly far that it causes the outside of the tire to rub on everything. A numerical smaller backspace value means the surface of the hub is farther inboard, this causes the wheel/tire combo to sit farther out. Offset is how ever number of mm the hub is off from centerline. So a negative offset means the hub is inboard, a positive means its outboard. Outboard causes the wheel/tire combo to sit closer to the inner fender or inboard to the vehicle. I like 17 inch rims more just because of tire size options, theres far many more then compared to a 16 inch, especially for different load rated sizes. Good example is you can get a standard load 285/80R17 fairly easy, and I'm 99% sure you can only get a LT load in the 16 inch 285/75R17. Now theres better offroad/curb protection going with a 16 inch rim since you have more tire sidewall, and it can theoretically ride better since theres more rubber to flex on impacts (this really comes into play for someone on super low profile tires).
I have stock TRD Sport wheels and a 1inch Bora Spacer and I like the looks, but just might take the spacers off because of a piece of mind thing. I had 16 inch Level 8 Mk6 wheels on my last Tacoma that were a 4.11 Backspace. They looked awesome but caused the 265/75R16 tires to rub on the front mudflaps and little on the fender. A 4.5 inch would have solved this issue.
My thing is if you already have a 17inch rim you like, stick with that, doesn't really make sense to switch to a same wheel in a different size. If you were changing designs/style then ok makes sense. That's just my 2 cents.


I like using this site to help go back and forth with wheel width/offset/backspacing: https://www.customwheeloffset.com/tire-wheel-backspacing-offset-calculators