Noob wheel questions

I have never bought custom wheels in my life and never even really considered it, until now. I have always been fine with basically whatever stock wheels came on my vehicles. However, I seem to have some corrosion on my current wheels on my 2009 TRD OR. I was trying to replace these with the wheels from the 3rd gen TRD OR. However, everyone seems to be asking for a minimum of $600 for those - and they're all used essentially. Brand new wheels on various websites can be had for a lot less. So my questions are:

1) Do aftermarket wheels improve performance in any noticeable way from OEM wheels?

2) If so, why are used OEM wheels being sold for more than aftermarket ones?

3) Can I/Should I look to increase the size of my wheels (16 inch) if I still want my truck to be able to tow/haul the same factory ratings and off-road reasonably well?

4) Am I overstating the problems with my current wheels? (Pictures below) - Maybe they don't even need to be replaced...

 

1) Depends. The wheels that came on the trd models are pretty good. When buying an aftermarket wheel most are just going for looks or to change tire sizes. Or they could be buying a lighter wheel, a stronger wheel, different features (like beadlocks) etc.
2) Shit if I know. People think they have gold I guess. I depends on where you are located but I've seen ones go for $250 or less on the west coast.
3) I wouldn't go over 17". This is more of a question you need to research more on your own based on your own uses. There are more tire sizes available for 17" wheels and they can be found for cheaper fwiw.
4) Based on those pictures they don't look compromised. Just surface rust that is flaking the coating. You could have them sandblasted and powder coated to look new again. But after dismounting the tire, sandblasting, painting, and remounting tire you might be at the same $ as just buying a new set of wheels.

 

Agree with all of this. I would just add to #1 is that many people change wheels to get a different offset either for stance or more importantly for fitting larger tires. Don't know your future plans OP, but if you intend on getting larger ties in the future having a wheel with 0 or negative offset will help them fit better in most cases.

 

I plan on getting maybe 1 size up. 33s I think. Nothing super wide or anything that would cause me to need more modifications.

 

I'm a bit more familiar with 3rd gens, but I'm pretty sure to fit 33s you'd need to do a CMC.

 

If you go 33's you will need modifications.

 

CMC?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cab-mount-chop.65762/page-2

 

Eh, I'll pass for now. Not trying to go too crazy. I'll stick with 31s. Those will be plenty fine for the occasional off road use I have in mind.

 

What they said or a set of -12 offset wheels.

 

Dang, yours look worse than most, cosmetic only, wouldn't worry about function at all. Personal preference, I like OEM, Others hate OEM & replace them immediately. I feel good about my deal, I found a set of take off's from a new 2018 4Runner, whls. & tires with appx 1000 mi. I paid $600. I'm just glad that guy didn't like the OEM. 16" vs 17", wheel doesn't matter, tire size matters, a 265/75/16 is virtually the same size as a 265/70/17, the actual dia. of the 17" is 0.04" smaller

 

I just wanted to clarify the rust statement.
your rims are Aluminum, they can't rust. But what they can do is corrode and oxidize, which is what I believe is happening here. Your clearcoat / powder coat from the factory has been compromised and brake dust / road salt has caused the coating to peel off. No big deal, as the other member said, they can be stripped and re-coated to look like new.

but really, no harm done except for they don't look the best right now.

 

And what if I leave them as they are for awhile longer? Structurally, will they stay good for the foreseeable future?

 

oh yah,
no worries at all in that department.

there's nothing wrong with them at all. they just don't "look nice" purely cosmetic

 

oem wheel are expensive cause they got that fancy oem stamp on them, you can actually buy forged wheels for less than a set of f150 wheels lol

 

ive yet to come across a set of high end wheels that weren't hub centric

 

My stock aluminum OEM wheels looked like that, plus they leaked air. Found a set of stock OEM wheels for $100 on Craigs List and replaced the aluminum ones. Aluminum wheels may look nice when new, but they do corrode and pit as they age, and when that starts they have sealing issues. The three vehicles I've had with aluminum wheels all had sealing issues as they aged because of the road chemicals used. My Tacomas' was the worst for corroding and leaking. It's kind of hard to talk about a Tacoma and metal in the same sentence and have a positive outlook. Rusty steel frames and corroding aluminum wheels?????

 

Question about TPMS. If I bought a set of 3rd gen wheels with the sensors inside, will those work on my 2nd gen truck? Do I need to do anything special to make them work? I am thinking about buying a set of 3rd gen wheel with tires already on them and am hoping to just be able to remove the old wheels/tires and put these new ones on without having to go to a shop.