Steelies?

Thinking about buying some Ford Ranger/Bronco steel wheel takeoffs. Yay or nay?

 

Hellz, yes you should.

 

You need to look at more than just bolt pattern when trying to fit wheels that weren't meant for your truck--offset and hub bore matter too. Other folks have already asked/tried and concluded that it's not a viable swap. Search "Bronco wheels on Tacoma" and you'll find plenty of info.

FJ Cruiser steelies are the safest bet, if you can find them.

 

Is your spare a steelie?

Get 4 more.

 

Find 4 Tacoma spares and powder coat them. Conical lug nuts are required for those.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lug-nuts-for-spare-steel-wheel.805772/#post-28891376

 

I do love the way steelies look on 3rd gens. I say find a set that will fit and go for it. This thread might be helpful:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/show-off-your-steel-wheels.467479/

 

I had steelies on my 2nd gen, what you want is FJ steelies, I’m not sure if it’s the same wheel as the Tacoma spare

 

The Ford steelies are +55mm offset so I was planning on purchasing some 1.25in spacers to bring the offset the back to around the same offset as the factory TRD off road wheels (+25mm).

I ideally wouldn’t want to run spacers, but I also would prefer to stay at a 16” wheel. I believe the FJ steelies are 17”, but they are very appealing nonetheless

 

Definitely a good idea. It’s just been hard to find info on what the offset on those wheels would be. I might run into the same issue as I would with the Ford steelies: running spacers

 

Those look great! Any idea what offset those might be?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fj-steel-tacoma-spare-comparison-question.510355/

Check this out, for reference, the offset on my Tacoma is 4, the FJ offset being 14



My plan for my next round of tires will be to pick a set of Steelies and paint em darker grey, my inspiration

 

A pic of a 3rd gen with em…

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fj-steel-rims-with-2020-compatibility.668414/

 

IMG_2932 by Mike M, on Flickr

OEM FJ Steel wheels, Replica / OEM FJ center caps, OEM SR5 Steel wheel lugs.

I ran them one winter with Nokian 265/70-17 snow tires. I found them VERY heavy compared to alloy wheels to get them on and off the truck and with the center caps there was very little clearance for a lug wrench with the larger lugs of the SR5 (maybe the FJ uses a smaller lug nut). I was able to get a socket on them, but I don't see how you'd do it with the stock lug wrench. Also, getting the center caps to clip into the grooves in the wheel to pinch between the wheel and the hub was an exercise in patience and futility.

They're 17 x 7.5, +15mm offset.

I wanted to like them much more than I actually liked them. I look back at the old photos and do think they look cool but I didn't like them as much in person. I have a tendency to change wheels often, but they just didn't do it for me.

 

That setup was pretty damn clean, no badges and all. What turned you off about the wheels? The finish? Or was it the wheel itself?

My inspiration came from those saudi spec hiluxes on steelies.

https://youtu.be/N-mY2grwvGI?si=S76qkEC98AbN5YgC

 

I liked the wheels well enough and the finish (it's Duplicolor Ford Argent Silver, applied by me). What really threw me was the physical weight of the wheel which was nearly as heavy as my load E / TRD beadlock combo and noticeably heavier than the prior snow / alloy combo I was running as well as the lug nut / center cap interference. I was pretty convinced I wouldn't be able to get the lugs off the truck on the side of the road as I had to use a thin wall socket to get them onto the truck, using a standard impact socket was too thick and contacted the cap. I fought with one center cap for nearly an hour trying to get it to seat in the tabs correctly, but that might be due to using an OEM replica caps rather than OEM as maybe the OEM has less tabs. I couldn't imagine trying to change a wheel on the side of the road without having my tools with me.

I think at the end of the day I just didn't love the wheel setup as much as I had in my head. Even looking at photos now I find myself going "why did I change it" but I think when I had them on the truck in front of me I just didn't love it. Granted, I'm not fully in love with my 2016-2019 17" Sport wheels either and will likely go back to my OEM 16" TRD OR wheels when I change snow tires when mine age out in another 5 years or so. I have a bad tendency to change winter wheels, I think I've run five different combinations at this point in time.

 

I definitely think that the FJ Cruiser steel wheel takeoffs would definitely be the best OEM option for my purposes, but I would hate to move up to a 17” wheel and lose the extra 1” of tire sidewall and I’d prefer to not have to repaint/powder coat a new set of wheels.

I came across this non-OEM option and thought it would fulfill my prerequisites: https://www.partsgeek.com/thts417-t...xCJZR0jBzMRF2HxrDU0iiw9DmVAMPkm_RPuANBXIpzNOr

16” wheel with a +30mm offset (OEM TRD Off Road wheels come with a +25mm offset).

Anybody see anything wrong with this option? Seems a little to good to be true

 

Part #42601-AD030 is 3rd Gen 16x7 Steel Rim. Came as OEM spare on 4X4 Tacomas. These are what I used. You can find them discounted on Toyota websites for around $104. Multiple coats of 1H5 - Cement and multiple coats of satin clear coat. All rattle can. Freshly painted they look slightly darker than body color. They have since lightened and very close to a perfect match. Painted the hubs black. No center caps, no issues with lug nut sockets.

 

That looks amazing, very well done!