TRD Wheels Vs. Aftermarket 5th Gen 4Runner Wheels
Wheel Alternatives (Best Wheel Companies that make 5th Gen 4Runner Wheels)
We are going to break down a few things in this one. We are going to look at the specs of the TRD wheels, what they can handle as well as a few different options for aftermarket 5th Gen 4runner wheels. Comparatively, which wheels are best for you and the difference between them.
TRD Pro SEMA Wheel Specs:
- Cheapest Place you will find SEMA Wheels: Check The Price on these Wheels
- 5th Gen 4Runner Wheel Bolt Pattern: 6×139.7mm(5.5″) or 6×5.5
- TRD 4Runner Wheel Size: 17×7
- TRD 4Runner Wheel Offset: 4
- TRD 4Runner Wheel Backspace: 4.5
- TRD 4Runner Wheel Hub Bore: 106mm
TRD Beadlock Wheels
- The 16″ Beadlocks: Check Today’s Price on these Wheels
The beadlock wheels are pretty sick. We have a pair of the Fuel Anza Wheels with the Beadlock ring. It is not a “True” beadlock, but they look pretty mean.
OEM (TRD Pro) Wheels – Features and Benefits?
TRD 4 Runner wheels are designed for maximum performance and outstanding appearance. With TRD wheels, you get perfect braking, maximum stability on corners, excellent heat dissipation, and a lightweight that gives you great speed. There are many different options for you to choose from to get the perfect performance for your vehicle.
Commitment to Vehicle Quality, Ride and Control
When you choose TRD Pro Wheels, you are getting a master design and a commitment to quality that goes far beyond appearance. These wheels are designed to function optimally on your TRD Suspension. The customization goes far beyond making sure the wheels are the right dimensions to fit the car.
These wheels are actually designed to work perfectly on your 4Runner, Tacoma or FJ’s make and model. You can buy TRD wheels with confidence, knowing that your vehicle will function and look better than ever.
Weight Factors with TRD Pro Wheels Vs. Aftermarket Wheels
Weight is always a big factor when looking into wheels. With the TRD 17″ SEMA Concept wheel weighing in at only 25lbs, that’s pretty light. Even lighter is the 16″ Beadlock style TRD Pro wheels weighing in at 23.5lbs.
There are other aftermarket wheels that come in at 35+ pounds and some as high as 40 pounds. You want to stay away from anything over 30 pounds in my opinion. Unless you are running 20″ wheels, it is hard to stay under 30lbs.
Also, most 4Runner’s run the 3.4l v6, 4.0l v6 or the 4.7l v8 which is more than enough horsepower to not worry about weight in a wheel. But, if you are running a 2.7l v4 (2wd), you may want to consider a lighter wheel. Also, this is just for reference, 5th Gen 4Runners do have a 2.7l v4 in 4wd and mostly everything 5th Gen worth talking about is 4wd.
Tires and Wheels Together (Big Decision)
Also, you want to consider which tire you are going to run alongside your chosen wheel. With the TRD 17″ SEMA Concept wheel and the 16″ Beadlock style TRD Pro wheels, you have completely different options for tires. Let’s take the TRD 17″ SEMA wheel for example and see what tire options we have. The larger in diameter the wheel gets, the more adjustments and lift you will need to make.
TRD 17″ SEMA Wheel/Tire Options
- 265/70/17 (Stock) (7-9″ Space Needed) – Won’t Rub
- 255/75/17 (6.5-8.5″ Space Needed) – Won’t Rub
- 270/70/17 (7-8.5″ Space Needed) – Won’t Rub
- 285/70/17 (7.5-9″ Space Needed) – Questionable (Body Mount Chop May be Needed)
- 305/65/17 (8.5-11″ Space Needed) – Will Rub – Adjustments/Mods Needed
- 255/80/17 (6.5-8.5″ Space Needed) – Will Rub – Adjustments/Mods Needed
- 305/70/17 (8-9.5″ Space Needed) – Will Rub – Adjustments/Mods Needed
- 285/75/17 (7.5-9.5″ Space Needed) – Will Rub – Adjustments/Mods Needed
What’s So Special about the TRD Wheels?
Shot Cred: @Dumbo_T4R
TRD looks at all the design criteria for each vehicle that they design wheels for, and then they use state-of-the-art CAD design in order to design and manufacture the optimal wheel for that car/truck. In designing TRD wheels, they take into account the weight, offset, backspace, and even brakes to make sure that the wheel fits, performs reliably, and has the perfect finish. You really can’t go wrong with TRD wheels, these wheels fit, function and perform absolutely perfect for your body on frame runner.
Best Aftermarket Wheel Options
For personal reasons, we picked our top wheels from each wheel manufacturer. Take a look at the graphic below of our favorite options for 5th Gen 4Runner wheels. In another post, you will find out which wheels we went with. We had a set of ATX wheels on the Trail 4Runner, and a set of Fuel Wheels (Vapor) on my girls 2016 SR5 4Runner. We will be replacing the ATX wheels due to an oxidation issue, so keep that in mind if you are looking into ATX wheels.
So far, the Fuel Wheels have been nice. My girl bought 20″ wheels with little to no offset for her 4Runner. I would have picked a 17″ wheel with a negative offset -6, -10, -12 and a small backspace. With -offset, this pushes the wheel out of the wheel well more, similar to wheel spacers.
Lower offset combined with less backspace provides a better look (in my opinion). The lower the offset and the smaller the backspace, the further your wheels will stick out of your wheel well. Have you ever seen a F250 with wheels that stick out a foot past the body? Yeah, that is a lot of -offset and likely a small backspace.
Good visual article for understanding offset and backspace
In any case, here is a graphic of my top choices for 4Runner Wheels. Share Away!
My Top pick for Aftermarket 4Runner Wheels
- Stealth Custom Series Wheels (So Dope!)
- Method Racing Wheels (Also pretty nasty!)
- Fuel Wheels (Subtle, Flashly, Tribal Tattoos, They have it all)
- FN Wheels (Simple, Clean, Tight, Quality Wheels)
- ATX (Not my first pick but a few cool designs)
- Icon Alloys (What can I say, it’s Icon, Dope!)
Deciding on the right set of wheels is important
The wheels you have on your 4Runner can make or break the appearance. This is the hub (no pun intended) of your vehicles character. If you go to “BRO”, you might have some serious regrets. When we say BRO, we mean straight chrome and a 7″ deep dish wheel. No one wants a 7″ deep dish chrome wheel on a 4Runner. At least, we hope not. At the same time, if you get the most basic wheels out there, that everyone has, what will be different about your 4Runner?
Wheel Options for 5th Gen 4Runner (6×139.7mm(5.5″) or 6×5.5 Bolt Pattern)
It is important to note our bolt pattern; 6×139.7mm(5.5″) or 6×5.5. You can’t just throw whatever wheel you think looks good on your 4Runner and call it a day. Different wheels are designed to perform optimally on different off-road vehicles per multiple specs. When looking for a 5th Gen 4Runner wheel, you aren’t just looking at the actual wheel. You are looking at a handful of criteria that is going to make up the appearance of the wheel. You need to start off by finding a wheel with our bolt pattern (that’s where I start).
When Choosing 5th Gen 4Runner Wheels (Specs):
- Bolt Pattern (5th Gen = 6×139.7mm(5.5″) or 6×5.5)
- Wheel Bore (5th Gen = 106mm)
- Offset (-offset pushes wheel out. +offset pushes wheel into the wheel well)
- Backspace (Similar to offset – the space between center tire and inside wheel)
- Rating (Weight rating wheels were designed for)
- Weight (lb)
- Lug Type (tapered “conical” and radiused)
- LipSize (in)
Replacing OEM or TRD 4Runner Wheels with Aftermarket Wheels
A lot of people feel that replacing their OEM wheels or TRD wheels with custom aftermarket wheels is more or less a crapshoot because everything mentioned above can be so different. If you find a set of wheels that you love but it runs a wheel bore of 108mm, and your 4Runner runs a 106mm, what do you do? Also, you can find a wheel that you fall in love with but they make absolutely no offset option for it.
Trust me, shopping for wheels can be frustrating. Going with Toyota TRD wheels can make these decisions go away. TRD wheels are designed for your specific 4Runner, so you don’t have to look around and find every detail that will work for your 5th Gen. But, TRD Wheels also don’t come in many different sizes, styles, finishes and offset options.
The main Criteria When Shopping
If however, you are looking for a set of aftermarket wheels, you will need to do some research in finding what is right for your 4Runner. You need to be 100% sure that the awesome, gorgeous new $250+ wheels you just invested in are going to perform well on your car. There is a core set of details you want to look at before buying a set of 4Runner wheels.
Where to start?
I would start with bolt pattern, then move to wheel bore (are they hub centric or lug centric?) and then move to offset. For the 5th Gen 4Runner, there are only a few aftermarket markets of hub centric wheels (Stealth Custom Series, FN Wheels, TRD wheels, and other OE Yota Wheels). With that being said, it doesn’t much matter if you buy a set of wheels that are lug centric because you can buy a set of hub rings.
Different Types of Wheel Production
There are many different ways to make wheels and many different materials and designs that can be used. There are pros and cons to each kind of wheel. Whether you are looking at steel wheels or custom alloy wheels, you want to note the difference and do your research.
When you are looking at buying wheels, you will need to weigh everything from price to appearance to road performance and all of the details that make a wheel unique. One of the most important factors when deciding is the type of driver you are and whether your wheels are optimized for that style of performance.
Steel Wheels
Steel wheels are the wheels that come on most cars. They are inexpensive to produce and they are very sturdy, which makes them the obvious choice for stock accessories on most cars. They aren’t really optimized for performance, but they perform well enough that most car owners wouldn’t really care.
If you bought a 4Runner to take you to and from work, it’s reasonable that you wouldn’t really be worried about optimizing its performance. But, performance is all relative here. Many people run steelies (Steel Wheels) and have no problems at all. They actually prefer steelies to allow wheels because it gives them more weight on sleet, snow, and ice. Which may very well be true, but I would personally have a lighter wheel (TRD Alloys) or many of the aftermarket brands mentioned above in the graphic.
Some guys actually prefer steelies to allow wheels because it gives them more weight on sleet, snow, and ice. Which may very well be true, but I would personally have a lighter wheel (TRD Alloys) or many of the aftermarket brands mentioned above in the graphic.
Aluminum Alloy Wheels
Pictured above is a set of 20″ Fuel Vapor wheels on our 2016 5th Gen SR5 4Runner. You can read more about this wheel and tire set up here: Fuel Vapor Wheels & KO2 Tires. This is a pretty nasty looking set-up.
Aluminum alloy wheels are more optimized for performance. They are lightweight, they dissipate heat better, and they perform better during high-load cornering maneuvers. When you’re looking at performance, aluminum alloy wheels are often a better choice than steel wheels.
You can also get three kinds of alloy wheels: forged, cast, and billet.
Forged and cast manufactured wheels are both aluminum. The actual method for producing/ manufacturing these wheels is a little different. Forged aluminum alloy wheels are stronger and in most cases offer a lower weight than cast alloy wheels. At the end of the day, there is not a huge difference in the two. Both forged and cast manufactured wheels are very similar and get the same job done.
Noticed you guys have FN wheels as a recommended brand but haven’t seen anything on the FN Fx PRO wheels. Basically TRD Pro clones 8″ wide with a flat center-cap. i believe they’re hub-centric too not sure if you have any information on those or not. There is a Mickey Thompson wheel that looks similar to the TRD Pro’s called a sidebiter. you can get those with a show bead lock pattern as well with a 17×9 and 4.5 backspacing.
Tyler,
Awesome. Yeah, the FN wheels are pretty clean. Yeah, all the FN wheels are hub centric for Yota applications. Thanks for the information man. We need to see more of those wheels installed. FN wheels are growing quite a bit. I am seeing more and more of these wheels out there. We would love to see a review on those wheels. Are you grabbing a set of these?
Brenan, did you have to use wheel spacers on your 4runner to run the fuel wheels? how much lift did you need to clear the 34s?
Reggie,
No wheel spacers are “needed” for any aftermarket wheels or tires. Also, if you install wheel spacers, you may be opening yourself up to more problems depending on your application. Check out this post on 4Runner Wheel Spacers to learn a little more about them. To clear 34″ tires, you need more than a good aftermarket suspension lift kit or leveling kit. You will need some serious adjustments all the way around your wheel well to fit 34″ tires. Even with a good suspension lift kit, they will still rub on your fender liners, body mount, your 4Runners body, and more. Check out this post on the body mount chop and trimming your fender liners for more information on this.
Hey there,
I have a 2018 off road premium and I am starting to look for some upgrades. I would like to get the 17″ SEMA wheels, but I was wondering if the 2017 SEMA wheels will fit my 2018?
Yeah, for sure. I don’t know if they will fit your factory tires but you can definitely find a set of tires that will fit those wheels.
I also purchased a 2018 TRD Off-Road Premium and did not choose the optional TRD Pro wheels that I presume are also know as the SEMA’s. According the official Toyota 2018 4Runner Product Information (10 page document), The TRD Pro gets 7.0×17 and the SR5 & TRD Off-Road get 7.5×17, i.e. a WIDER wheel! If this is correct, it it might mean that the TRD Pro suspension needs a little more clearance? The 7.5×17 is not as pretty as the TRD Pro wheel, but according to the specs on the very popular Goodrich KO2’s in the stock size of LT265/70/R17 requires a 7 to 8.5 in wheel, but if you go up to LT285/70/R17 you need a 7.5 to 9 in wheel! So without even clearance issues addressed, the beautiful TRD-Pro wheels technically are not recommended for the bigger tire while the wheels that come on the SR5 and TRD Off-Road are! I am thinking of just painting mine black and call it done.
BTW, backspace and offset are related to each other by the relation B = W/2 +F/25.4 inches where W is the wheel width in inches and F is the offset in mm So when you state the backspace of the 17×7 stock wheel with an offset of 4 mm is 4 inches, it actually is 7/2 + 4/25.4 = 3.657 inches. Not stating the units for offset and backspace really confused me for a while, but I hope this puts it straight and does not confuse it further! A small matter on what is a really great site!
I’ve got a 2013 trail with a 3inch toytec boss lift . Has the stock 265 tires on 17”x7.5 stock wheels. Thinking about buying the TRD Pro 17 SEMA. I want to run 285/70/17 tires but all the tire sites say you need at least a 7.5 wheel width. The trd are only 7 wide. I’ve seen plenty of online pics of runners using the setup. What’s your opinion any safety issues? Thanks
Brett,
Good question about tires fitting wheels. If you are looking to figure out if a wheel fits a tire size, I would head over to ToyoTires.com. They have a really good “recommended” wheel size for whatever tire size you enter in. Go to ToyoTires.com and enter in your tire size. From there, Toyo will give a list of their tires. Select a tire and then you will a section labeled “APPROVED RIM WIDTH RANGE (IN.)”. This will give you a range of wheel sizes that are compatible with the tire size you enter. I entered your tire size and then selected the OPEN COUNTRY A/T II. From there, you see what wheel sizes will fit that tire. In this case, these are the wheel sizes that will fit that tire size: 7.5-8.5-9.5. The rim width of 8.5 would be completely a squared look with the edge of the wheel, while a 7.5 will push the tire out more and then a 9.5 would push the tire in more. In your case, I do not see a 7.0 listed (like the TRD wheel width) but that doesn’t mean it won’t fit. It just means that it is not “recommended”. What does this mean? Maybe the tire company will not warranty the tire if some type of defect occurs. In any case, call your tire shop, send them your wheel size and your tire size and ask them what the recommended tire size is for that wheel. If too far outside of that recommended size, then ask what the repercussions are if you run with that wheel/ tire set-up. Also, many of the wheel companies above are really responsive about what tires work with what wheels. It is TRD that get’s tricky because we all usually call our local service center and half the time, they might not know the answer either. So, your local tire shop is your best bet. Tire experts usually know everything there is to know about wheels as well.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
Hey Brenan, got my TRD rims and the KO tires and there is definitely an improvement on the ride from the stock application. And that without any suspension mod. I am going to be picky a but the silver lug nuts tend to draw my eyes. Can you point me to a quality black lug nut like the SEMA wheels and if I switch them what pound of torque do I need? Thanks.
Hello,
I recently purchased a 2014 4Runner and looking to add a leveling kit and aftermarket wheels and tires. Above you mention ” (We should have gone with a negative offset through -6, -10, -12 would have been nice)” – I dont completely understand the backspace/offset concept yet but wondering why a -6, -10, -12 negative offset would have been nice? What does that mean and why is that preferred?
I just changed that verbiage up a little bit. It’s really about your personal preference. I would have gone with a low offset and a small backspace because that pushes the wheel outside of the wheel well. This will give you a similar look of wheel spacers. People usually add wheel spacers to push their wheels out about 1.25″. This is usually done after your suspension because once you lift your 4RUnner, it will start pulling the wheels back into the well. With wheel spacers, you push them back out. -offset and a small backspace act similar. Is TrailRunner.com your website? What a cool website!
So when you push the wheels out with a negative offset and backspace, then you need fender flares because the tires throw mud all over the sides of your vehicle – or is the offset/backspace small enough that the wheels (depending on their size obviously) stay within the wheelwell? And of course, TrailRunner.com isn’t my website, but one of my favorites!
Just picked up a set of FUEL Hostage 17”x8.5” 26.4 mm offset for 2017 Toyota 4Runner SR5. The truck has no lift yet. Any idea what size tire we can fit without a lift for now. Will be doing a lift soon but, needs tires now. Great site BTW. Tons of info condensed into easy to read format.. Thanks.
Check out this guide on tire size. That should help.
So incredibly glad I found your guys’ page. I am in need of almost all of the information that you post. I believe it will help me so much in my build.
Thanks,
-Will
Fuel Anza wheel – 108mm bore – will this fit a 2016 4Runner Trail Premium?
Always confirm with the dealer of your bore size, but the 5th gen is 106mm. I have that same wheel with the same bore, 108mm. You should be fine.
Very informative site. My question is , I have a 2015 TRD Pro with a 3/2 Toytec lift. And I’m using 2” wheel spacers. I have a set of brand new 285 19” nitto mud grapplers. And was wondering what back space and offset I would need for a new set of wheels and also what wheels that look much like the original wheels. I like the pushed out look but not way out. Thanks.
Could you please tell me the set up from the picture with the white 4Runner? Are those icon wheels and what about tires?
Thanks
Juan,
Wheels: Fuel Anza Bronze 17″ -6 backspace
Tires: 285/75R17s (33.8″) Toyo Open Country All Terrain 2 Xtreme.
With the TRD rims fit on a 2015 RWD sr5?