Need help with OEM wheel upgrade

So I've decided to finally upgrade my tires. I plan to run 35x10.50r17 Kendra Klever R/Ts. My factory wheels are 16", so I need to upgrade to 17s. I don't want to drop a ridiculous amount of money on aftermarket wheels when I go rock crawling anyways and the chance of damage is pretty decent. Plus I plan to do the Lexus brake upgrade too once I have 17s to clear the Lexus calipers. Anyways, I was curious if anyone has swapped their 1st Gen Tundra wheels out with newer 17" wheels from a 4Runner or Tacoma (they have the same bolt pattern)? Is the offset the same? I don't know jack crap about wheels, so I'm not sure how to go about researching this. I don't want to buy a set of take off wheels from a 4Runner or Tacoma and then not be able to use them.

Also as a back up plan, if anyone knows of an aftermarket cheap set of wheels, please let me know because I might be forced to go that route.

I found a nice clean set of 17" 4Runner factory OEM wheels for $200 for all four wheels. This is the sort of price range I would prefer and why I'm looking at OEM take offs.

Thank you for the help in advance.

 

My other option is I have a friend who is a rough country dealer who can get me stuff at a big discount. He can get me new steel wheels from them for $300 shipped for all four wheels. The bore is 107.95 mm (4.25 in).

 

Nope.

 

You maybe missed the last sentence of the quoted text @JasonC. shared with you. "Make sure the hub bore is 106.1mm on the donor wheels else you need hubcentric adapters."

105.9-106.1 is the typical range for our trucks. But the important part is: What's the backspacing? While you may be able to skate on the hub bore with an extra 2mm play, backspacing is a far more critical consideration especially going as large as you intend.

You really should read the "Suspension, wheel & tires..." section of the thread @JasonC. pulled his text from, maybe there's some collective 1st gen community knowledge you'd benefit from seeing: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Rough Country makes garbage products with cheap Chinese steel. If you just need some inexpensive but good looking wheels, Rocktrix offers military discount, no tax, free shipping and I got my current wheels for around $575 shipped.

 

Thank you for the explanation and not a useless "nope". I thought the bore just needed to be larger, and under no circumstances could be smaller. So it must be precise, correct?

The back spacing or offset or whatever is 0+. I was told this would work and what's needed with a 35x10.50 tire.

I'm not pretending to know much about wheels. I've never been into wheels. The only reason I am even messing with them is to be able to upgrade the brakes, and the fact that they don't make a 35x10.50 in a 16" wheel.

It sounds like I should just stick to purchasing a factory OEM 4Runner, Tacoma or FJ 17" wheel from someone upgrading their factory wheels.

 

It's not useless when you don't read what someone has already told you what is needed.

 

So what do y'all think about these?

 

Actually by using your own logic, if I didn't read theirs why would you think your "nope" is suddenly going to work? Can't wait to hear this logic...

 

Let's see. 1) Guy starts a post. 2) Guy asks for information. 3) Guy doesn't read given information. This one's on you, bud.
The point is, hub bore is important. As for your options I think #1 is your best looking one.

 

I’m full of useless nopes also, it’s a passion of mine.

Our wheels are hubcentric. You want to match the hub bore to reduce vibrations/wobbles by keeping the wheel centered over the hub. This is done by making sure the hub bore, or opening in the wheel, is effectively within a millimeter or less of the raised hub lip diameter. The hub itself, its lip, effectively forces the wheel to be in-center, as long as the hub bore of your wheel is 105.9-106.1, and at nearly 108mm, you’re giving yourself a full millimeter on both sides of the hub for up/down/left/right/B/A/start movement.

Even being out of center one millimeter, if your lug nuts are the flat standard alloy wheel type lug nuts with flats, the wheel can ride off center, and cause unwanted vibrations at-speed (FYI: To that point, steelies use different lug nuts, each lug nut style has its own purpose, and alloys, steelies, mags, use different types usually)

Offset info means jack shit without knowing the wheel width. Remember, offset is the positive or negative position of the mounting plate of the wheel, the part your lug nuts hold down. That member tells you how deeply (or shallowly) that mounting plate sits into the wheel itself.

The offset of that plate tells you how many inches of space there is between the mounting plate and the back of the wheel.

So say, only as an example, “0” backspace meant the mounting plate is perfectly in the middle of the wheel, with equal spacing in front and back. If your wheel is 7” wide, you’d have 3.5” backspace at 0 offset. If the wheel is 8” wide, you’d have 4” backspace. If it was 9” wide, you’d have 4.5” backspace.

I’m not saying my numbers here are accurate, only using whole numbers to demonstrate a point: We can’t tell you shit about what “+0” offset means unless you tell us the width of the wheel. Backspace is a calculation of OFFSET + WIDTH. If you don’t know how wide the wheel is, you won’t know how far back/forward that center plate will sit in relation to the lip/rim of the wheel.

Hopefully that makes sense. Numbers on where you want to land on offset are in the thread I linked, in the wheels/tires/suspension section.

If you truly intend to install a 35” wheel you’re going to need to do significant sheet metal modification to your truck, beyond hammering pinch welds, to get proper fitment. I really hope you’ve read up for what you’re in for doing that on these trucks, it’s no joke.

Whether or not a 4Runner OEM wheel is going to work for you depends on the wheel and, again, its offset and width. Some of the Taco and T4R wheels don’t have a favorable backspace, and will cause suspension rub. And wheels from 2024+ have a hub bore that’s too small.

Maybe the better way to attack this situation is for you to describe exactly what you’re aiming to achieve, so we can forewarn you about the challenges you’re about to face. I get the sneaky suspicion - but hope I’m wrong - that you may not understand the can of worms you’re planning to open. If you’re a fabricator or have fabricators around you, maybe my concern is misplaced. But let’s just say we’ve see a lot of naive younger folks pop up on here with visions that didn’t jibe with the reality of these trucks. That thread I linked you up with was actually created by us as a community to address some of this stuff because we got tired of repeating the same warnings and advice over and over again, after watching people fall on their face and damage their truck, ruin tires, you name it.

 

Also they literally sell 2mm hubcentric 4 pack of rings for $10 that solve the problem. That would have been more useful information than a "nope".

 

Ok, we get it. You like to tell people when something won't work, while offering no solution. We know your type.

 

For what you use your truck for, would you trust a $10 Chineseium part? Generally speaking, anything that requires spacers and off-road don't mix.

 

You may not love @ATBAV8‘s delivery, but he’s also not wrong.

Throwing a spacer, or even needing a spacer, because you didn’t buy the right part for your truck isn’t a solve. It’s a hack. And when you’re talking about a multi-thousand-pound death missile you’re piloting down the interstate, or through the wilds of the world, are you really going to trust a cheap few-cent part to solve a problem you created by ordering the wrong stuff, listening to whoever it is that told you, “it’ll work”? (Regarding hub bore, that is. While it will “work”, as in, it’ll fit over it, it’s not what the OEM intended, and ignores why the hub lip is there in the first place)

We’ve seen some shit here. More than half the people that sign up for this forum do so after they screwed something up (or because something is screwed up). Keep that in mind while reading his replies and it may make a bit more sense. When you answer people on their self-inflicted pain week in and week out for years, you start to get cynical.

 

I appreciate the information. The offset explanation does make sense the way you explained it.

So a little background on me. I built this truck myself. I've gone through pretty much everything on the truck and replaced it except the engine, trans and transfer case. I've owned it for the last 15 years. I was a professional mechanic for 3 years but I've been a shade tree mechanic for almost 30 years. I built a 1st Gen Tacoma and a 2nd Gen Tundra in addition to this first gen Tundra. I am a certified welder, and built custom trailers for awhile. There isn't too much I'm scared of. This Tundra is my toy at this point. Never will it be a daily driver again.

Now as far as the tire size 35x10.50, I guess why I feel this way is when I was doing research on my 2nd gen Tundra build back in 2017/2018, I remember lots of people telling me I couldn't run 35x12.50 on my Tundra with out major work if I was only running Bilstein 5100s (I think that was the series, whichever is the more heavy duty series they released later that's actually supposed to be made to handle off-roading). Anyways, I did my research, got the right offset wheels with help from people here, set the alignment to a custom setting, and trimmed only 1" off I believe the passenger side edge of the skid plate and had ZERO rubbing even at full articulation. I actually posted pictures, all the specs, and did a full write up on here and still many people refused to believe it didn't rub with only about 2.5" of lift.

Now fast-forward to 2025, there are multiple people running 37s on those damn trucks when I remember people saying 35s were impossible. I just "feel" like people tell themselves something isn't possible simply because nobody has done it yet. That doesn't mean it's impossible, it's just nobody has tried it, or nobody has done it correctly yet.

Also, I can't find anyone who has tried this size on these 1st Gens. I've been running 285/75R16 for almost a decade, and even at HARD full flex, I don't rub. I've bounced up cliffs while crawling and had the entire truck bucking and jumping. Nothing rubs. I don't know if this is because it's a regular cab, and maybe the less weight equals more lift or what? Even Toytec couldn't tell me what sort of lift I would get on their coilovers because they had no data for regular cabs. In fact, initially they tried to tell me the coilovers wouldn't work on my truck (once again because nobody to their knowledge had ever installed them on a regular cab.. more of the nobody has done it yet I spoke of above).

Also those 35x10.50s are not true to size from my research. They should be about 1.7 inches taller, so that's roughly 0.85 of a inch going up higher/outward. I just don't believe it will rub much at all on MY setup. I can't speak for other 1st Gens. If I have to smack some stuff with a 3 lb sledge, I will. I don't want to have to cut/weld stuff, but if it comes down to it, I will.

Hopefully that explains my situation. Again thank you for the detailed explanation as wheels are definitely my weak point. I've never been into "rims". If a modification doesn't serve a practical purpose, I usually refuse to do it. I could care less about looks.

 

While I appreciate your explanation, and again, it makes more sense with an explanation, he chooses to be cynical. I teach people stuff about cars constantly since I have worked on them for so long, but despite when they ask sometimes obviously stupid questions, I CHOOSE to be polite and helpful. Being cynical is lazy. If I ever got to that point, I simply wouldn't waste my time responding at all rather than responding with a useless comment. Sorry but he chooses to be that way.

 

I tend to share his cynicism, and this forum is ultimately what got me there. I'm just more reserved about unleashing it, typically save it for the young bucks and obnoxious folks that barf up attitude right outta the gate. I've been doing the internet forum for a long time, sounds like we may be about the same age, or at least have similar wrenching time. I've seen some stuff, but nothing prepared me for some of the idiocy I've seen in the last 5 years of keyboard jockeys hitting internet forums I frequent. It's tough! You've been on here for a long minute, a little longer than me, but as long as both of us combined. It seems like things have gotten gradually worse the last couple of years, especially with younger folks wanting to build mall-crawlers. The line of questioning gets old.

Longer reply incoming on your prior post. I'm going to try and dig up a couple of links. As you know, with age and popularity, we lose the more-basic aftermarket parts and start to gain more-custom aftermarket parts, which allow for more meaningful upgrades. Knowledge changes as well, as people experiment with time. What you want to do is possible, and with your fabrication abilities/background, you should have no problems pulling it off. Hopefully I can respond to that and point you in the right direction. We have a few folks on here that've run 35s and larger and shared their experience. A couple of those folks, who offroad a lot, have dialed back to 34s and smaller because the gain wasn't worth it in the long run.

Will loop back in an hour or two.

 

Truth be told - and now I have a better idea of your experience so don't need to talk in generalities - a number of factors are at play.

Chances are you could get away with the +2mm difference and potential play in that larger hub bore with steelies as long as you tighten them down appropriately, using the correct nuts for steelies. You may already be familiar with different types of lugnuts and what wheels they go with, or their purpose, I think that linked pic gives the rundown of the biggies I've dealt with. Steelies typically use conical/acorn style, which will self-center the wheel fairly well if you get them uniformly hand-tight on all lugs before fully tightening down. At least, that's been my experience on other vehicles (and trailers) with stock steelies. If you were using mags/alloys that use the mag type lug shown in that pic, and the hub bore was +2mm larger opening, I think you're gonna have problems.

This is some good context. So you probably won't be impacted by issues related to larger rolling mass, etc.

I would've undoubtedly been one of those folks had you posted it last week. Looks like maybe it was this thread back in 2021? Looks like the 1st person who replied, a professional Toyota mechanic, gave sage advice.

In a world where this is a thing the younger crowd (and older people trying to flex like they're younger), sometimes it's hard to hold back the cynicism and reply seriously, we just expect that's the direction some folks are headed when talking in sizes 34"+.

As mentioned in my previous reply, there are a lot of parts that have come out in the last 2-3 years. 37s have been done on these trucks - I believe it's where Omar (Dr_Omiz here on IG) landed for a while - but every person I've ever seen that's done it has needed to tub the firewall, and either move to fiberglass fenders or cut the steel fenders. Omar is no different, I think he scaled back to 35s recently, per another member on here who lives near him?

Some folks (also in TX) like @khooiii are running 34s, which seems to be where folks tend to settle out? (his build thread)

Then, @TX-TRD1stGEN (also in TX) is running 34½s and he shows pics and mentions what he had to do a couple replies down from the pic over here.

A couple of videos with 37s have come up over the years, but no live action shots. Like this video. But without in-action video, I'd take it with a huge slab of salt.

Ultimately a lot of people downgrade after hitting 35s, @Casper421 being one who gave his reasons why over here. Here's his tubbing work to fit those 35s with a non-bracket lift, in his build thread, which you may want to check out.

@Jon@Mule is an extremely adapt fabricator, has probably one of the coolest builds ever, and installed 37s (said he should've been running 5.29 gearing with it), this is what he had to say. He moved back down to 35s also. Here's what he did to manage braking. He has a build where he shows how much he had to tub out of the firewall to get there HERE, mind you, that was for 37s, and he still rubbed with 37s, and all that tubbing, and the dude is adept. Note his comment I quoted here, and his reply just below it echoing a sentiment you touched on earlier, and also this comment.

This may be interesting.

@alee891 's build thread may be worth checking, this link takes you to his tubbing info.

@Brown Bear is running 35s on his truck but pretty sure he has a TC or RCD bracket lift (5") on his truck, which may've mitigated a lot of cutting? Link here.

@KarmaKannon in that same thread a couple of comments down with input. That entire thread may be worth reading, I dunno.

@Diablo169 was, I think, originally on 33s and moved up to 34s, he may be able to offer some input to you.

That's the content I can offer up that will give you as much direction as I think I've got, since I can't speak to it directly. Some of those folks are still around, some, like Casper who I know is missed by more than a few of us, aren't posting any (/at all) these days.

I guess the tl;dr on this is:

Yes, 35s are possible and with the cutting you're prepared to do and demonstrated above, is possible to reach no-rub, but we have yet to see anyone who truly doesn't rub with 35s and no cutting, even with modern upgrades.
37 has been done also, and even with considerable tubbing, up to the point of the rearward bumpstop, still has rub, and the one guy I've seen to it (Jon, above) has stepped back down to 35s.
Bracket lift would probably help, but as of a few months go, at least one of the two providers of 5" bracket lifts has discontinued their product, so you may want to buy 2 kits unless you're confident in repairig/fabbing replacement parts.

Hopefully the links above help.

Technically your RC should be virtually identical with front suspension geometry and load to the AC, whereas the DC type cabs are more akin to the Sequoia in their suspension and geometry. Keep that in mind while checking the links above: Anything on an AC should apply to your RC equally. Anything on a DC or Seqoia, adaptation will likely be required.

Wheels are not my strong suit either, unfortunately. But I'm a lifelong angler and have pulled my fair share of boats and occasionally trailers, and I've dropped/bagged/modified more cars then I can count on hands and feet, so I generally grasp the concepts. I don't always get it right, but I fundamentally "get it".

 

I didn't read all of this, but caught a few things.

@455h0le_dachshund has the 35x10.50 or 11.50 kenda kleavers.

From experience you do want some decently aggressive wheels to clear bigger tires. You can get it to clear on the street all day long, but at full articulation is a whole different ball game. I'm on a 17x9.5 -32 (real beadlocks) with 305/70/17's. It rubbed all 4 corners pretty bad when I wheeled it, but thats not what this truck is built for. I also probably need to tub it. I think 295/70 is much more manageable feat without extreme clearance work needed. Anything that starts with a 3 is going to be a headache and you will not get clean wheel travel without a lot of lift and cutting.

 

Also, the only sensible choice is the last option. If you're rock crawling (very subjective..don't know if you're bouncing them off rocks like the east coast buggy guys or just moderate stuff) 1-4 require wheel spacers to clear the UCA so add another ~$250. I'd rather spend the extra money on wheels that have the fitment you want so you're not introducing potential fail points using a spacer. If you get spacers then spidertrax is non negotiable and some extra wheel studs in the glove box. Another option is to get beadlocks (buy mine cause I'm bored lol) so you can buy replacement rings. I see you don't have sliders and I know TX terrain so I'm assuming your crawling is probably closer to moderate than anything. My last truck was a 2.5G TRD Pro and I still managed to get rock rash with 37's in Moab.

I'm just going to throw it out there... 285/75 or 295. Save yourself the heartache and get some sliders, gas tank skid, and just wheel the piss out of the truck.

 

Or you could buy my wheels and tires... I already know you like the Coopers.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/set-of-five-295-75r16-cooper-at3xlt-on-kmc-enduro.158736/

Btw, here's my current setup
Kenda Klever RT 35x10.5R17
MST Time Attack 17x9 -10mm
1.25" Spidertrax in the rear only.

 

Yeah I used to be on forums a lot years ago, and experienced exactly what you speak of even years ago, and probably got off before it got a lot worse. I 100% understand where you are coming from though.

That's interesting that people converted back to 34s. I would definitely be interested in hearing from them. I suck with the search features on here. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older and starting to dislike technology, or what

Anyways, if the 35s clear at full articulation, I would likely regear to 4.56 or 4.88. Not sure if they make a 4.88 for these axles. After doing a regear, there would be no going back.

I'm just at a point where this truck can do the additional stuff I want to do. I've been through the same obstacles literally a hundred times, and it's just boring now after years. I would honestly love to run 37s, but I think that's almost guaranteed impossible.

 

They won't clear at full articulation. Not with out some serious cutting and massaging or maybe Solo LCAs and a body lift. I'm going to try the latter. I've already got the Solos on, just need to install the 1 inch 4Crawler body lift. Fingers crossed that's all it takes. If not, I'll be doing surgery.


These pics were taken before getting an alignment, using my ditch to articulate. Also these Kendas have like half their tread.

Since then I've had the alignment done and I've trimmed sheet metal in front of the front wheel wheels and hammered the crap out of the rear of the front wheel wheels.
I still need to take off my coilovers and really test the front end. The rear tires appear to fit perfectly. Those are like 3/4 tread.



I've got 4.56 and like em because they're a great balanced gearing for highway and off-road. They do make 4.88 though and I know a lot of guys like those for off-road.

So you mentioned 37's... That's also in my end game plan.
I figure if I tub for 35's, then add the body lift 37's should fit. Or I guess the smart move would be add the body lift then tub for 37's.

 

Option 5, no spacers. Stay with hub centric wheels if you can. 295 70 17's

Use that ignore function, I only get about half a thread anymore, so many lately.

 

Meh, I been running 108mm wheels and 1.25" spidertrax for 6 years, with no issues, and my baby is in the witness protection, because I beat on her.

 

I don't mean to be devils advocate... Ok that's a lie. I love it.

Anywho, the 108mm bore wheels I had on the 06 and the 110mm bore wheels I have on the 03 both use the acorn style lugs to center the wheels.

(Granted the 03's wheels use the push thru center caps, so I believe those do make the end bore to hub 106mm.)
Now if the wheels use a flat washer lug nut or similar, your point 100% stands.

 

I did mention above about acorns and that caveat. You really need to get finger tight on all 6 first and torque in a star though.

I wouldn’t trust mag style nuts and a 108mm center bore.

 

100%

 

Wow, I'm a details guy, and this even impressed me with all the links and knowledge. I can't even begin to tell you thank you enough. Genuinely, I appreciate that! I will look through all of it.

Actually since you brought it up, what's your opinion on these TC lifts? I recently saw a picture of a guy who was on 35x12.50 on a 1st Gen and he had a TON of room between the 35s and his fenders. When I read the very short description it seemed like he was saying he was running a 4.5" lift from TC, AND a 2.5" lift from his coilovers... I was like, "WTH?! You can stack them?!". I thought you can only do one or the other? Am I misunderstanding him? He sure looked like he had probably 7" of lift with the large amount of clearance of those 35s. He also said no trimming or anything else was required to clear the 35s which further leads me to believe he had more than 4.5" of total lift. I have only done lifts with coil overs, and leaf springs (K5 blazer back in the day). I've never messed with these bracket/spindle/knuckle lifts, so I'm very ignorant to them. So is it possible to stack them in theory?

Also TC offers both a 5" and a 4.5" lift. There is a massive price difference. They definitely have some different parts but as I said, I know nothing about these style lifts.