I have a new 06 Ltd. due to arrive within the next 4 weeks. It is coming with the 18" wheels standard on the Limited. I am concerned that it will be more difficult to find tires for 18" rims vs. the 17" rims which have been around for a long time.

I plan on keeping the 4Runner for at least 5 years. I have been offered an even swap of new 17" rims and tires for the 18" set. Would the handling be noticeably improved with the 18" rims and lower profile tires? I have the X-Reas suspension option on the Limited.

Would you keep the 18" tires and wheels, or would you swap for the more common 17" set?

Your ideas will be greatly appreciated.

If the truck is for mostly on-road use then you'll be okay with the 18's. There are enough options in 18 inch on-road tires to make the handling worth it.

If you plan on going off-road on a semi-regular basis then my recommendation would be to go with the 17's. You won't lose much in the way of handling and will have many more options for all-terrain tires.

If you go off road regularly, then think about getting some 16's from an SR5. I think they'll fit and there are tons of good off-road tires that will do the job.

An even swap? Hell, I'd keep the 18" rims trade them with someone here for their rims and they add cash. You can make some money off the rims. Only catch is you'll probably take a killing just trying to swap the TPM sensors so never mind my brilliant idea

I hate to show my ignorance, but what is a TPM Sensor?

Since the 4R. comes with a choice of all three size rims, aren't they all interchangeable without any further modifications?

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I still don't know what to do, but I'll make a more informed decision when the truck finally arrives.

TPM = tire pressure monitoring.

These sensors (Total of 5 as the spare has one too) are programmed to a specific truck. If you swapped wheels/tire combo with someone, you'd have to either swap TPMS or you'd have to get the dealership to reprogram both trucks to the new sensors. Either solution is going to cost money.

Unless you want to get some really high end off road tires, I'd just stick with the 18" rims. You could always get a cheap set of rims and put different rubber on those in case you wanted to go mudding and then throw back the 18" when you want to be all perty again

I will swap you my mint 17 SE rims with 265 70 REVOs (13K mile on them) and $200 for your limited 18 rims and tires! i will even throw in some chrome TRD tire cap for them

I personally would go for the 17" just on look's alone. I'm not a fan of big rim's , hell even 16" would be fine for me....lol. I like the bigger rubber look on 4x4 truck's , could never understand people buying a 4x4 and putting 20-22" rim's on it . I'll give it a nod for a 2wd lowered vehicle but not a 4x4.

Just my .02

One last thing is that everyone one has different taste and even though I don't like the big rim look personally,if someone take's pride in their vehicle and work's hard for it and on it I can alway's appreciate their vehicle , though we would have different taste's.

the tpm is the same on both 17inch and 18inch toyota rims u just switch the valve over or use the same valve just dont start the truck while u r doing the tire switch or the tire pressure light will come on

my 2 cents is leave the 18's not many people have them and the truck looks different

Yes, but the Sport Edition may not be able to fit the 16" wheels due to larger brake rotors. Some have reported that their Limited's have the bigger rotors, in that case the 16" may not fit either. The 17" wheels will not be a problem for any trim 4R.

I'd keep the 18's, makes it look better. Plus, the difference in sidewall isn't all that great. I wouldn't take them offroad though. Tire choices aren't that bad for the 18s, but I'm sure they'll get better. Maufacturers keep upping the rim size.

If you're going to take your 4R offroad, get an extra set of 17's off eBay and switch them when you're going offroad.

The Limited 18" wheels are the best looking wheels out there, you'd be crazy to just do an even trade for them. Check ebay, the wheels ALONE are going for ~$800 plus shipping. I'd keep the wheels, and just see how you like the ride and handling.

If it was me, I'd keep th 18's. There are very nice looking!!! I'd ask the board (06 owners) if they have any experience with denting their 18" rims.

I'm in the unique position of having had both the 17" Sport Wheels and now the 18" Limited wheels. I now have about 2000 miles on the 18" wheels so I can give a pretty good explanation between the difference of the two.

When I changed from the 17" to the 18" the first thing I noticed was that the ride was a little stiffer, but not bad at all. This is to be expected because I reduced the sidewall height by about 2 inches. One thing I can say is that the 18" wheels really exploit the benefit of XREAS. Turn in is much quicker and the car feels even more stable during the long sweepers. I've even noticed a reduction in roll throughout a corner.

True, there are less tire choices for the 18" wheels as far as variety and price, it really depends how you are going to be driving your truck, mostly on-road, mostly off-road, even mix, etc. The tires I am using are the BFG Radial Long Trail T/A's which are essentially a highway-terrain tire, meaning that they are all-weather, all-road. The reason I chose these tires is because they offer good traction in snow and mud but are a quiet comfy on-road tire, and they were $89/tire from tirerack.com. I don't go off-road alot, maybe a couple times/year, so the shorter sidewall and less aggressive tread suit my needs fine. I don't think there is even an all-terrain tire made that will fit an 18" wheel which are 8" in width (the BFG A-T T/A is offered in a 285 width, but I think this is too wide for the wheel and would rub). Some brands I found during my research that fit the wheel is Michelin's Xterrain, Yokohama Geolandar H/T, and the BFG Rugged Trail T/A which is a more aggressive tire than I have, but still a highway-terrain tire. The stock tires I'm pretty sure are Bridgestone Dueler H/T's, which aren't horrible, but aren't great either. I've had a good experience with the tires I bought but anything seems better than the 17" stock Donelops.

One thing you need to realize is having the 18" Limited wheels is like having 4 round pieces of solid gold. Well, not really but you get the idea. These are one of the only 18" wheels (certainly the best looking) that fit Toyota's 6 lug pattern; a pattern that fits 4Runners back to mid-3rd gen, Tacomas, Sequoias, Tundras, and Land Cruisers. There are literally at least 30 different models of Toyota 4x4 these wheels will fit, so don't go trading them off evenly to a set of 17" wheels. These wheels are worth AT LEAST $200/wheel. I just sold my used SE wheels for ~$150/wheel. If you really want some cash for them try selling them to the dealer when your 4Runner arrives, the dealerships typically sell this wheel for around $500 each new.

My TPMS sensors swapped without issue from my 17" wheels to my 18" wheels and I haven't had the light come on since.

Check out the thread about my wheels:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...threadid=15940

This is all I can think of right now, sorry about the long post, but if you have any other questions I'm sure I could answer them.

I'm so in the minority with my warped old fashioned thinking.....LOL