3rd Generation 4Runner Wheel Options
I'm going with silver FJ TRD wheels, but I liked the styling on this new wheel. Below is a recent post I copied from my build thread... it has my thoughts on wheel options for 3rd Generation 4Runners.
I picked up a TRD FJ wheel ($142 out the door) from my local Toyota dealer to make sure that I liked it. This is the one in the second pic. I still need to buy 4 more! Before I get them installed I am going to get an Electron Blue pinstripe (between 1/8" and 1/4" thickness) painted around each rim.
My 4Runner originally had the coke bottle limited wheels when I bought it, but I switched them out for 5 Stars a while back in the barrio. It only cost me $100 total to trade and get them mounted. I did this all at the same place. There are a lot of 5 Stars sitting around in tire and wheel shops like this - I went to several different places in town with a photo of the 5 Stars that I wanted. Finally I found them at the 4th place I visited.
I think that the 5 Stars and the FJ TRD wheels (both in the 2nd pic below) are two of the very best options for the 3rd Generation 4Runner. I did a ton of research on this. The other "finalists" were the Tacoma Baja wheel (3rd photo), the FN 5 Star wheel (4th photo), and the TRD wheels with the removable ring (5th photo). I'll give my thoughts behind each wheel below. Eventually I plan to mount Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ 285s on them.
As I mentioned the factory 5 Stars and the FJ TRD wheels were the two best choices in my opinion. If you don't want to do the research (and visualize dozens of different wheels on your 4Runner) you can't go wrong with the 5 Stars. I only like silver wheels (on my vehicles) and these already come in a nice silver color. The only reason I am moving to the FJ TRDs is because I want to do something different and I think that the "blocky" look of these wheels will look good with the "blocky" side biters on the MTZs. On my 4Runner the wheels below would be silver and the MTZs would be white letter out.
I also like the fact that they are 7.5" wide compared to 7" for the 5 Stars. These wheels are manufactured in silver, gunmetal and black. Fortunately for me the silver are the easiest to get. I made a deal over the phone with my local Toyota dealer for $142 - they started at $180. The price I got seems to be about the best you can do, even compared to eBay... and at least I know I am getting them brand new.
The Tacoma Baja wheels pictured below were an interesting choice. I love the design on the outside of the wheel (closest to the tire), but there seems to be something missing in the design of the center. I also thought that perhaps the scoops on the outside might do something strange to the airflow... maybe even make a whistling noise. I think this is a great option, but ultimately not for me.
I like the simplicity and elegant design of the FN 5 Star, but believe it or not it does not come in silver. I know that it is available in bronze, gun metal and black for sure. Even if I got them powdercoated silver I would have to put some type of logo on the center cap, so this one was just too expensive and a lot of work to get what I wanted.
The TRD (fake) beadlock style wheel pictured below was actually my number one choice for a long time. The fake ring doesn't bother me - it helps to protect the wheel and can be painted any color if you don't like how they look from the factory. They are very expensive (over $200 each if I remember correctly) and they are available in bronze, gun metal, and flat black. I was going to have to powdercoat them silver so the cost of these was getting ridiculous. I was going to paint the ring Electron Blue to match my accent color and that would have looked very cool. These wheels are 8 inches wide which is also a bonus. In the end the more I looked at them (on line and in real life) the more I came to realize that these wheels looked small... it is an optical illusion and has to do mostly with the ring and the recessed slotted look. These wheels definitely look smaller than other 16" wheels.
Silver FJ TRD wheels look damn good on 3rd Generation 4Runners in my opinion.
