Tire Question!

Thanks, those look sweet! I'm going to call around today and ask about the 275 55r20 setup, as the thread(s) I've found seem to have differing (strongly) opinions about the rim width for the OEM LE setup. If I get the green light, I think I'll roll with the Nitto's or the BFG's. I'll keep you all updated!
 
Thanks, those look sweet! I'm going to call around today and ask about the 275 55r20 setup, as the thread(s) I've found seem to have differing (strongly) opinions about the rim width for the OEM LE setup. If I get the green light, I think I'll roll with the Nitto's or the BFG's. I'll keep you all updated!

I'm in the same boat. I'm either going with a 275/55/20 tire or dumping the 20" wagon wheels and getting some new 18" Gen 4 Limited wheels and tires. I just don't want to go the 275/55/20 route only to have the tires last half as long as they should due Toyota's stupidity of using a 7" wheel.
 
In doing some searching online, looks like all aspects of the Terra Grapplers are rated highly except tread wear...don't know if I'll shell out the big bucks on something that 1) isn't spec'ed to my 4R, and 2) doesn't have a long tread life even if it were lol. Ugh the agony
 
. . . I get a nail through the sidewall of the tire...irreparable! :( . . .


Since this is my first AWD car. . .

Should I replace all 4 tires and see if I can ship off the used 6/32's? Should I replace just two tires (new 2 on front or back?)? I'm totally lost and don't want to get bludgeoned by the tire shop. . . .

As insurance, you might want to consider getting 5 new tires and including the spare in the tire rotation. This way you'll always have 5 evenly worn tires, and you won't find yourself in the same boat down the road with an unrepairable tire and having to buy 4 new tires to not screw up your AWD drive-line. Instead you can just swap in your spare tire/wheel and buy a new tire to use as the spare. Don't rotate the spare with the new tire, and hope you don't get another unrepairable tire. And when your 4 driving tires wear down, you buy 4 new ones and you can go back to rotating all 5 tires again.
 
Ummm am I missing something? If I have 5 new tires, drive 4 of them to 6/32's, and one is unrepairable, a new spare won't help as it didn't in this instance because the tread will be 6 vs 10 (new). Let me know if I'm missing the point.
 
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As insurance, you might want to consider getting 5 new tires and including the spare in the tire rotation. This way you'll always have 5 evenly worn tires, and you won't find yourself in the same boat down the road with an unrepairable tire and having to buy 4 new tires to not screw up your AWD drive-line. Instead you can just swap in your spare tire/wheel and buy a new tire to use as the spare. Don't rotate the spare with the new tire, and hope you don't get another unrepairable tire. And when your 4 driving tires wear down, you buy 4 new ones and you can go back to rotating all 5 tires again.

Ummm am I missing something? If I have 5 new tires, drive 4 of them to 6/32's, and one is unrepairable, a new spare won't help as it didn't in this instance because the tread will be 6 vs 10 (new). Let me know if I'm missing the point.

Here is a link in which I explained the pros/cons to with 4 and 5 tire rotations.
You won't screw up your drive line with a new tire mixed in with worn tires as long as they are the same size to begin with. Here's the link: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/130567-5-vs-4-tire-rotation.html




THERE IS NO ADVANTAGE EITHER WAY BETWEEN A 5 or a 4 TIRE ROTATION.
 
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Ummm am I missing something? If I have 5 new tires, drive 4 of them to 6/32's, and one is unrepairable, a new spare won't help as it didn't in this instance because the tread will be 6 vs 10 (new). Let me know if I'm missing the point.
With 5 of the same tire, you can do a 5 tire rotation.
 
Figured I'd let everyone know that after taking my 4R into a Good Guys shop recommended to me by my boss who has a personal friend there managing the shop, he recommended the Kelly Safari A/T for me, which I ended up buying!

I'm running them at 275 55/20, so hopefully I live! :) He said it shouldn't be a problem though...and yes, I called Toyota yesterday and after a 45 minute wait (WTH) it was confirmed that the rim width for the LE was in fact 7", not 7.5" as some swear by.

I'll take some pictures once I get my car washed this weekend, and I'll keep you all update on the performance of these puppies. I was getting 22 MPG or so with the OEM Yokohama's, and I drive 100 miles a day for my trip to and from work (mostly highway) so I'll be interested in that aspect first and foremost.

Here's a link to the new skins!

Safari ATR Tires | Kelly Tires
 
I would really like to fire every person in whatever committee at Toyota who made the decision to go with a 7" wheel with zero tore options.

I like the look of the LE wheels, but the narrow tires are ridiculous and my inability to easily change the tire width without taking a huge chance on tire tolerances is infuriating.

Damn you Toyota.
 
All I can think of is Yokohama and Toyota being in cahoots, making that Geolander specifically for the 7" rim so that customers would be suckered into going back to the dealerships and getting slammed on the price of that specialized tire. I'm rolling the dice on the 7.5" recommended, and hoping for the best. The tire mechanic who had been in the business for 44 years didn't seem to think it'd be an issue, but who knows!
 
So, I hit up (2) Discount Tire's today and both told me that a 275/55/20 won't be fitting the 7" LE rim. They told me it would fit but will void the tread warranty and result in premature crowing. Now I think I'm more inclined to just pickup some 17'-18" wheels and dump the 20's.

Damn you Toyota. Why in the hell did you put a 7" wheel on these damn cars? :der:
 
This makes me feel awesome about my purchase....NOT! LoL oh well, I'm crossing my fingers honestly...somewhat of a big gamble ($) wise but I wasn't ready to invest in a pair of new rims and have to unload the OEM's right away. I suppose after this set I may start searching for some replacements.
 
This makes me feel awesome about my purchase....NOT! LoL oh well, I'm crossing my fingers honestly...somewhat of a big gamble ($) wise but I wasn't ready to invest in a pair of new rims and have to unload the OEM's right away. I suppose after this set I may start searching for some replacements.

Honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. A lot of folks have moved up to the 275/55/20 and have had no issues. In fact, I have yet to see a post from someone actually have a problem since the swap.

I'm still looking around trying to decide what I want to do. While at Discount Tire today, they said that had some 18" MB Vortex wheels that were mounted on a car but customer returned them the next day. They said they are in perfect shape but can't sell them as new so they are selling them at 1/2 price which puts them at $80 per wheel. Not a bad deal. These are the wheels that look similar to the OEM 20's but I'm not sure I like them enough to do the deal. I think I'm leaning more toward picking up some new 4th Gen 18" LE wheels.
 
Those wheels look pretty sweet! If the price is right, the looks definitely match! I've wanted black wheels since the day I bought this puppy, but just don't have the money to shell out to get them yet :/
 

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