I have been following the discussion of tires and wheel size, but am not clear on one issue about tires. All LX570s in Southern CA come equipped with 21" wheels and the tires that come with them. Can you drive off road adequately with the 21" wheels? I am not talking about rock climbing, but rockey fire roads. Thanks in advance.

 

No, I would not do that. It's a bad idea.The risk of a tire defect is too big. Replace them with some 18" wheels. Putting 21" wheels on LX was a stupid decision from Lexus. LX is still a Land Cruiser. And the name "Land Cruiser" still means something in the World. Crippling it with 21" wheels should be punishable.

 

Thank you very much for your answer. That pretty much takes care of the issue. There is no way now that I would buy the vehicle with a 21 inch wheels.

 

An easy solution...

Find a set of Tundra take-off's that appeal to you. Call your local Toyota dealers and see what might be available. I picked up a set of new Tundra 18's, with lug nuts, hub caps, and TPMS...~ $200.

I'd say what you pay for a set of good wheels and tires is a drop in the bucket compared to the price of the LX. You can always sell the 21's online or by local Craigslist.

A thicker sidewall is sweet off pavement.

 

Or just buy Land Cruiser 18" takeoff wheels and tires on eBay. Usually pretty cheap.

 

I put a set of 18' Tundra rims on my wife's 16 LX570 so I'd like to say Tundra rims work as well?

 

See post #4 above. No issue with Tundra rims...mine have been "working well" for the last 3 years.

 

I went off road the day after I purchased my 2016 LX... 21" rims and all! And.. it was impressive. The LX did well on most terrain including sand. Just have to be careful not to damage rims on rocks/boulders. On the flip side, it was terrible in mud since the tires got messy real fast and lost traction big time. I've since moved to 20" wheels. Most of the guys here recommend 18" wheels and that would be optimal but 20's are okay.

Any time someone is worried about the 21's I like to point them to this video. Hopefully it will make you feel better.

 

Great video. Thank you for posting. This changes my mind. For the limited and much milder off roading I would do Those 21 inch wheels will work just fine.

 

I've been riding on Michelin LTX M/S2 for a very long time. I hope I can repurchase these when it comes time to replace my current P275/50R21 tires.

 

I'd think a bit about the bold part above.

 

New owner here....Why are 18"s recommended over 20"s? My LX came stock with 20"s and I'm in a similar boat as 2010LX where I don't see any hard core offroading in my near future.

 

Then simply stay with the 20 inch wheels and tires.

 

Plan on it in the near term, and will pick up some 18" TRD wheels once it's ready for heavier trails. Still curious why the smaller tire is recommended.

 

Assuming the 18" tire is the same outside diameter as a 20" tire, you'll have a taller tire section. More comfortable both on and off road. And as I keep posting to the point of monotony, you can also find LT rated tires, imo more in keeping with what's needed on a > 3-ton truck.