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I thought I'd throw down a little 411 input for ppl wanting to go w/ 8.5''-9.5'' width wheels. The oem track width for a gen2 awd is F 62''(1975mm) & R 61.2'' (1555mm), So here is whether your going w/ coilovers or not, as the c/o's use a outer spring vs a strut which uses a seprate spring, the issue is below the strut spring seat where the strut body itself is where the section tire width is where you'll run into possble clearence issues depending on the wheel offset. With a strut body is smaller diamter vs a c/o which has the spring outside the strut. So w/ that your wanting to use a tighter offset wheel for the rear, which you have a another choice/option to run a square track width setup, smaller offset for the rear vs the front,= 20mm for the front & a 0 offset for the rear & then you wouldn't have issue if your running c/o's & you'd have a square setup, but then your have a deticated front/ rear wheels. I prefer to run the same 4 wheels....Your looking for a 20mm offset max for the 8.5'' width wheels & a 0-12mm offset for 9 .5'' wheels....for the tire section width clears the rear strut housing which is below the spring seat. Then you might be wondering wheher to run 18's, 19's or 20's...My thoughts are 18's, Why because 18'' tire/wheel's are lighter= less undersprung weight, less spendy & you can keep the outside tire diameter down to 28''-29''s....A 255-55x18 tire is a great around, less spendy, rides good, lot of choices vs 19''20's as well as the spendy/heavier 19''/20'' wheels. Have a look at Discount which gives you great wheel choices, of which I just put in the 8.5''-9''-9.5''wheel width, 18''diameter & 114.3x5 bolt pattern then you'll have to check the offset. I also set up the wheels choices to low to high prices as well. Then you can go to 1010 tires.com for their wheel offset calculator, which will give you a a idea how far your trackwidth is...No issues w/ the front, plenty of room up front for any width/offset.......
I agree, I run 18" in the summer and 17" in the winter. 19" allows for more tire options but it is a little bit of a diminishing return in terms of performance. Sure, I could go 19" with low-pros but then the ride will suffer and my car is still a DD after all. I'll also add that installing 2nd gen Highlander front & rear hubs, knuckles & bearings will NOT increase the track width of the car. The track width from the newer models comes from the knuckles being spaced out further, not from the actual knuckle assembly itself.
245/50R18 tires with 4RX stock 18x8" wide rims. Offset is 30mm vs 35mm stock. The 4th gen RX rims require 4th gen RX wheel studs for safe mounting. Despite the lower sidewall, it rides buttery smooth because of the wider tires I imagine. Cornering is also far better than stock, far less sidewall rollover and sag. The car looks a lot better too, has a better, more aggressive stance. I don't care about the looks anywhere near as much as the cornering benefit however. Braking and grip is WAY better with the 245s. As you can see, our cars still have tons of space for wider rims & tires w/ lower offsets. Here's my 2002 Highlander with the same setup, it sits almost flush on that car.
11-01-22, 10:40 AM
Tire/wheel upgrade 411
