17" Wheels & Cooper Tires for New Hilux

17" rims on a Hilux???

Why bother?

I assume you are looking at Cooper HT's as clearly you don't plan on going off road. As soon as you need to drop the pressure in any sort of real 4wd terrain you are going to run a huge risk of rim damage on your shiny new rims.

17" rims are for vehicle design artists drawings and sports cars. Not 4wds.

Gees, I was looking at Patrols and querying the legality in Victoria of pi$$ing off the useless (& ugly) alloys for a real steel 4wd rim in a more appropriate size.

Dave

For the same rolling diameter the increase in the rim size means a reduction in profile, therefore the rocks and other things likely to cause damage are much closer to the rim.

When you run lower pressures you have less volume of balloon to provide the cushioning effect that allows deformation over obstacles and being closer to those obstacles you are far more likely to hit a rim.

Alloys will chip or crack where steel rims will bend and may be able to be repaired either back home or if necessary in the field.

The advantage to be gained with the 17" rim is aesthetic (looks - vehicle design artists ALWAYS draw vehicles with 19 & 21" rims and no rubber when they are trying to sell a design to bean counters) and in a sports car in cornering handling at higher speeds. Given the nature of 4wds centre of gravity and roll over capability there isn't the need as they can't be driven at those sort of speeds on bitumen anyway.

Plus tyre costs go up ++ with rim size (generally).

Dave

Isn't there also the issue of an engineer's certificate being required?

Thanks guys for all your feedback, but perhaps I wasn't clear. I am happy to change the rolling diameter because I do "not" want low profile tyres. All I want are the 17" wheels , yes because aesthetically the 15's make the new-lux look silly. So hence I have seen 265 and 275 profile tyres on 17" which would retain the tyre thickness but would change the rolling diameter, increase it. Technically this would slightly gear the car taller. (You can compensate the speedo with a plastic adjuster to suit)

So my question was has anyone done this , ala increase the rolling diameter and changed to 17" wheels on other model Hilux's or 4WD's..?

Have done it to numerous SR5. Not only does it look a hell of a lot better, the 17" Rim and tyre package also increases handling on the bitumen.
We have used - 275/55R17, 255/65R17, 265/65R17, 265/70R17LT. The 265/70R17 did require a 2" lift to fit comfortably, however with standard height anywhere upto 775mm overall diameter will fit with no problems.
It all comes down to application.
I see no problems whatsoever with running the 17", even with so many people condemning the use of them. With bitumen being the predominate useage, the ride and handling of a 17" combination is ideal, expecially when trying to gain a bit of clearance aswell.
As to the off road, by increasing the overall diameter of the tyre the way that you are talking, the actual distance from rim to shoulder of tyre is almost identical to the standard 15" rim and tyre package while still increasing diff clearance.
Obviously, if you were to look at taking the Hilux touring or off roading regularly, I would suggest that you look at ensuring that a Light Truck constructed tyre is used. The added strength and load carrying capacity of these tyres makes them stronger, as well as more puncture and impact damage resistant.
All in all.... I quite like the 17" rims and tyres on the Hilux. I'll have to try and find the photos we have of them with the 17". Looks sensational. The standard wheels just look way too small.
Hope this helps,
Ryano

Ryano, Thanks heaps for your feedback. Of the different combinations you mentioned which one would you recommend for primarily bitumen use and a little extra clearance..? Have you also then used an adapter for the speedo as changing the RD will put the speedo out..?

Here is a bit of a compilation for you....
SIZE OD Extra Diff Ground Speed
Clearance when speedo reads 100km/h
255/70R15 738mm 0mm 100km/h (Standard Size)
275/55R17 738mm 0mm 100km/h
255/65R17 763mm 12.5mm 103.43km/h
265/65R17 776mm 19mm 105.19km/h
265/70R17 804mm 33mm 108.78km/h

Probably the most common fitment we do is the 255/65R17.
Cheers,
Ryano

Hey There.

I got my new TD SR5 Hilux last week. I replaced the original wheels with a set of 17 inch Speedy Grande ( which are Toyota Prado Rims ) and a set of Coopers 265/65/17 ATR. An absolutely magnificent combination. Id highly recommend it. It looks fantastic and drives superbly.