Tyre & Rims

G'Day, I'm looking at buying new secondhand tyres, the offset on the rims are off the 03 model. technically these would not fit my model right???

Thanks

Are you talking about a 15 x 8 wheel that has the same off set as a standard 03 wheel? I think the only way you are going to find the answer is to take a few measurements then work it out with a few drawings. I have done this a few times over the years with a piece of chalk on the garage floor.

You will have to measure the back spacing of a standard original wheel and the new ones. Draw a rough looking wheel as viewed from head on and mark its centre line and the actual wheel centre where the hub touches.. Your drawing won't be to scale so simple maths will tell you how far the two points are apart or in other words the off set. Compare this to a similar drawing of your new wheel. You should be able to clearly see if the centre line of your new wheel is going to be in the same position as the original or further in or out. If it is further in then the wheel is going to narrow the track. If further out it will widen it.

You don't want the track narrowed at all but you also don't want it too wide. There is a direct relationship between the position of the wheel centre and the wheel bearings. The steering geometry also comes into it as well as a few other things.

A good basic example of this a vintage car from the 1920s when viewed from head on. The skinny wheel leans out a little at the top. A line drawn down through the king pin that the whole hub/wheel pivots on will reach the ground at the same point as the centre line of the tyre. This makes steering much easier but it also places most of the car weight on the large inner bearing and very little on the smaller outer one.

Modern cars are not exactly the same as this but they are still designed along that same principle. The registration authorities usually specify a maximum track increase of no more that 25 mm. They are not trying to make life difficult, there are sound engineering reasons for it. All you have to do is make sure the centre lines of the wheels you select do not come out any more than 12 to 13 mm more than the originals on each side.

The size of the tyres you have in mind could run you into a few legal problems but that is another discussion for another day. Before you do anything I would suggest you have a talk to the registration authorities and your insurance company if this car is going to be used on a public road.

g"day
nope, i want to find out if the offset from 15x8 steel (sunraysia rims) from a 2003 hilux will be the same as 15x8 steel (sunraysia rims) for a 1985 Hilux ie. mine.

I can't answer that without measuring the wheels as I described. The 15" wheel on the current Hilux is 7" and I would assume the previous model, which includes the 03, would be the same. A 8" Sunraysia is not genuine and who knows what it has been designed to fit. It will most likely bolt on but you will have to work out where the centre will be yourself.

Baz

There is a 255/70 x 15 listed in the handbook of my 03. It carries over into the later models according to a sales brochure I have. They may have been introduced with the SR5. I suppose a dressed up version did not look all that good with split rims and commercial tyres. I can't remember when the SR5 started but I was working on them at a Toyota dealer in the early 1980s.