Dealer Negotiations

[I am here now]

Please feel free to mark me as ignore, that way you won't be bothered by anything I post!

Opinions don't influence facts, but facts should influence opinions.

Conjecture is prevalent here. It’s normal for people like you to embrace ignorance. When I’m wheeling nobody’s riding on 20’s. The Land Cruiser is a mall crawler with 20’s. That’s deliberate so the owner’s can feel good about their rig with 8 inches of ground clearance. Why does the only mall crawler 4runner limited come with 20’s? It’s the least off road vehicle in their fleet. It’s not made up you fool.

 

[bluebullet]

Even for the occasional weekend warrior who only plans to bomb around on US Forest Service roads, and mild off road driving the more sidewall you can get the better. I will not get into airing down, because without bead lock wheels and pretty good sized tires that is not terribly practical for most.

However, that 1” of extra sidewall compliance on the tire will still make a difference in tire longevity in the event you do find it rubbing on rocks or other hazards. Plus the tires are the first part of the vehicle suspension in contact with the ground, those balloons we roll around on are the initial part of the system for soaking up impacts. Taller sidewalks just soak up impacts better, life is easier on the vehicle and the occupants over rough stuff with tires that can take more edge off of whumps, bumps, pot holes, washboard, etc.

One option for the crowd stuck with 20”s would be to go source a set of 17” Toyota steelies and put some 285/70/17 tires on them or even 285/75/17’s. That will soften things up nicely and put those meats on a set of wheels made for abuse. Then put your 20”s with highway tires back on for Monday-Friday duty.

The only explanation I ever got and believed for 20" low profiles on my 2500HD Chevy was they had less sidewall flex and cornered better on smooth highway surfaces but were iffy in the woods where sidewall punctures are a real possibility. I am waiting on a set of 18" wheels now and wonder what Toyota was thinking. I like my LC Premium and hope it does not end up being an Edsel...

 

[RUN-8]

I don’t think your LC Premium is going to be an Edsel.

As for 20” wheels handling a bit better on pavement it’s probably accurate. If handling and cornering are major concerns then by all means run the 20”s, I would respectfully point out that there are probably far better choices in the SUV and station wagon segment that will offer more on road handling and refinement than a Land Cruiser.

 

[Muddygriff]

Even for the occasional weekend warrior who only plans to bomb around on US Forest Service roads, and mild off road driving the more sidewall you can get the better. I will not get into airing down, because without bead lock wheels and pretty good sized tires that is not terribly practical for most.

However, that 1” of extra sidewall compliance on the tire will still make a difference in tire longevity in the event you do find it rubbing on rocks or other hazards. Plus the tires are the first part of the vehicle suspension in contact with the ground, those balloons we roll around on are the initial part of the system for soaking up impacts. Taller sidewalks just soak up impacts better, life is easier on the vehicle and the occupants over rough stuff with tires that can take more edge off of whumps, bumps, pot holes, washboard, etc.

One option for the crowd stuck with 20”s would be to go source a set of 17” Toyota steelies and put some 285/70/17 tires on them or even 285/75/17’s. That will soften things up nicely and put those meats on a set of wheels made for abuse. Then put your 20”s with highway tires back on for Monday-Friday duty.

I’m just getting into this wheeling business. What is the hassle factor of switching wheels back and forth?

 

[EOD Guy]

I’m just getting into this wheeling business. What is the hassle factor of switching wheels back and forth?

To be honest...... storage!

 

[RUN-8]

I’m just getting into this wheeling business. What is the hassle factor of switching wheels back and forth?

Well you need a jack, and tools to change them, plus a place to store them.

The nicer your tools the less ass pain is involved assuming you have a place to store the tires and wheels. If you have a 3 ton hydraulic floor jack, jack stands, a cordless 1/2” impact wrench (with the correct socket), and a torque wrench you’re in good shape.

 

[Altitude]

Tat's an interesting point. However, i thought you gain only 1" sidewall when going from 20 to 18" wheels as it's the diameter and only the part on the ground matters, is that correct? Also, when I looked at the 20" stock rims and tires it at least visually looked to me that you can easily hit a curb with the rims.......

I have a Tahoe with 20” wheels and 55 profile tires. Knock wood, in 8+ years and 115,000 miles I haven’t scraped the rims much at all, and I’ve definitely hit a few curbs along the way where I was dreading getting out and looking…

 

[Muddygriff]

Should I get the factory steel skid plates added, or is after market better/cheaper?

 

[bluebullet]

Should I get the factory steel skid plates added, or is after market better/cheaper?

Go for factory if you can get them. I could not as my dealer had nothing to offer. Just wanted me out of there quickly. Findlay Toyota Spokane.

 

[bkral]

Here's what worked for me:

I used the Toyota configurator to build the car I wanted to my specs, then set a nationwide search area to see what is/will be available. I found one configured as I wanted, plus the premium package, that was allocated to a dealer in FL (I live in GA). I went to the dealer's website and found the car listed there. The website had a button to "unlock your lower price". After supplying my contact info, it presented a price under MSRP. The price was low enough for me to justify getting the premium package. I called them an put a deposit down a few days ago. LC Trim, Blue/Java 18" wheels, premium package, nothing else.

The toyota site for me will only go up to 500 miles, how did you do nationwide?

 

[Markarian421]

The toyota site for me will only go up to 500 miles, how did you do nationwide?

Type in a different zip code.

 

[Code54]

Let me start off with....... your money buy/do what you want....

I keep hearing 20" wheels are not good for off-roading, so why is that? Unless you are airing the tires down so they are running on the rims, which is just dumb or you're rock crawling in some pretty serious rocks and need the sidewall flex/keep the rims off boulders. With an 18" rim (vs 20") you gain 2" of distance on the tire wall and might not scrape the actual rim ........... 2" loss on the sidewall should not make one bit of difference for the weekender rough trail adventurer. Airing down for sand also wouldn't make a bit of difference for the average off-roader, because you're still increasing the tire footprint , that footprint will only get so wide before it's maxed out and when you reach that, de-beading the tire becomes an issue.

Like some others, we always run the smaller rims out here in the mountains. Personally, my LC won't ever go real off-roading; we own SxS's and ATVs for that. Years ago, everyone got on a kick to use a little larger rim on the SxS's. On the group rides, we noticed that 75-80% of the tire issues that were occurring were on machines with larger rims. FAR more pinch flats were occurring and more damaged rims. Honestly, the pinch flats were the biggest issue - one good hard hit and that extra inch of tire may be the difference between a flat tire and not getting a flat. I guess a lot depends on where you go and what is rough for your area.

I do agree the rim issue may be more area-dependent. Our area is littered with rocks, and some of our county roads would be impassable with the LC (without taking major damage). We do air down tires a lot - not just for the larger footprint but also to improve the ride quality. There are some areas where the base is thousands upon thousands of softball-size rocks, airing down greatly improves the ride and helps keep you from shaking the machines apart.

I attached two fun pics for reference. Far from the worst spots on the roads were have but just something for reference (and fun). The one with the SxS angled is about a 30" vertical rock face on a side slope. This road you would destroy the LC and the rims. Several SxS's get laid on their side on that rock face. The nice thing is it’s an SxS, just winch it on the wheels and carry on. There are lots of weird rocks sticking out, and deep ruts, so clearance and rims do make a difference. I had about 18" of ground clearance on my last machine and would often bottom out on that road.
The other photo is just a fun road that is a creek. The LC would be fine there as long as it was a low-water run. The road is several miles long, and you just wander in and out of the creek. There are a few houses on the road, so it is

not too bad, just rocky underneath.

 

[EOD Guy]

My key points...... Average off-roader and rough trails.

 

[probeam]

I’m just getting into this wheeling business. What is the hassle factor of switching wheels back and forth?

Very minimal. I have a set of 16" steelies with beadlocks and big fat f#uckin mudders on them and another set of 18" alloys with regular street shoes. the only hassle is storage of 5 extra wheels and the 15 minutes it takes to run a dolly jack under the vehicle to swap out the daily driver wheels for the off roaders.