The ultimate 3rd gen Toyota Tacoma wheel & tire guide

As of last year, the 3rd gen Tacoma is officially being replaced by the new 4th gen. So, it might not be the newest, but this is still a brand new truck in our eyes (along with anything newer than like 2015). Yodas are built to last; if the 3rd gen Tacoma is anything like its predecessors, we’re just discovering its capabilities. Despite them being so new, people are already building them into crawlers, overlanders, prerunners, you name it…

There’s tons of aftermarket support, and in terms of mods, wheels and tires are top of the list. In fact, so many combinations have been tried that we already have a strong understanding of what fits. Browsing through the forums and socials, and talking with other owners can give you some good suggestions for what wheels & tires to run. But that’s a lot of work, so we put together this fitment guide as a quick reference for wheel and tire fitment on your 3rd gen Taco - 2016-2023.

Quick links

• Basic fitment info
• Recommended aftermarket wheels & tire specs
• Factory wheels, but with better tires
• ‘Skinny’ tires on a 16+ Tacoma
• Aftermarket wheels & tire combos
• 35-inch tires on a 3rd gen Tacoma

Basic fitment info

• Lug pattern: 6x139.7 (6x5.5)
• Nut thread: M14x1.5
• Center bore: 106.1mm
• Lug torque: 83 ft/lbs

Before we talk upgrades, you should know about the stock wheels & tires. What are my stock wheels' specs? Here's a list of possible wheel specs by trim level:

• 16x7 +23 (SR5)
• 16x7 +13 (Offroad)
• 16x7.5 +10 (PRO)
• 17x7.5 +30 (Sport)
• 18x7.5 +30 (Limited)

The Tacoma shares a lug pattern with the 4Runner, which normally comes with lower offset wheels. Here is a popular wheel that comes from the 4Runner:

17x7 +04 (4Runner TRD SEMA Pro)

What about the Tundra ? Up until ‘22, they used a 5 bolt pattern. The 22+ 3rd gen uses the same 6x139.7, but with a different center bore, requiring an adapter (and kinda defeating the purpose).

For tires, your truck with come with Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain (the exact model varies), here are the factory sizes:

• 245/75R16 (30.5”)
• 265/70R16 (30.6”)
• 265/65R17 (30.6”)
• 265/60R18 (30.6”)

What size of aftermarket wheels & tires fit my 16+ Tacoma?

This is what you’re here for. You at least wanna upgrade your tires, and possibly wheels too.

Recommended tire upgrades

If you just want to put a larger tire on the factory wheels something around 31.6” diameter will fit without any suspension work or trimming. This is a modest increase at only 1” larger than stock. Note that you may have to remove the factory mud flaps. Here is the breakdown of the metric sizes for 16 to 18” wheels:

• 265/75R16 (31.6 x 10.4)
• 265/70R17 (31.6 x 10.4)
• 265/65R18 (31.6 x 10.4)

What’s the max size you can run without lift? Some say 33-inch tires are possible, others say they’ll rub when turning. As we know, info from forums can be all over the place. Because of this, we recommend something under 33” to be on the safe side, here are our recommendations:

• 285/75R16 (32.2 x 10.8)
• 275/70R17 (32.2 x 10.8)
• 265/70R18 (32.6 x 10.4)

Note that these will probably require trimming. Also, these are wide tires, depending on the backspacing of your wheels, they may come dangerously close to the upper control arms. This is one of the arguments for running ‘skinny’ tires, we’ll talk about these more later.

Recommended aftermarket wheel specs

Toyota uses 16” to 18” diameters, so all of these will work, however, if you’re getting aftermarket wheels, 16” or 17” is the preferred size. A smaller rim and larger tire give you some extra cushion for offroading. Offsets could be as high as stock +30, or as low as -25. Negative offsets are better suited to lifted trucks (keeping width and height proportional). Something around a +0 offset, similar to 4Runner specs, is good for a Taco at stock height or with a modest lift. Rim width isn’t too important, but be mindful of backspacing for clearance reasons - 7” to 9” works best.

Note that more aggressive wheel setups have a higher potential for rubbing. Trimming and or lift might be needed.

Factory wheels, but with better tires

You could keep your stock wheels and just upgrade the tires. Or, maybe you have SR5 wheels and want a different genuine Toyota wheel. Either way, you’ll need to figure out what tires to buy. Here are some popular options for the Tacoma:

Goodyear Wrangler UltraTerrain AT - An all-terrain tire that is also pretty comfortable and reasonably priced. Can handle gravel, loose dirt, sand, rocks, mud, water, etc.

BF Goodrich AT K02 - Depending on the load rating, these can be a slight bump in price from the Wranglers. They excel in every category except on-road wet conditions. The tread design seems to pool water, leading to hydroplaning.

BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A - Relatively smooth ride for a trail tire thanks to the 2-ply polyester construction. A serrated shoulder provides grip even on loose surfaces and soft soils.

Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT - Geared towards trucks that are mostly used on-road for hawling, but occasionally hit the trails. Unlike the KO2’s, these excel in wet conditions. The only downside is the lack of skinny tire options if that’s the route you wanna go.

Of course, we’re barely scraping the surface in terms of tire. There are good options from Nitto, Toyo, Michelin, Mickey Thompson, etc. We got a huge selection of tires, all models and sizes.

All your favorite brands of tire

Fitment Facts
	Front	Rear
Wheels	TRD Off-Road Wheel 16x7 +25	TRD Off-Road Wheel 16x7 +25
Tires	BF Goodrich A/T KO2 265/75R16	BF Goodrich A/T KO2 265/75R16
Notes	Factory wheels + 1” larger tires. No rubbing.

This is a typical scenario: your stock Goodyear Wrangler’s are looking bare. You need to replace them but also want to upgrade in the process. You don’t wanna trim, then add lift, then have it snowball into a 10K suspension build (it happens to the best of us).

This 2021 TRD Off-Road is running the stock alloys wrapped in 265/75R16 KO2 tires. These tires are about 1” taller than factory while being the original width. You’ll see a lot of KO2’s as we look at various setups, they’re well-rounded with the only hiccup being hydroplaning issues.

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If the factory wheels just aren’t doing it for you, you could grab a set of 4Runner TRD ‘SEMA’ wheels. They’re lower offset, so you can get a wider stance without using spacers . Also, they come in matte black or graphite, as seen on this truck.

This 2020 SR5 has a TRD lift kit. The kit lifts the truck 2” in the front and 1” in the rear. Do you need lift for these 32.2” tires? With some trimming, these won’t rub the front fenders, but the front flaps will need to go.

‘Skinny’ tires on your 3rd gen Tacoma

Pizza cutters are popular in the Taco & Runner communities. We could do a full writeup about the pros & cons of narrow vs wide tires, but here's a quick summary.

Pros:

• Less sprung weight - better fuel economy and acceleration
• Cuts through loose terrain like mud, sand, and snow
• More clearance, especially for upper control arms
• Less tire often leads to a more affordable tire

Cons:

• Wide tires float on surfaces like deep snow or sand - better in some cases
• Less stability on and off-road, the truck isn’t as wide so it will feel like it wants to roll if you’re in a precarious spot on the trails or take a freeway on ramp too fast. Lower-offset factory wheels can help.
• There are fewer options for size, plus not all models come in skinny specs.

What counts as a skinny on a 3rd gen? Most came with a 265-width tire, so anything thinner than this: 255 is the most common.

When it comes to aesthetics, it’s all personal preference. Some Yoda owners love the look of skinnies - they give the same look seen on old Willys military Jeeps. Others like a wide and aggressive stance. Compare these skinny setups to the ones later in this article; decide what looks best to you.

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Fitment Facts
	Front	Rear
Wheels	SCS F5 16x8 +0	SCS F5 16x8 +0
Tires	Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 255/85R16	Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 255/85R16
Notes	33” tires on aftermarket wheels. Rubbing at full turn. Stock Suspension.

What would the same 255/85R16 tires look like with aftermarket wheels? This 2019 TRD Off-Road has zero offset SCS Performance F5’s. Wider offset wheels can often lead to rubbing, which is an issue on this truck. This truck will require some trimming and finessing of the inner fender to alleviate the rubbing.

Aftermarket wheel & tire combos

Now we’ll look at aftermarket wheel and tire combos. The remainder of the examples are running wide boys, if you wanna see skinny tires, see the last section.

Just because you're getting new wheels, doesn’t mean you have to fully build your truck. That’s what the owner of this 3rd gen TRD Off-Road decided when he threw on some 0 offset, 8” wide KMC wheels - not too much different than 4Runner SEMA specs (½” more inset and poke). Combined with tires around 31.6”, there was no need for suspension upgrades.

This setup makes the truck look and perform better without having to sell a kidney to build the suspension. And that’s why we recommend this size tire for entry-level builds, with or without aftermarket wheels.

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Another set of KO2’s, but this time fitted to some Method MR wheels. These tires are the exact size as the last - 31.6”. He chose to keep the front mud flaps which causes some slight rubbing, but says it’s ‘not enough to be an issue’.

Again this setup is easy enough that any Tacoma owner should be able to pull it off. Extra points for the white lettering on the KO2’s.

All sizes of KO2's

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The last few trucks on our list are more aggressive. They have wider wheels/tires with lower offsets. These will give 1+ inches of poke and pair well with a lift kit.

This truck has a good 2+ inches of poke. This is because it has 17x9.5 -18 Black Rhino wheels. As pictured, this truck has stock suspension, however, not surprisingly, it rubs at full turn. These tires are very close to 33” (32.7”), so at least 1-2” of lift is recommended.

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Fitment Facts
	Front	Rear
Wheels	KMC KM719 17x8.5 wheels +0	KMC KM719 17x8.5 wheels +0
Tires	BF Goodrich A/T KO2 RWL 285/70R17/10	BF Goodrich A/T KO2 RWL 285/70R17/10
Notes	Bilstein B8 8112/5160 . Camburg Uniball Upper control arms Old man Emu medium load leaf springs. 1.5” of lift in the front. No rubbing.

With a bit of lift, the same 32.7” tires fit without rubbing. As you can see this truck has a lot of rake - even more than stock. This is because it’s fitted with a Bilstein kit front and rear. The fronts are a coilover, giving full adjustability. The front can go between 0-3” of lift. This truck is set at about 1.5”, but could be leveled with another inch or so.

What's needed to fit 35’s on a 3rd gen Tacoma?

6-inches of lift is one way to do it. Even with this, it will still take a lot of effort. 35’s are for those who need extra ground clearance for hardcore offroading. The loss of MPG and torque is going to make your truck less than ideal as a daily driver. If you want to go this route, here is what we’ve learned:

3-inch lift is the bare minimum for 35’s. Body mount chop plates are recommended, these aren’t super costly, but require cutting and welding - and there’s no going back after that. A regear isn’t required, but if you leave the original ratios, your truck simply won’t have much torque. Regearing kits are expensive, but that is the cost of running big tires on a small truck. In addition, expect to take a full inch off the inside of the fenders.

This 2017 4x4 Offroad Taco is running a 6-inch lift kit with Fox 2.0 coilovers. Going this high will help reduce the trimming needed; not to say it will be any more affordable than a 3-inch lift, it will just require a bit less irreversible cutting.

35’s or not, these TE37XT’s look awesome on a Tacoma or Runner. They’re specifically built for offroading.

Shop all off-road TE's

Wrap up

In closing, there are plenty of wheel and tire combos that will look good on you Taco. Aftermarket wheels are nice, but not required. You can borrow some wheels off a 4Runner or higher trim Tacoma - but definitely upgrade those tires in the process.

A tire in the 31-32” range will fit with stock suspension and no trimming (but the mud flaps might have to go). If you wanna run something closer to 33+ expect to need a modest lift and possibly some trimming. Running something between 34” and 35”+ is for advanced users only. It’s possible, just know what you’re getting yourself into before you start hacking your truck up.