Factory spare steels as wheels?

[Crazychopstick]

Does anyone have any pictures or comments regarding using the factory 16" spare steelies as regular wheels?

I getting sick of the Tri-clops wheels and I'm too cheap for new alloys or steel wheels.

Here's a few images from the interwebs, several are of Crolison's rig.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/3905128426_5cdc994859.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/IMG_0659.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/27010_788651074855_9418215_44460285_2310778_n.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/f4b4ca27.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/IMG_2898.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/Picture022.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/Picture059.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/Picture058.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/100_2501.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/TucsonBumperweek018.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/TucsonBumperweek016.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/SSPX0197.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/SSPX0204-1.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/ba98ef72.jpg


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/Picture010.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/SSPX0202.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/SSPX0203.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/323i.jpg
Last four are FJ 17"s?



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/4078515839_29ace25344_o.jpg
Rock ring


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/DSC_3308.jpg
Last one is of an Xterra, but I'd love to duplicate the hubcap treatment.


Anyways, what do you guys think? Should I go out and collect 3 more OE steelies? Is the steel any weaker or thinner gauge than an aftermarket one? Any downsides aside from weight?

[troyboy162]

id do it if you can get them cheap. if you have to invest money you might as well buy exactly what you want. i wheel stock alloys since they are strong, light and cheap to replace

[Seanz0rz]

if you can get them cheap enough (shouldnt have too much of a problem collecting one at a time) then do it. they are plenty strong and should serve you well.

[corax]

x3 - I was looking into (and actually found) a set of "take-off" stock steelies, but ditched the idea due to tire cost (15's are so much less expensive). Keep an eye on Craigslist or call around some of the local wheel and tire shops to see if anyone has abandoned their steelies after upgrading to alloys.

[Okie81]

x3 - ... or call around some of the local wheel and tire shops to see if anyone has abandoned their steelies after upgrading to alloys.

I actually found a nice set of factory alloys this way. A lot of people tend to abandon their stock wheels for designer rims.

[Crinale]

i was just at a local shop looking for tires for Bekah's car, and they had a set of taco rims sitting in the yard.. looked pretty scraped up, but they were there.

[Crazychopstick]

It's been kind of a challenge collecting these. So far only found 2

[Crazychopstick]

It's been ridiculous finding a full set of these. Tundras and Tacomas have 16 punched holes and only the 4Runner has 18. But then you have 4Runners that use the 15" spare and I've dropped some spares that were actually the triclops alloys.

But I finally got four of them. I'll probably paint them and switch to open ended lugs sometime when the weather gets nicer. Hopefully some more aggressive tires will look great on them. I picked up a set of spacers and can't wait to throw them on.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/R1-03908-004A.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/R1-03908-007A.jpg

[Crazychopstick]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a226/Crazychopstick/Tundra/R1-03908-012A.jpg

[fenrisx]

Cool.. looks good! Are the steelies the same offset as the alloys?

[Orangedrink]

Those look pretty rad! Very utility. I agree with the idea of picking up factory alloys from owners who upgrade to after markets, too. I got 5 of these FJ Cruiser wheels for between $60-80 each (shopped around for a bit). Extra one is full size spare and fits perfectly under mounted.

When I had bought my Runner it had some ugly aftermarkets on it and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on new wheels – so this was my solution, but I really like the way yours came out.

How much did you get those for, if you don't mind me asking?

[Crazychopstick]

The steels appear to be the same backspacing as the Triclops wheels, the distance from the UCA and the sidewall looks the same with both. I didn't measure it.

I may have spent $30-40 total. Just junkyard finds and trades with local 4Runner guys for their spares. I have a buddy that just swapped the tires for me on the cheap too. I have a set of new Tacoma centercaps that I think would look awesome on there I'll keep this updated.