Advice on Dealer Package

[Tonydavid]

Hi. We are looking at putting reservation on a Land Cruiser. The dealer is selling it with a package that includes Method wheels, Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires, paint protection with five-year warranty and a dash camera. It has 18" wheels.
I need your advice as we will mainly use the vehicle on pavement and aren't experienced off-roaders (previous car was Subaru Outback).
My questions are:
1. What are we trading off by having 18" wheels rather than the 20"
2. Will we get lower mileage and more road noise with Wildpeaks
3. What are the advantages of the Method wheels and Wildpeak tires over the 20" wheels and factory tires that many Land Cruisers come with?
4. What do you think of this package?

 

[Markarian421]

Hi. We are looking at putting reservation on a Land Cruiser. The dealer is selling it with a package that includes Method wheels, Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires, paint protection with five-year warranty and a dash camera. It has 18" wheels.
I need your advice as we will mainly use the vehicle on pavement and aren't experienced off-roaders (previous car was Subaru Outback).
My questions are:
1. What are we trading off by having 18" wheels rather than the 20"
2. Will we get lower mileage and more road noise with Wildpeaks
3. What are the advantages of the Method wheels and Wildpeak tires over the 20" wheels and factory tires that many Land Cruisers come with?
4. What do you think of this package?

Do you know what wheel and what size/load tire?

1. More sidewall, softer ride for the same kind of tire. Really this vehicle should have an 18” wheel, not a 20” wheel. I haven’t driven mine (with 20” wheels) much so far but I already don’t like the way they feel. It’s like the suspension is soft but they are still harsh on pavement. I’ve already ordered 18” wheels for it.

2. Probably, they tend to be heavy. The Method wheels will almost certainly be about 10lbs lighter than the 20” wheels though,

3. Wheels are lighter, Wildpeaks will be better offroad.

4. I’d probably pick different tires if offroad performance isn’t your priority. I would not pay anything for their paint protection. And I’d search for warranty prices in that thread here and ask them to match it. Really though I would just completely avoid that dealer.

 

[uraniumrich]

Hi. We are looking at putting reservation on a Land Cruiser. The dealer is selling it with a package that includes Method wheels, Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires, paint protection with five-year warranty and a dash camera. It has 18" wheels.
I need your advice as we will mainly use the vehicle on pavement and aren't experienced off-roaders (previous car was Subaru Outback).
My questions are:
1. What are we trading off by having 18" wheels rather than the 20"
2. Will we get lower mileage and more road noise with Wildpeaks
3. What are the advantages of the Method wheels and Wildpeak tires over the 20" wheels and factory tires that many Land Cruisers come with?
4. What do you think of this package?

If you aren't off-roading, then I would not put on the 18" Method wheels and WildPeaks. I have the Method 703 with the WildPeak AT4W in 255/80R17. Yes, my mileage has taken a hit (down 5-10%). Yes, the WildPeak tires are louder, but not significantly enough to be annoying. If anything, I'm extremely impressed with the lack of road noise from the new AT4W tires. I chose the Method/Falken combination to use for off-road adventures and to use during the winter months. I kept my 20" wheels and tires to swap for the rest of the year. The 20" tire also has a better ride than the WildPeaks.

I much prefer the look of the Method/Falken combo, but my wife thinks the 20" wheel/tire combo is better.

This is just another way for a dealer to make more $ on the sale. I would find an LC that is built as close to your ideal spec as possible and buy it.

 

[TakaraLC]

It will have better on road cornering performance with 20 inch wheels (due to less tire sidewall and flexing). That is the only advantage of 20 inch wheels that comes to mind.

 

[EOD Guy]

From what you are saying about your intended use, if possible, I'd pass on the wheels and tires. In your case it would be cosmetic. The Wildpeaks will wear faster, get poorer fuel mileage and have more road noise.

 

[Tonydavid]

Do you know what wheel and what size/load tire?

1. More sidewall, softer ride for the same kind of tire. Really this vehicle should have an 18” wheel, not a 20” wheel. I haven’t driven mine (with 20” wheels) much so far but I already don’t like the way they feel. It’s like the suspension is soft but they are still harsh on pavement. I’ve already ordered 18” wheels for it.

2. Probably, they tend to be heavy. The Method wheels will almost certainly be about 10lbs lighter than the 20” wheels though,

3. Wheels are lighter, Wildpeaks will be better offroad.

4. I’d probably pick different tires if offroad performance isn’t your priority. I would not pay anything for their paint protection. And I’d search for warranty prices in that thread here and ask them to match it. Really though I would just completely avoid that dealer.

Thank you for your helpful response.

 

[Tonydavid]

It will have better on road cornering performance with 20 inch wheels (due to less tire sidewall and flexing). That is the only advantage of 20 inch wheels that comes to mind.

Thanks you for this response.

 

[Tonydavid]

From what you are saying about your intended use, if possible, I'd pass on the wheels and tires. In your case it would be cosmetic. The Wildpeaks will wear faster, get poorer fuel mileage and have more road noise.

Oh...got you. Thank for for helping me puzzle this out.

 

[Tonydavid]

From what you are saying about your intended use, if possible, I'd pass on the wheels and tires. In your case it would be cosmetic. The Wildpeaks will wear faster, get poorer fuel mileage and have more road noise.

I should say that we plan to do some light off roading. Not rock crawling but rough roads.

 

[EOD Guy]

I should say that we plan to do some light off roading. Not rock crawling but rough roads.

I'm on stock tires and have been on some moderate trails, (4WD lo-rg required) and haven't had any issues. It's up to you ....... my theory..... if you plan on doing some aggressive off-roading at least once a month, then new tires might be a consideration, if you do a lot of driving in snow..... new tires might be a consideration. If you plan on doing light off roading maybe a couple times a year...... I wouldn't throw away new tires, take a hit on fuel mileage and have increased road noise. When the OEM tires wear out, I might upgrade to a cooler looking tire at that point.

If you want the more aggressive look..... well that's a different story........

 

[Tonydavid]

I'm on stock tires and have been on some moderate trails, (4WD lo-rg required) and haven't had any issues. It's up to you ....... my theory..... if you plan on doing some aggressive off-roading at least once a month, then new tires might be a consideration, if you do a lot of driving in snow..... new tires might be a consideration. If you plan on doing light off roading maybe a couple times a year...... I wouldn't throw away new tires, take a hit on fuel mileage and have increased road noise. When the OEM tires wear out, I might upgrade to a cooler looking tire at that point.

If you want the more aggressive look..... well that's a different story........

I appreciate your sharing your experience. That is helpful. Do you have 18" or 20" wheels?

 

[EOD Guy]

I appreciate your sharing your experience. That is helpful. Do you have 18" or 20" wheels?

Stock FE 18", there are those that swear you need 18" rims for off roading ....... yadda, yadda. Unless you plan on doing some rock crawling or soft sand where you might are airing down and need a little more flex in the sidewall (were talking 1") the juice isn't worth the squeeze. Full disclosure there is probably a larger 18" AT tire selection than available in a 20" but if it's mostly a street crawler, I wouldn't worry too much about it.......... unless it's the look you're going for.

 

[Tonydavid]

Do you know what wheel and what size/load tire?

1. More sidewall, softer ride for the same kind of tire. Really this vehicle should have an 18” wheel, not a 20” wheel. I haven’t driven mine (with 20” wheels) much so far but I already don’t like the way they feel. It’s like the suspension is soft but they are still harsh on pavement. I’ve already ordered 18” wheels for it.

2. Probably, they tend to be heavy. The Method wheels will almost certainly be about 10lbs lighter than the 20” wheels though,

3. Wheels are lighter, Wildpeaks will be better offroad.

4. I’d probably pick different tires if offroad performance isn’t your priority. I would not pay anything for their paint protection. And I’d search for warranty prices in that thread here and ask them to match it. Really though I would just completely avoid that dealer.

Here is a picture I received from the dealer of the Method wheel and tires. Do you know which Method wheel this is? The Falken Wildpeak tires are the LT275/70R18 in size. The load is 125/122S. If you have any comments on these wheels and tires I would appreciate it. Would these wheels accommodate conventional all-season tires (if we found that the Wildpeaks were too much for us after a period of time?). Thanks again for your advice and expertise.

 

[EOD Guy]

Here is a picture I received from the dealer of the Method wheel and tires. Do you know which Method wheel this is? The Falken Wildpeak tires are the LT275/70R18 in size. The load is 125/122S. If you have any comments on these wheels and tires I would appreciate it. Would these wheels accommodate conventional all-season tires (if we found that the Wildpeaks were too much for us after a period of time?). Thanks again for your advice and expertise.
View attachment 20347

Those appear to be 318's, and yes the correct sized conventional all-season tire will fit.

 

[NoMe cruiser]

I would stay away personally. The dealer already chopped it and put cheap aftermarket products on it. It would be hard to sell it to me as a “new” vehicle. Tell them to throw in the OEM wheels and tires in the deal. He must have them somewhere.

 

[jayce]

Lots of people have been unhappy with the placement of the Toyota dashcam. (Interferes with forward view.) I would reject this entire package proposal and go elsewhere if the dealer is unwilling. I have a 1958 model with two sets of the OEM 18” wheels. The stock all-season setup is great for rough roads. Now my Blizzaks are on and ready for winter.

 

[Markarian421]

Here is a picture I received from the dealer of the Method wheel and tires. Do you know which Method wheel this is? The Falken Wildpeak tires are the LT275/70R18 in size. The load is 125/122S. If you have any comments on these wheels and tires I would appreciate it. Would these wheels accommodate conventional all-season tires (if we found that the Wildpeaks were too much for us after a period of time?). Thanks again for your advice and expertise.
View attachment 20347

Assuming those are the 40 offset wheels, that's a nice setup for offroading, and nice wheels and tires. But also large and heavy and you'll for sure take a hit to MPGs. I tend to be very focused on off road capable tires so I might not have the best specific tire advice, but for light dirt road use at a minimum you should stick with standard load and stock size tires instead of E load (for weight). Overall I agree with @EOD Guy, you'd be better off with stock wheels and tires for now.

 

[jnsplace]

Earlier on in my pursuit for my LC, I ran across someone that had done some addons similar to this. The costs seemed a bit higher than I was interested to pay. The question really is; is the addons of value to you to pay for them?

Side note: I'm a believer in paint protection. Frankly, I would er on the side of choosing my own way to protect it. I found that theirs was more than what a local shop would be able to do.

good luck!

 

[Dangler]

I hate when dealers add things because it’s just a money maker for them. You can likely get all the things they have mentioned for less than what they’re going to charge, and you may not even want those things. Don’t let a dealer force you into paying exorbitant markups for things you don’t want or need.