Method 703 (17" +35, Gloss Titanium)+ Falken Wildpeak AT4W 255/80R17

[uraniumrich]

not Heritage blue obviously but similar wheels I think mine are the 708 275 Toyo tires. Just got them installed yesterday love the poke and overall look

They look great on your Meteor Shower LC!

 

[amzazai]

Keep us posted on your mpg after taking in consideration a slightly larger tire size to correctly read your mph and total miles drive.

 

[uraniumrich]

Keep us posted on your mpg after taking in consideration a slightly larger tire size to correctly read your mph and total miles drive.

I've gone from about 22 mpg to 19 mpg. But, it's not an easy comparison because the lower temperatures also decrease the mpg. My best guess is that it's decreased my mpg around 5-10%. Although the tires are the nearly the same size, the addition of 20% more rotation mass at each corner (10 lbs) plus an increase in rolling resistance are likely the biggest culprits. The Falkens are much quieter than I expected, even at highway speeds.

 

[amzazai]

I've gone from about 22 mpg to 19 mpg. But, it's not an easy comparison because the lower temperatures also decrease the mpg. My best guess is that it's decreased my mpg around 5-10%. Although the tires are the nearly the same size, the addition of 20% more rotation mass at each corner (10 lbs) plus an increase in rolling resistance are likely the biggest culprits. The Falkens are much quieter than I expected, even at highway speeds.

You’ve definitely done your research and I’m sure that’s why you chose the Falkens, but what are your thoughts on Toyo Open Country A/T III’s. Tire Rack specs shows that they are 51lbs for the same size tires and they also have excellent or good reviews.

 

[uraniumrich]

You’ve definitely done your research and I’m sure that’s why you chose the Falkens, but what are your thoughts on Toyo Open Country A/T III’s. Tire Rack specs shows that they are 51lbs for the same size tires and they also have excellent or good reviews.

I have no personal experience with the Toyo tires. But, nearly everything I read put the KO3 and WildPeak AT4W at or near the top of All-Terrain tires that are off-road focused. The KO3 wasn't available in the size I wanted, so I went with the Falken. My take is that your choice of tire depends on it's purpose. Since I wanted something more off-road focused, the KO3 and WildPeak AT4W rose to the top.

Here's a great video that includes the Toyo Open Country A/T III's.

 

[Skidaddl]

Very nice writeup. You obviously put a lot of research and thought into this. I like your decision too. I think I'll go that way as well, though maybe matt black wheels. Have you gotten an impression of how loud the tires are? Also, have you tried chalking to set tire psi?

I have these tires on my Tundra in 275/70/18 (E rated). Noise is minimal.

 

[Skidaddl]

not Heritage blue obviously but similar wheels I think mine are the 708 275 Toyo tires. Just got them installed yesterday love the poke and overall look

Awesome! Been waiting to see titanium rims on a Meteor Shower. Looks great. Are those 17's or 18's?

 

[Skidaddl]

You’ve definitely done your research and I’m sure that’s why you chose the Falkens, but what are your thoughts on Toyo Open Country A/T III’s. Tire Rack specs shows that they are 51lbs for the same size tires and they also have excellent or good reviews.

I'm getting noticeably longer wear on my Falkens than I did on the Toyos.

 

[jpto]

I'm working on putting some new off-road ready boots on my Heritage Blue LC that currently has the 20" wheels. I decided to go with the Method 703 (17 x 8.5, +35, Gloss Titanium) along with 255/80R17 (true 33") Falken WildPeak AT4W tires. While the rims arrived today, I'm still waiting on TPMS sensors (P/N 4260776020) from Toyota which are on backorder. This is my first time to put new wheels on a vehicle, so this has been a challenging process to learn and understand all of the details to find the right combination of wheels and tires for my LC. My plans changed numerous times along the way, but I'm excited to finally be moving forward with the new boots.

I checked the fit of the 703 front and rear and both rims have ample clearance for the calipers.

Here's why I made my choices:

• I'm keeping my 20" wheels to go along with the new set. I'll switch back and forth between the wheels depending on both the time of year and whether or not I'm taking my LC off-road.
• I wanted a wheel that would not substantially increase the poke of my current setup. For the 8.5" wheel I would've preferred a +40 offset to reduce the poke a little bit, but the difference between +35 and +40 is less than 1/4". The new wheel will poke out 1.48" more than the current setup (20" wheel, 7.5" width, +60 offset).
• I wanted a wheel in the dark gray/titanium color family to match up to the Heritage Blue. The pictures on the Method website don't give any idea of the true color of the gloss titanium - it's a dark, metallic gray - perfect for Heritage Blue.
• I preferred a 17" wheel over 18" because everything I see and read says that more sidewall is better for off-roading.
• I wanted an all-terrain tire that was off-road focused, but also 3 Peak rated and great on road in the wet and on snow. The quieter the better. I initially thought I'd go with the KO3, but landed on the WildPeak AT4W as a better choice for me.
• 255/80R17 E (33", 58.1 lbs) Tire size was tough choice. I kept thinking about getting the larger tires to increase my clearance, but ultimately decided that I would be better served by the pizza cutters. The 285/70R17 C is also 33" but weighs 65.4 lbs. The 285/75R17 C is 34.1" and weighs 67.9 lbs. So, to gain clearance I would be sacrificing a lot of unsprung weight. The 285/75R17 is also around $80 more per tire. In the end I decided that I'd take the $ I saved and use it towards improving the suspension a little bit.
• Sidenote - I weighed my current wheel/tire combination and the scale read 75 lbs. I expect the combined weight of the 703 plus the 255/80R17 to be 85 lbs (a 10 lbs gain!). If I'd gone with the 285/75R17, then the combined weight would've been an astonishing 10 lbs/tire more than the 255/80R17 and 20 lbs/tire more than the stock tires. That's a big penalty to pay to gain 0.5" clearance.
• My off-roading will be adventurous, but not crazy. We're looking to take the LC places where having high clearance, hi/low four wheel drive, and lockers might be needed. I imagine we'll start with easier trails and gradually work up to harder ones as we get more experience.
• I'm waiting on the TPMS sensors. I'll post pictures of the new wheels on the LC once I get them.

703 in Gloss Titanium
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Front View with OEM 20" wheels.
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Front View showing 703 installed with no tire. More poke, but still under the fender.
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703 installed on the front showing brake caliper clearance. No worries here.
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703 installed on rear with ample clearance (but, less clearance than I expected!)
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Nice write up, your setup looks great, two questions when you have a minute.

1) How’s the noise & ride comfort been after a few months

2) How much thread engagement/lug nut rotations did you get when installing the new rims?

Thanks!

 

[uraniumrich]

Nice write up, your setup looks great, two questions when you have a minute.

1) How’s the noise & ride comfort been after a few months

2) How much thread engagement/lug nut rotations did you get when installing the new rims?

Thanks!

These are louder than the OEM, but relatively quiet for an off-road tire. I'm sensitive to noisy tires (hate them) and these don't bother me. Ride comfort is similar but slightly stiffer compared to the OEM tires despite the higher psi.

I have no concerns about the thread engagement. The Method's are lug centric with conical lugs which are deep in the rims. I have not measured the actual amount of lug that is coming through the rim, but it looks normal to me. If I get a chance, I'll take a lug off and try to get a picture.