Wheel upgrades

Stay tuned… 17”x8” rims incoming…
 

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I spoke with Westcott yesterday about offsets, and it sounds like 8.5” wide +35 offset is going to be the sweet spot. This is what they are running on both the LC (the blue one in the middle) and GX550 they’ve do so far and it looks pretty amazing!

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I ended up pre-ordering their just-released lift kit yesterday, and as of now am planning to go with the Method 703 in 17x85 +35 with KO2s in 315/70/17 (which is a 35 with a C load rating and T speed rating - the same tire that comes on the Raptors).

Still kind of on the fence whether I go with matte black or bronze. I have a Meteor Shower FE coming.

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Does anyone have good pictures and/or measurements of what kind of clearance the calipers have with these or other 17" wheels? I'm tempted by the Method wheels but I'd rather they were 18".
 
If 17s can fit on the GX550, then so should the LC....
Already a few GX's posted with 17" wheels on them. I know some media outlets report 17" brake rotor, but thats wrong. GX550 has 13.9", we arent getting 3" bigger.
There have been a few new LCs successfully modified with 17” wheels as well.
 
Does anyone have good pictures and/or measurements of what kind of clearance the calipers have with these or other 17" wheels? I'm tempted by the Method wheels but I'd rather they were 18".
Method now has the Westcott builds featured on their site (all using Method 703 wheels), so I would consider this confirmation that the Method 17x8.5 703 wheels are confirmed to fit with ample clearance.

At least that's my hope...since I have a set of 703s in my garage waiting for a truck to install them on. 🤣

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Method now has the Westcott builds featured on their site (all using Method 703 wheels), so I would consider this confirmation that the Method 17x8.5 703 wheels are confirmed to fit with ample clearance.

At least that's my hope...since I have a set of 703s in my garage waiting for a truck to install them on. 🤣

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Nice wheels! Are your center caps 2 piece? The ones on my 305's are, I didn't care for the stock caps so I machined my own.
 
Nice wheels! Are your center caps 2 piece? The ones on my 305's are, I didn't care for the stock caps so I machined my own.
They are 1 piece snap in caps on the 703s.

I bought a set of the bronze topo caps which I think look way better.
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One thing to note about the 703s is Method changed the mold sometime in the last year. The wheels they initially sent me were a mixed set; 2 with 2023 production dates and 2 from 2024. I may not have caught it right away, but in my case the packaging was also different.

The 2023 version has a shallower depth for the logo compared to the 2024 version. I sent the 2023s back and they are sending me 2 more 2024s.

2023
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Man that's a huge difference!

These are on my Taco
 

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I contacted Method about touchup paint, their response was "we don't provide that". I sort of matched it by mixing a couple of rattle cans, but isn't quite right. I don't want to pay the fee to have a paint shop do a custom mix, minimum qty was a quart, and I just need a little bit to paint my CTR cap lettering......LOL
 
I contacted Method about touchup paint, their response was "we don't provide that". I sort of matched it by mixing a couple of rattle cans, but isn't quite right. I don't want to pay the fee to have a paint shop do a custom mix, minimum qty was a quart, and I just need a little bit to paint my CTR cap lettering......LOL
You just helped me to decide not to buy their product.
 
They are 1 piece snap in caps on the 703s.

I bought a set of the bronze topo caps which I think look way better.
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One thing to note about the 703s is Method changed the mold sometime in the last year. The wheels they initially sent me were a mixed set; 2 with 2023 production dates and 2 from 2024. I may not have caught it right away, but in my case the packaging was also different.

The 2023 version has a shallower depth for the logo compared to the 2024 version. I sent the 2023s back and they are sending me 2 more 2024s.

2023
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2024
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It’s like they used a different…method…each time. Yuck, yuck..
 
It’s like they used a different…method…each time. Yuck, yuck..
Lol

To be fair, neither wheel is wrong, and the packaging was also very different between the two (likely changed when the wheel design was updated). It's just weird that somehow these 2 mismatched pairs were sent out together.

Method is a pretty well regarded brand so I wouldn't let this stop you from buying their wheels.
 

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Lol

To be fair, neither wheel is wrong, and the packaging was also very different between the two (likely changed when the wheel design was updated). It's just weird that somehow these 2 mismatched pairs were sent out together.

Method is a pretty well regarded brand so I wouldn't let this stop you from buying their wheels.
Did you notice any other differences between the two pair?
 
Did you notice any other differences between the two pair?
I thought for sure I was going to see a slight difference in the color since they were made over a year apart, but putting them side-by-side in varying lighting I really couldn't tell them apart.

The logo was the only difference I saw.
 
Ok, I asked Method about brake caliper clearance with their 17" wheels. The only wheel they have their own numbers for is the 707 17" with 25 offset, and they say it clears the caliper by 5.6 mm (or about 7/32", less than a quarter inch). (!!!) The 703 and 705 with 35 offset they say they don't know and are just going with Wescott Design's fit test, but there's no reason to think it would be significantly different. That is way too close for comfort for me, I'll be sticking to 18" wheels.
 
Is that clearance from the caliper to the wheel face or wheel barrel?

I'd assume face... Which isn't nearly as big of a deal as it would be if it were barrel.
FWIW, going to an 18" wheel isn't going to change the face clearance... Only the barrel.

It's the wheel spoke design that will affect the face clearance....
 
Is that clearance from the caliper to the wheel face or wheel barrel?

I'd assume face... Which isn't nearly as big of a deal as it would be if it were barrel.
FWIW, going to an 18" wheel isn't going to change the face clearance... Only the barrel.

It's the wheel spoke design that will affect the face clearance....
Wheel barrel is what I asked. I'll confirm. I was watching the video below which has some good views of the back of the 18" wheels, and based on screen grabs and quick estimates, it looks like the calipers clear the inside of the stock 18" wheel by less than an inch. I keep getting around 0.7" which roughly agrees with only ~5mm of clearance if you step down to a 17" wheel.

 
Here is a link to the fitment of another 17" wheel.. offset doesn't work but clearance looks ok with the limited angle


 
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