Great Option for Replacing 19" Toyo's!!

[dmarsh1020]

The 19" Toyo's on my wifes '08 Highlander Limited wore out at just over 20,000 miles - edges worn off, especially the inners, and cracks starting to appear in the edge blocks of the tread... I rotated every ~5,000 miles since new, checked the pressure at least 2x per month and had the alignment checked. Other posts indicate that excessive wear with the OE 19" Toyo A20's is a very common issue. I have seen several options for tire replacement discussed in other TS threads:

1) Replacing the Toyo A20 with either the Toyo H/T or the Bridgestone option in the 245/55-R19 size. The Bridgestone Dueler in the OEM size is a B traction and a B temperature (400-B-B) for ~$170 each + shipping and installation/balancing, and the Toyo Open Country H/T is a 640-A-B rated tire, but are ~$240 each + shipping and installation/balancing. Since I live in Arizona I don't plan on buying tires rated B for temperature - the road is already 110F plus, and we don't drive slow around here... Going with the Toyo H/T's my guesstimimate of total out the door cost is ~$1150...

2) Going to a wider 19" tire. The 255/55-R19 options are primarily load range 111, and speed rated for H or V - so they are constructed "heavier" than the factory 103 load range, S speed rated tire. "Upgrading" to the 255/55 is likely to give a stiff ride and cost ~$220 to $260 per tire + shipping and installation/balancing. My guesstimate of total out the door cost is ~$1100...

3) Going to a 17" rim/tire combo. In my opinion these look dorky on the Highlander once you get used to the 19" wheels!! - so not an option for me...

4) 18" Lexus rims - with appropriately sized tires. My wife had an RX330 before we bought the Highlander and I always liked the rim style. I did a bunch of checking to see if RX330/ RX350 5-spoke rims would work - and they are a perfect fit!! The OEM highlander 19" rim is 19 x 7.5, with 5 x 4.5 inch bolt spacing, 60mm hub pilot and a 35mm offset - the Lexus RX is 18 x 7, with 5 x 4.5 inch bolt spacing, 60mm hub pilot and 35mm offset. A "bonus" is that the Lexus rims work with the stock lug nuts, the stock TPMS sensor and the stock center cap - so no fussing around buying extra "stuff" to get them to work.

oewheelsLLC.com offer a lexus RX330/RX350 "replica" wheel set for $509 (set of 4, silver finish, includes ground shipping). These wheels appear to be first quality. Finish is a nice silver powdercoat that appears just like the Lexus OEM. These wheels are made in China (but what isn't these days?). They have the same "JWL" logo as the Toyota OEM rims because they are certified to the same Japanese light alloy wheel quality/testing standards. oewheelsllc.com also have a chrome finish available on the same wheel style. I had the Costco tire shop run each rim on the balancer before mounting the tires to check the runout and I could not see/feel any runout by running my hand on the wheel. The wheel/tire combo balanced up nicely with 0.5 oz on the inner lip of all 4, and less than 2 oz stick-ons on the out side - which is about what my OEM 19" wheels had from the factory. Contact at OE Wheels is Shawn Durrant - Sales Mgr. (866*273*3651, 941*921*0065)

The 18" rims need 245/60-R18 tires to exactly match the outer diameter/revs per mile of the OEM 19" size (~703 revs per mile) - there are several option for nice tires in this size with load ranges around 104 in S, T, & H speed ranges for under $150! I went with the Michelin Latitude Tour HP (245/60-R18 104H, 440-A-A) for ~$135 a tire at Costco and got another $70 off the set with a coupon! Sam's Club carries the same tire for under $140, and the Tirerack has 14 choices in this size under $150, with several under $100 each (Goodyear Fortera HL 104S, 540-A-B for $94).

So - the 18" option cost me $509 for the wheels and ~$540 for the tires out the door with mounting, lifetime balance/rotation, tax, etc. for ~$1050 total. Next tire change I should only get hit for ~$600 for the tires, since I already have the 18" rims!

Also, I still have my 19" OEM rims... I plan on keeping these hoping that one day the tire choices in the OEM 245/55-R19 sizing will expand greatly...

[Plamar]

Too bad ya didn't find this thread:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=304744

My new Toyo Open Country H/Ts are coming this week at zero cost to me after 18,000 miles. 5 of them.

[Plamar]

Originally Posted by dmarsh1020

3) Going to a 17" rim/tire combo. In my opinion these look dorky on the Highlander once you get used to the 19" wheels!! - so not an option for me...

Funny, I just bought a set of 17" factory rims off of a 2009 Highlander on ebay for $400 with TPMS sensors included ($320 value just for those), put some General Grabber HT/S on them and they look great. I got them for going out on the dunes (19" tires on HL do not meet oversand standards). I will use the 19's I am getting replaced free from Toyo for summer and the 17" for winter and dune use.

[jam82]

Wow - you really did your homework on this one! Would you please provide an update on your experiences with this 18" set-up? Any problems? Also, what are you using for a spare? I will be picking up a new 09 Highlander Sport this week and will soon need to make a decision about snow tires and rims. Thanks.