No doubt a Taco with a big tire upgrade is a real head-turner. They just look so tough! The Tacoma is a mid-size pickup truck so going bigger on the tires has a noticeable effect on the aesthetics and capabilities. Taller tires also improve the break-over angle if you intend on doing off-road obstacles or rock crawling. Can you fit 33-inches without a lift? Will 34s or 35s fit? Will you need wheel spacers or a front leveling kit? All these questions and more will be answered in this article.
What is the biggest tire you can fit on a stock Toyota Tacoma? The biggest tire you can fit without a body or suspension lift and stock Rims are 275/70/17. Fitting 33-inch tires i.e. 285/70/17 on a stock suspension requires modifications to the front fender liner and rear fender flair.
So there are 3 factors to consider before fitting bigger tires to your stock truck/Ute.
- Fender liner clearance
- Backspacing / Wheel Offset
- Spare wheel clearance
When fitting a bigger tire to the stock Tacoma rims you can get away with a 275/70/17 since it is a narrower tire but still offers improved ground clearance with the 70 profile which is 1 inch taller but the same width as the factory.
But what if you want to go 33” on a stock suspension and 0-offset wheel? What modifications does one need to make them fit?
Let’s see!
If You Are Interested in Finding the Best Leveling Kits for Toyota Tacoma, You Can Find Them Here
Fender Liner scrubbing
So fitting a 33-inch AT tire to a stock 2019 Tacoma with a 0-offset rim pretty much squeezes in, however it requires some minor modifications to fully clear on full wheel lock.
The front tire touches slightly on the front fender liner on full lock. The front tire also scrubs on the fender flair on full lock. So these two pieces of protruding plastic can easily be trimmed away and won’t detract from the aesthetics of the truck in any way.
Fender liner Trim and relocate
So as mentioned, both the front driver and passenger sides’ front fender liners touch slightly on full lock and require some modifications to allow the wheel to turn freely. Simply cutting away the plastic parts neatly with a sharp Stanley knife ensures total clearance on both driver and passenger sides.
There is a small bolt on the front fender that secures the liner in place that requires relocation.
It’s kind of hard to picture this without any graphic images so at this stage I’d like you to watch the short video of the guys at @Taco Twonz who do an excellent job of showing how to fit 33-inch tires to a stock Tacoma with no lift.
These guys do some crazy cool mods and their Tacomas look insane!!!!! Good job boys!
33” Spare Wheel Fit
The tires touch the hangers on the leaf pack on the right side. You can deflate the tire for a more snug fit. The right side basically sits against the exhaust. The heat shield on the exhaust pipe should protect the tire from any heat damage and melting. The exhaust pipe temperature is the coolest the further away from the engine outlet it is, so the chances of it getting hot enough to melt the rubber are slim to none.
Tacoma Biggest Tire with a leveling kit
If you decide to go with a 3-inch lift kit in order to fit bigger tires on your Tacoma you might want to consider a rim upgrade as well. This will allow you to take full advantage of the increased clearance by fitting a more negative offset rim.
GOOD TO KNOW: Fitting 33″ Tires on a Tacoma (How To Make Them Fit)
A decent aftermarket rim will be a 0 offset or more and will improve the needed backspacing, hence allowing you to fit a nice 33-inch, or bigger tire without any scrubbing or chaffing against suspension components, such as the UCA. An aftermarket rim will allow you to go 315/70/17 or 12.5 inches. There will still be a need to trim fender liners and the like to make it fit perfectly.
A popular tire width for 3″ lift kits is 285mm with little drama. This is something like a 285/70/17″ or 285/75/16, which is a good choice since it gives you 2″ taller and .8″ wider than the factory.
FUN READ: 35×12-5r17 vs 31570r17 (Size/Weight/Height/Load Difference)
Biggest Tire on stock 2015 Tacoma
There are about 4 wheel sizes that will comfortably fit on a stock Tacoma with no lift or suspension upgrades on standard tires.
The biggest tires you can fit on a stock 2015 Tacoma is:
- 265/75/16
- 265/70/17
- 265-65-18
- 265/75/17 if you remove the mud flaps
With the 17” rim the wheels scrub slightly on the mud flaps when turning in reverse. You best remove them or risk having them ripped off when you reverse.
2016+ Tacoma’s: 265/70/17, 265/75/16 or 265/65/18
Biggest tire on stock 2017 Tacoma
There are about 4 wheel sizes that will comfortably fit on a stock Tacoma with no lift or suspension upgrades on standard tires.
The biggest tires you can fit on a stock 2015 Tacoma is:
- 265/75/16
- 265/70/17
- 265-65-18
- 265/75/17 if you remove the mud flaps
This gentleman fitted 285/75/16 on his Tacoma – have a look here:
Will 33s Fit on my 2017 Tacoma?
Yes, you can fit this size if you want to run 16” in 285/75/16. Same applies to 17” tires in 285/70/17. It requires some trimming on the inside fender liners. The wheel offset on TRD Pro wheels is 4mm. The TRD Pro rims will cause minor scrub when at full lock, in reverse in an off-camber situation so you will need to trim a bit to maintain full articulation and clearance.
285/75/16 is the metric equivalent of a 33″ tire, or 32.8″ to be precise.
Fitting a slightly more negative offset rim will improve the backspacing clearance, however, some minor wheel arch and body mount trim will still be necessary.
What about first installing a quick and cheap body lift?
Simply fitting a relatively inexpensive 2-inch leveling kit will allow you to install slightly taller and wider tires, however, the factory stock shocks/dampers and springs are incapable of handling any increased weight of bigger steel bumpers, and winches later on.
A suspension upgrade will greatly improve the ease of fitting 33-inch tires on your Tacoma. Even a body lift will improve clearance, however, this will not give you much advantage when going off-road. It’s purely for improved aesthetics.
2nd Gen Tacoma Wheel Offset
The factory stock wheels on a Tacoma are about +30mm. The more positive the offset the less they protrude or “poke” or stick out. A more negative offset rim will result in them sticking out more.
Resources
- Tacoma 2” front leveling kit (05-20)
- Tacoma 1” Rear only lift kit (05-20)
- Tacoma Front + rear 2” lift kit (05-20)
- Full 3” lift kit for Tacoma (95-04)
- Tacoma ¼” Wheel spacers
- Tuff Country 3 Inch Toyota Tacoma Lift Kit – 53910
- Tuff Country 4 Inch Toyota Tacoma Lift Kit – 54905KN
- TeraFlex 2005+ Toyota Tacoma Falcon Sport 2 Inch Lift Shock Absorber System – 08-04-21-400-100
Conclusion
Tacoma’s are fantastic trucks and an improved stance and overall aesthetics are easily achieved by fitting bigger tires. Bigger however isn’t always better in all cases and you need to take a few things into consideration, such as:
- Fender Clearance
- Do you want to cut away any wheel well plastic guards
- What is the offset of your current wheel?
- Will the spare wheel fit
- Will you be going off-road?
Once you have the answers to these and you know what your intended purpose for your tire upgrade is, you’ll be able to make a more informed decision. Tires are pretty expensive and not something you want to be changing too often so make sure your tire and wheel size choice is exactly what you will be using the truck/ute for.