TireRack "Aggressive fitment" warning on winter wheel tire package

[nardes]

I'm a reasonably new 4Runner owner. I have a 2025 Toyota 4Runner 4WD TRD Off-Road i-FORCE MAX.

I live outside of Boston and make trip to upstate New York in the winter. I typically buy winter tires, usually Blizzaks, and put them on a separate, usually cheap, set of wheels. I've done this for new cars for decades now, purchasing at TireRack.

This is the first real SUV I've owned; part of the motivation is that I do occasionally towing now (not in winter). I've never looked at load ratings in the past.

Generally, I've bought the TireRack recommended winter wheel and tire package. For the 4Runner, this is:
BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK DM-V2
in P275/65R18
on MSW SAHARA 6 with a +23mm offset.

TireRack gives me a warning on this of (on their recommended combo):

Important Notes
Aggressive fitment. May require fender modification for proper clearance.

I'm not modifying my fender for this. I've messed with other tire sizes / wheel choice, this warning seems to always be there.

Winter tires in the OE size are E Load Rating, giving more warnings.

Any advice here? Is this default combo actually going to be OK and not rub? Is there some other spot I should look?

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[AZTrail]

P265/70R18 is the OEM size. Try that size.

 

[nardes]

The challenge with OE size at Tirerack is that all 3 winter tire choices are E load rated, which is probably going to harsh up the ride quite a bit.

Similarly, the wheel choices are the exact same wheels, producing the same warnings.

 

[visually oriented]

For a winter tire I would go with a narrower tire than OEM. I see a few winter tires in 255/70-18 SL. This is particularly true if you ever plan to install tire chains.

 

[GabeFreeLunch]

Find a different wheel option with a +30 or +35 offset. Even with the tire size on a +23 I doubt you’d have issues but they will stick out a bit further.

 

[AZTrail]

Since you are planning to get new wheels for your snow tires, go with a 17" wheel. Then get the tire size that is OEM for the SR5 trim 245/70R17.

 

[NWRes]

The challenge with OE size at Tirerack is that all 3 winter tire choices are E load rated, which is probably going to harsh up the ride quite a bit.

Similarly, the wheel choices are the exact same wheels, producing the same warnings.

I have the TRD Off Road Premium which comes with the 265/70R18 tires. Manual says you cannot mount chains on these due to clearance issues. I too live in snow country and I did not want to use socks or other approved devices as I don't think they would work with a foot or more of snow on top of ice. Went to my trusted tire shop where a set of euro style chains were fitted and we could see no clearance issues on the rear wheels so I picked up a set. Not the heavy cross bar style that I use on my 3/4 ton truck but they will do. I have E rated tires on that truck but when I'm not towing or hauling stuff I reduce the pressure quite a bit. Make a difference in the ride. I lifted that truck a few years ago and put on taller tires because of deep snow. The trade off is not being able to chain up all four as I used to do because of clearance issues up front. Every change in tires or suspension on any vehice has a compromise somewhere.

 

[MikeD]

The challenge with OE size at Tirerack is that all 3 winter tire choices are E load rated, which is probably going to harsh up the ride quite a bit.

Similarly, the wheel choices are the exact same wheels, producing the same warnings.

Try filtering on " All-Weather w/Severe Snow Service Rating" and SL (standard load). I see 20 choices there. TireRack 265/70R18 Sever Snow rated. This is not the same as the dedicated winter tires like the Blizzacks, but probably good(?)

However, the 275/65/18s are half an inch smaller (diameter) than stock - Yes, they are 10 mm wider and with the +23 offset vs stock +55 offset I suppose its POSSIBLE there could be an issue, but I seriously doubt it. I put 285/70/18s on TRD PRO +20 offset and did have some rub when turning hard while backing up - but they are 1.1" larger diameter and 20 mm wider (and 35 mm less offset) from stock. Based on what I've seen I think you will be OK with the 275/65 to get the snow performance of the Blizzacks. Even less risk if you find a +30 to +55 offset wheel. (You may not want to spend $1K on wheels but the TRD Flat Black option wheels from Toyota are +45 offset and literally built for the TRD OR (vs the +20 offset of the PRO and Trailhunter with different suspensions and wider wheel flares).

 

[nardes]

Thanks for the suggestions. This is all interesting.

I'm realizing that I've been a customer of TireRack for probably a long time. I do like just getting tires mounted on wheels delivered and taking less time to put them on than it takes to drive to a tires shop.

Would 17 inch wheels fit on a 2025 Toyota 4Runner 4WD TRD Off-Road i-FORCE MAX? That could be an option. Tirerack's system doesn't show this as an option.

Similarly, any wheel that Tirerack has in stock for the 4runner in 17 or 18 inches has a max offset of +25. There are some 17 inch wheels with a +31 offset, but not in stock until early January.

The lack of 18 inch wheels with a higher offset is probably the limiting factor, at least for the original title of this thread.

A direction I could go is to get snow rated tires, put them on the OE wheels. This would be a trip to the tire shop, but probably less trips than picking up Toyota wheels somewhere and getting tires mounted somewhere else.

Generally, I have liked having dedicated snows on one vehicle. But, maybe tire tech has gotten good enough. I do have Michelin cross climate 2's on my other cars, which are pretty good in the snow.

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