Fifth-Generation Toyota 4Runner Build Guide

What Wheels, Tires, and Suspension Kits Fit Best On A Fifth-Generation Toyota 4Runner?

From 2010 and still being built to this day, Toyota's fifth-generation 4Runner has become a staple in the off-roading and overlanding community. That kind of market pull makes it a prime candidate for upgrading, but if you've got a 4Runner hanging out at home and you're trying to figure out the best wheel, tire, and suspension sizes to fit it, it might be a little daunting.

After all, it takes quite a bit of research to figure out what will or won't fit on your model, so we wanted to help you take some of the guesswork out of your search. Today, we'll take you through everything that fits on a fifth-gen 4Runner so you can get your build done right!

Table Of Contents

-Biggest Tire That Can Fit A Toyota 4Runner With Stock Wheel Offset and Stock Suspension

-Toyota 4Runner Tire Sizes That Require Trimming

-What Size Lift Should I Get For My Toyota 4Runner To Avoid Trimming?

-How To Avoid A Body Mount Chop On Your 4Runner With 33-Inch Tires

-How To Clear The Upper Control Arms On A Lifted Toyota 4Runner

Check Out The Best 4Runner Builds In Our Gallery!

Biggest Tire That Can Fit A Toyota 4Runner With Stock Wheel Offset and Stock Suspension

We'll begin with a 4Runner that's running a stock suspension and wheel offset. The largest tire that can fit on these models without any rubbing or trimming will be a 275/70 on a 17-inch wheel, which is just over a 32-inch tall tire that's also about 10.8 inches wide. We say "about" because tires will vary slightly in size from one brand to another, so just be aware of that when you get your tires installed - you might notice that some tires will rub slightly, but that's just because of the variance in size. It'd be great if they just made them all uniform, but unfortunately, they do not.

For an 18-inch wheel diameter and stock offset, the largest tire that'll fit a 5th-Gen 4Runner on stock suspension is gonna be a 275/65R18. For 20-inch wheels, the largest tire size is a 275/55R20.

Regardless of wheel diameter, as long as the offset doesn't change, the largest tire size diameter that can fit on a stock 4Runner is about 32.5 inches or so, at about 11 inches wide or less. Now, all of those tires will fit without any modifications or trimming, even at full flex or lock-to-lock steering with the stock suspension on your 4Runner.

Shop Tires For Your Toyota 4Runner Here!

Toyota 4Runner Tire Sizes That Require Trimming

Where you'll start having to do some fender trimming on the 4Runner, a little pushback on the inner fender liner, or even removing the mud flaps, is when you get to about a 285/70R17, or about a 32.5-inch tall tire on stock offset wheels. That equates to 285/65 on an 18-inch wheel and 285/55 on a 20-inch wheel.

Again, regardless of the wheel diameter, once you get to about a 32.5-inch tall tire, it's going to rub slightly somewhere with a stock suspension and wheels with a factory offset. If you didn't want to perform any trimming or inner fender mods, plus you wanted to keep your mud flaps intact, then with a 285/70 tire you'll need to have at least 2 inches of a leveling kit installed to clear those tires. Even then, if it's a larger 285/70 where the tire might be closer to 33 inches tall, you might still need to push the inner liner back slightly even if you do have that leveling kit installed, and you might have to remove the mud flaps.

Again, just be conscious that these mods may still end up having to be done after you get your tires installed on your 4Runner, after you know what the true size of the tire ends up being.

What Size Lift Should I Get For My Toyota 4Runner To Avoid Trimming?

To fit a true 33-inch tall tire on your 4Runner, you'll also need to pair it with a three-inch suspension lift to avoid major trimming that needs to be done to the body. There still might be some minor adjustments to fit the 33s though.

With a 3-inch lift, any tire larger than 33.5 inches tall and over 11 inches wide - that's about a 285/75 on a 17-inch wheel - will necessitate a body mount chop. The outer half of the 4Runner's body mount, which sits right behind the front tires, will interfere with the tires while turning full lock to lock, especially if you're off-road cycling the suspension on an obstacle.

What some guys do here is trim off the ends of the body mounds from the rubber bushings and outwards, then weld in a "fill-in" piece to close off the gap. By doing that and some other minor trimming to the front of the fenders, pushing back the inner liners a bit, and removing the mud flaps, you'll be able to fit a 285/75R17 with a three-inch lift, or even a 295/70 - that's a 33.5-inch tall tire up to about a 34-inch tall tire. If it's closer to a 34-inch tall tire, though, expect to get a bit more aggressive with the trimming on a 3-inch lift. Doing this, you'll also have to either trim or remove the Rocker Panel End Caps behind the front tires.

More Toyota Build Guides: Which Tire Sizes Fit Best On a Third-Generation Tacoma?

How To Avoid A Body Mount Chop On Your 4Runner With 33-Inch Tires

Another alternative that can lead to not having to perform a body mount chop on your 4Runner, and still run a 33x11.5 tire, is to purchase adjustable upper control arms for it. This way, you're able to have the option of adjusting the caster angles slightly, which ends up bringing the front tires forward a bit. In most cases, that'll help the tires clear the body mounts on full lock to lock turns.

However, there's a lot more technical information that goes into adjusting the caster angles to get the positive caster just right, so doing it that way may depend on your level of hands-on experience with installing suspension components. If you're not comfortable with that level of modifications to either replace the upper control arms or perform a body mount chop, the options would be to either have someone do it for you, install a taller suspension lift, or even get a smaller tire size for your 4Runner.

How To Clear The Upper Control Arms On A Lifted Toyota 4Runner

Now that we're starting to get into the taller and wider size tires, another measurement we'll need to adjust for is the width of the tire and the additional clearance we'll need for it to clear the upper control arms. The best way to do this is by running a new wheel with less positive offset - most of the fifth-gen 4Runners, excluding the TRD Pros, run a +15mm offset.

For us to push the tire wheel out away from the upper control arms. We're gonna want to lower that offset number, which in fact increases the negative offset. The more negative offset there is, the more the tire and wheel get pushed out away from the vehicle. For example, a lot of 4Runner owners will upgrade their wheels to the 4Runner's TRD Pro trim's wheels because it has an offset of +4 instead of the factory +15 offset. That pushes the wheel outwards 12 millimeters or about half an inch.

The caveat with this is that the more we push the tire and wheel outwards, the more it'll rub on the inner liner, rocker end caps, and body mount while turning lock to lock. Pushing the tire outwards gives it a greater and longer turning curve on the outside edge of the tire while turning and enlarging that curve sets a collision course with the end caps, body mounts, and the front of the fenders. This is why many fifth-gen owners will end up running a narrower size tire, like a 255/80R17, so they can get the height of the tire for more ground clearance and still be able to run stock wheels. Paired with a 2 or 3-inch kit, you'll barely have to do any cutting to make sure the tire doesn't rub.

Read More: What Is Overlanding and How Can You Prepare Your Rig For It?

Shop Wheels, Tires, and Suspension For Your Fifth-Gen Toyota 4Runner At TrailBuilt Off-Road

After all of that, if you're still not sure what tire size you want to go with, we've got all the resources you need to help in your decision in our gallery. Here, you'll find a huge assortment of 4Runner builds with just about every tire size under the sun, so you can find out what fits and what'll look best on your rig.

From there, if you're ready to get your fifth-gen Toyota 4Runner upgraded, visit our store and we'll get you set up with the best wheels, tires, and suspension kits to get it ready for even the most daunting trails. Of course, let us know if you need help at any time, and we're happy to lend a hand - we'll see you out on the trails!