1978 Toyota SR5 wheels

Two of the driver’s side wheels suddenly became out-of-round causing bad vibration. I have no idea what caused it – a big mystery for me. A couple shops tried to correct it with limited success. I have searched the internet and junk yards for replacement wheels (and custom wheels) with no success.

Does anyone have a possible source for the 13x5.5 SR5 wheels? OR, as an alternative, another manufacturer with the same bolt hole pattern ?

Does anyone else drive your car? Wheels do not suddenly become out of round for no reason. There are plenty of Toyota wheels that will fit your vehicle at a salvage yard. Think out of the box and get a set that will look good on your SR5.

I agree with @missileman, someone bent your wheels for you. The bigger question is SR5 what?? Truck? Corolla car?? The SR5 badge was used liberally on many Toyotas.

The bottom line is if the car has 4 bolts holding the wheels on, the pattern is a 4.5 inch (or 114.3mm) bolt circle used by many early and some late Japanese and Korean cars. The wheels of all diameters should be plentiful. Just be sure to get the right spacing from the mounting the the backside of the wheel and make sure the center hole fits over your hub.

If it is a truck with 6 wheel bolts, it is on a 5.5 inch bolt circle also used by nearly every Japanese and Chevrolet truck worldwide since WWII

It’s a corolla

ALL you need is the lug spacing for that Corolla and you can easily buy a set of aftermarket wheels…in any pattern you like really…from ebay…they will even provide you with the correct offset of COURSE and the correct bolt pattern… these days thats childs play for the machines that make the wheels…you simply tell the people making them. Ive had several sets of wheels “made” for me in the past at no more cost to me than the normal price of the wheel. All I needed to do was give them my offset and Bolt spacing…and PRESTO…

Those wheels in STOCK TOYOTA FORM… MIGHT BE a bit rare these days…its been a while since those vehicles prowled the streets and A LOT OF THEM got junked sadly. Go to COROLLA ENTHUSIAST PAGES…YES THEY EXIST EN FORCE… You will find a set of wheels in that community.

GULP…dare I say that I still may have my wheels from my 78’ Celica? I think those were 14’s however…Mmmm Yes they were…%^&*…sorry.

Yeah man…Enthusiast sites…People are BONKERS for old Japanese Iron these days…you will find help there. You probably arent going to saunter into any yards around here and find them…perhaps salvage yards in Arizona or CA? DEFINITELY IN CA… You can even go to Tire Rack if you dont want to go the Enthusiast route…pick a wheel and see if you can get them in the offset and bolt pattern and wheel width you like. I SUGGEST you get something a little wider than the motorcycle rims they used on that car in stock form…a lot of guys use MINI LITES on those Corrollas… Again…back to the enthusiast sites…and those doods are ENTHUSIASTIC about their Corrollas let me tell you…go there…

Blackbird

I am surprised that neither Tire Rack nor Rock Auto list any wheels for this car.

I’m not…I was just thinking the same thing right after I said to try there…LOL Go to the ENTHUSIAST SITES…those guys trade wheels like Pokemon cards or some %^&*. A lot of guys have moved on to nice Aluminum Wheels of one type or another…and many still have the Stockers in their basements…DEFINITELY WORTH A SHOT…and may be the ONLY SOURCE ACTUALLY

If the Guys at the Enthusiast sites don’t have wheels to sell you…They more than likely will be able to direct you to some kind of modern wheel out there that very well may NOT BE ASSOCIATED with the Corrolla but fits the vehicle just fine. I say this because I was just looking at a few of those sites and I DO SEE Modern Steel wheels that don’t look “Toyota Stock” but the fit nicely…and in fact may be a better size like a 14’ wheel… I’d MUCH Rather have 14’s with a slightly lower profile than the stock 13’ motorcycle wheels…oops sorry motorcyles are actually LARGER…LOL A 14’ wheel will give you a better look and a nicer choice of tires to choose from…the slightly lower profile will give you better handling and ride quality and I’d imagine they may be .5’ wider which again goes toward better ride and handling should it all fit…and those guys KNOW what fits…You will see a DIZZYING array of wheels on these guys Toyotas…and they look fantastic. Yes some of these cars are HEAVILY modified sometimes…but you can pick out the ones that aren’t… The ones that just have a wheel that is larger and wider but fits no problem at all.

Your best chance is these Enthusiast sites… There are PLENTY if you do a Search for “Toyota Corrolla Enthusiasts” or something similar to this. You wont be disappointed in the least. Good Luck searching

Blackbird

Go here, http://www.roadkillcustoms.com/hot-rods-rat-rods/Wheel-Bolt-Pattern-Cross-Reference-Database.asp#axzz3Yipzrn4X, and enter your vehicle information and it will list what wheels from other vehicles will fit on your vehicle.

Tester

Thats a REALLY USEFUL TOOL there Tester. Glad you posted this, I have had the need to know which wheels from unrelated vehicles will fit onto certain models MANY different times. I was actually wondering if somebody made some sort of chart for this just a little while ago…and here you are with it!!! Thank you for posting this.

I’m LOVING the section where you can buy an adapter to change the lug spacing and also possibly the number of lugs as well…SUPER SUPER USEFUL if you play with cars like I do.

Blackbird

I’ve never used these guys, but a local mechanic says they’re good:

http://www.cjwheelrepair.com/

Your wheels have a 3.94" (100 mm) bolt center with a 54.1 mm hub diameter. This was used on almost all Toyota cars and Mazda cars from the late 70’s through all the 80’s and up to about 97. Also used on some Fords like the Fiesta.

The 1978 and 1979 Celicas have 14 inch, 4 bolt wheels. You might want to post in the ClassicCelica.com website. Many of us have cars other than our Celicas. And yes, I still have and drive my '79 Celica.

The 13 and 14" wheels are interchangeable as both use the same hub and bolt pattern diameters so if you can find 4 14" wheels from an 80’s Corolla or 90’s Tercel or Paseo, you can upgrade. Use 185/65-14 tires which are easier to find than the 175/70-13 tires.

How do the wheels get “out of round” and how does this happen suddenly?

Sure there’s not an issue with bent hubs, loose wheel bearings, or worn suspension parts?

Have the wheels been spun up on a balancer and verified to be out of whack?

Just wondering as this complaint sounds odd.

Agreed with OK44…wheels don’t just suddenly go wonky. Its more likely that something had to precede this wonky wheel event, but if nothing did happen it may be possible that the welds that hold the wheel together might be failing and the wheel is coming apart? I have seen this once or twice before but its rare and those wheels looked like they were falling apart. Like OK mentioned it would be best to “spin the wheels up” on a machine to see what they are doing.

Blackbird

@ok4450, steel wheels can get out of round. I’ve personally seen it. On an 15 yo pickup, a 1982 Mazda, IIRC, all four steel wheels were out of round enough to make balancing impossible. The tire tech even brought out a dial indicator and showed how roundness and lateral run-out were both high on a couple of the rims. 200,000 miles of mixed highway and dense urban commuting puts a lot of forces on stamped-steel. Add badly maintained roads and potholes, and they get a daily pummeling.