If so, no problem. But I'm thinking it's not that simple.
As I said you need to determine the wheel offset for each vehicle.
Honestly, I think you need to select a vehicle as it is complete with whatever it comes with. Choose whatever options come closest to your wants and enjoy it.
@Steve_K No one has asked the OTHER question about the wheel swap. Does the Venza have brakes too large to fit into an 18 inch wheel?
TireRack sells an 18s and 17 inch wheels so then the smaller wheel goes over the brakes.
As for the factory wheels; this site shows the bolt patterns and the offsets to be exactly the same between the Venza and Highlander.
So the answer is YES, you can swap the wheels complete.
“Going to a smaller wheel size will always require a check of caliper clearances” - me
I did, but that’s okay. It was hidden in a list of points. It’s never a bad thing to see points reiterated anyway.
Thanks for the link, MikelnNH. Exactly the situation that concerns me.
asemaster, you’re probably right, all I need to do is ask a good tire shop. But I hate to do that because it’d be under false pretenses: I wouldn’t be in the market for wheels, so I’d be taking up their time with no chance of a sale. Again, I want to find a Highlander owner to trade with me. He likes the fancy 20" wheels, I like his 17" wheels. If we can swap, win-win.
Don’t worry about the false pretenses. It’s retail. Not everyone walking in the door is ready to buy something. We know that. But the guy at the tire shop may give you some advice or the info you’re looking for, and you may remember that next time you need tire service or replacement, or he may have a set of new “take-offs” in the back ready to sell you at a good price. You never know.
Mustangman, many thanks for sharing your research. Looks like I’m home free with my wacko idea. Why do I think Tom would be in my corner.
And would it have been that hard for Toyota Customer Service to shoot me the same information?
Yes, it would have. They don’t have folks researching non-standard fitments for their cars.
If they did they’d be accepting an enormous amount of liability.
Every car design has to pass rigorous safety tests, to demonstrate compliance with federal safety regulations. No car company is going to knowingly allow its representatives to be providing tacit approvals of nonstandard components like wheels.
Anybody remember the Ford vs. Firestone case(s) vis-a-vis the Ford Explorer? Even the recommended pressure of the tires became a highly contentious issue in the multimillion dollar lawsuits.
And would it have been that hard for Toyota Customer Service to shoot me the same information?
Yes. Because your car will no longer work properly with the alternate wheels and tires on it. And there’s no way you can expect Toyota to stand behind that.
The brake, steering, ABS, Traction Control, and Vehicle Stability Control systems on your car were designed to operate with the specific wheel and tire combos that are available from the factory. Deviating from this will affect all these systems.
That’s not to say I have a problem with you changing wheels and tires to your preference, I say do whatever you like. But when that one-in-10million chance event happens and the car misses a turn or skids off the road, someone somewhere may point the finger at the wrong wheels and tires on the car as the cause.
Maybe I’m just being stupid (again), but I don’t see what the problem is putting 18" wheels on the Venza.
The 18" tire would have a 60 profile instead of the 20" 50 profile. So what? Won’t the two tires have the same circumference and diameter? How does the profile affect “the brake, steering, ABS, Traction Control, and Vehicle Stability Control systems?” (OK, steering a little.)
All that happens, as I see it, when we go to that 60 profile tire is that the ride becomes a little smoother over rough roads (which is exactly what I want). In return, we lose a little grip going around corners at 90 mph. But I haven’t done that in more decades than I want to think about. (Well, 50 mph. My cars back then couldn’t reach 90 mph on a Wyoming interstate.)
My biggest concern was the Highlander wheels causing a problem on the Venza. It’s now clear (thanks again, Mustangman) that’s not an issue. And I don’t think the tires are an issue either.
Somebody take the last word, because I’m moving on.
Vehicles suspensions are designed in conjunction with the wheels and tires. Changing to a lower profile tire will change the suspension characteristics. It may be fine…but then again it may not be. Lower profile tires do not have the same give and take as a non-low profile tire does.
OP here. To close the loop, I bought a 2011 Venza today, yes, with the dangblasted 20" tires, but on the test drive they didn’t seem that rough or that loud. Better, in fact, than my 2007 Accord. Will live with them awhile before looking for a swap with a Highlander owner.
Aw, c’mon, you mean that the Toyota engineers know what they are doing!?
Seriously, enjoy the wagon an let us know how it works out.
The posters are correct, the car is “tuned” to use the 20 inch tires but maybe a bit overly concerned. I can understand Toyota being concerned… they have deep pockets and a bullseye on their back. A bit of that is true for @asemaster, I believe, as the liability can fall in his and his shop’s lap and I respect that concern.
That said, having done that kind of “tuning” for a living for an automaker and auto systems supplier, I can say that ride, handling, traction control and stability controls are not that sensitive to a change of this magnitude. Cars have to able to accept a wide variety of tires from the least from the $50 Chinese cheapos to Dunlops or Michelins as well as folks wishing to install aftermarket wheels and tires.
My personal experience swapping wheels and tires and then using them at track days has shown traction and ABS systems so be pretty forgiving. So there’s my 2 cents.
All of the technical concerns are accurate, but to be honest my original concern besides making sure the smaller wheels would clear the calipers was your feeling that Toyota was not being nice in not answering your question. No franchise is going to tacitly approve a wheel and tire combination not tested and approved by the manufacturer. If they did approve the smaller wheel with the bigger aspect ratio tire and for some reason you flipped the vehicle (remember the Ford Explorer), their liability would be tremendous.
Vehicles with higher centers of gravity (Cg) that come with low profile tire/wheel combinations have suspension systems designed softer to absorb the jolts in the suspension that would otherwise be absorbed in the tire’s sidewall. Adding a tire with greater sidewall (higher aspect ratio) to a suspension designed for a lesser sidewall can make the vehicle less stable. No franchise is going to say it’s okay to do that.
Even though I have zero liability, I personally would recommend against it simply because I would not want to feel in any way responsible if the vehicle flipped. I realize that might be overly cautious, but I like to err on the side of safety.
Seriously what are the chances the OP will find someone crazy enough to do the swap he wants?
I wondered about that too.
Dangblasted? My goldfish snacks are flavor blasted. Is that similar?