TRD Wheels
 

Anyone have an experience with the TRD 5 spoke wheels?

I had these on my Scion tC, dealer-installed on delivery. They were, hands down, the best wheels I ever owned. They are heavier than most wheels though, if you care about that sort of thing.

They're made by a third-party whose name I can't remember now, but you could buy the exact same wheels minus the TRD center cap that way (then go to a parts department for a set of center caps). Each TRD wheel was close to $300, and just ordering the third-party non-branded equivalent was a lot cheaper. I wish I could find the name for you.

Please explain why these wheels were so magical.

I enjoyed them because they were a drastic improvement over the stock tC wheels, and they were the only wheel I've ever thought didn't cheapen the way a car looks. No offense intended, but third party wheels make cars look terrible. This is all, of course, just the opinion of a single person but the quickest way to take an otherwise well-designed car and make it look absolutely cheap is to put aftermarket wheels on it.

Otherwise, the powder-coating was incredibly resilient. I drove on them for three years without a single mar anywhere on the surface. They clean very easily.

I hate to say it all boils down to appearance, but I guess I have to admit that it does. They won't make your car look like a used Accord driven by a nineteen-year-old.

If a poor choice of wheel is chosen then yes it will look bad, but there are many aftermarket wheels that dont make your car look "like a used Accord driven by a nineteen-year-old."

There are many more that do though. The right combination of car/third-party wheel is very, very rare. I haven't seen a single third-party wheel on the FR-S that I haven't found personally hideous. Then again, the OEM wheels are hideous.

I have the TSW Nurburgrings on mine, and I hate them. There's just nothing out there that looks any better. Either way I was asked why I found the old TRD five-spokes to be so magical, and I answered: they're not stupid-looking.

TRD Japan > TRD USA imo

most of the TRD USA parts are rebranded third party products that were not even designed or manufactured by Toyota and should not be affiliated with Toyota.

imo this is the proper TRD wheel to put on the 86 if you decide to stick with the TRD "brand":

http://cdn.speedhunters.com/wp-conte.../IMG_01202.jpg

There are many reasons people put aftermarket wheels on their cars. For those who are running wider rubbers to improve performance on the track, I would have to say function > form, and people tend to find wheels that have the appropriate offset and width within an acceptable budget. On a street/show car, there are plenty of brands and styles that do not "look like a used Accord driven by a nineteen-year-old." Sticking with JDM brands, some of the ones that comes to mind are Rays (Volk), Wedssport, Advans, Work, SSR, etc. There are other non JDM brands that are really good quality such as BBS.

On the other hand there are a lot of replica wheels that looks good, inexpensive, but are heavy and weaker than genuine wheels. Just remember when it comes to wheels, it is almost always true that you get what you paid for. If you dont mind used wheels you can pick up a quality used set for a good deal if you look hard enough.

Good luck!

I can't reiterate enough, it's all personal preference. I think aftermarket wheels are tacky and cheapen the way a well-engineered car looks. That's just me. I'm not here to threadjack him or argue about it.

He asked for opinions on a wheel from somebody who owned them, and that's what he got: I had them, I liked them, they were well-made, very heavy, and not to pay for the TRD-branded ones. That's all.

I think all wheels look good by themselves. But the cars the people put on them, wow!!! :mad0259:

I think aftermarket wheels get a bad rap because A. many good looking wheels have crap centercaps (Enkei, I'm looking at you), B. there are TONS of cheap crap wheels out there, and C. most people don't have a clue when it comes to fitment and most tire shops aren't any better. So you get people putting 19" chrome monstrosities on their Camrys and it just looks terrible.

A nice set of properly fitted wheels and tires with a clean centercap and non obnoxious lugnuts will in my opinion, be hard to notice as "aftermarket."

What is the cost of the TRD wheels? I think that would be a consideration in what I would buy. TRD parts are notoriously expensive.

Liking these wheels.:thumbsup:

These retailed for $287/wheel back when I ordered my tC. $200-220 seems to be common now for the TRD-branded ones. If you can find the non-branded ones before being repackaged by TRD, they're much cheaper.

Me too. Unfortunately they are $1198 EACH :(

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...52&postcount=1

yea i saw that on japanparts. something like 4k+ for a set with no tires. They look awesome but that price is absurd

Yup.. if they were priced about $800 each (which is about the same as a quality forged japanese wheel at 18 inch) I would have seriously considered them. Not to mention that this wheel is a very conservative +46 offset, and at a width of only 7.5 inches wide. They were built by TRD Japan to maintain "close to stock handling characteristics" only slightly wider and bigger to accomodate the massive TRD brakes.

Good luck with your search for the perfect wheels!!

they will not fit, tried it, and HUB IS BIGGER than the frs size.
if youre gonna spend that much money any way get something better..
[not trying to be an ass]

I guess he hasn't owned many other wheels.
I'm all about looks but it you don't go down in weight you are just a poser like the people who put 19" wheels on
a car that barely has torque to move itself.

Remind me again why I personally need to remove weight from my car, since you seem to know so much about me and my driving needs.

Anyway grey, i do agree with you. You have your own taste. I personally wouldnt want this rim on frs. But i would like a 5star or more spokes with a deep lip.

The weight of the wheels is so insignificant! unless your saving like 10lbs a wheel!
I think you can get .10second faster with every 100lbs you shave.

I wouldn't want this wheel on an FR-S either. But I loved it on the tC.

But what do I know, I'm a "poser" because I realize the stupidity of trying to lose wheel weight for a city driving car that doesn't get tracked. I guess I should've bought a used Civic and put cheap aftermarket wheels, stickers, and a wing on it so I could race it from stoplight to stoplight.

Ultimate poser wheel are steelies with hubcaps, come on people ! They're basicly a snap on wheels. hahaha...

agreed with Grey that it is a matter of personal taste.

A little bit off topic (sorta). I had some silly Varrostoens on my old car (it was a 2010 Hyundai Genesis coupe) and my front wheel bearings were worn out just before the 60k warranty was up. I did some research on why that would be the case, and it was a combination of the heavier than stock wheels and the aggressive offset causing excessive wear on the bearing. I dont know which (the weight or the offset) played a bigger part of wearing out the bearing but just FYI

One advantage of lighter weight wheels on the street is that they will put less strain on the stock components and give you an increase in ride quality as they will have less inertia keeping them from following the road. Reducing unsprung mass is never a bad thing.

^ Nate beat me to it lol. lower weight when it comes to wheels has a much greater impact because its dynamic, not like static weigh ON the car. Remember your wheels MOVE.. Light wheels have less rotational mass and are easier to get rolling. How does that help? Well the engine uses less fuel when it doesn't have to work as much to get a wheel/car moving. City driving especially makes this important. A heavy wheel would be ok and minimally influential for cruising and maintaining same speed over long time. In city stop/go/stop/go driving that lighter wheel starts to make a huge difference.

Its simple Physics.. less rotational mass and less unsprung weight has advantages that reach pretty far OFF the race track. If anything, at least stay close to what your factory wheel/tire package weighs. If OP is that concerned about factory LOOKS why not be concerned about factory FUNCTION as well.

I love these wheels! Do you have any idea when I can buy them from?

My Toyota dealer in town doesn't have them...