Method Trail Series 703 Wheel for Toyota Tacoma

Hi, this is Mike, I'm an adventurer and a dad and this will be a quick one. We're going to talk about wheels, and why you might want to use a wheel that's different than the stock wheels that came on your 4x4.
So, I've been modifying our 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road with suspension and tires, and if you want to learn about some of the decisions I made to enhance the performance and comfort of the vehicle for our off the beaten path adventures, check out the playlist in the card.
In order to open up some more options in tire sizing, I needed to change the wheels from a 16" wheel to a 17" wheel. There are a lot more options from almost every manufacturer if you have a 17" wheel.
I decided to go with the Method Race Wheels trail series 703. These are a 17 by 8 and a half inch wheel with 0 offset and 4.75" inch of backspacing. Which makes for a nice tucked in wheel tire setup.
There are three main reasons I went with Methods, and the 703 specifically. Other than the fact that Michael Shaffer from Rogue Overland is running them. But if I'm being honest, that's the main reason.
Anyway.
Bead Grip Tech
The main reason to choose these wheels is that these have what Method Calls, Bead Grip Technology. To understand what that is, you need to understand what a bead is.
When they make a tire they start with two coils of steel wires wrapped tight, then encased in rubber.
These beads are the interface point between the wheel and the tire and are the basis on which the rest of the tire is built.
Check out the video in the description for how tires are made.
These are the stock Tacoma wheels and they have a little cove that is an extremely tight fit with the bead. When pressurized, the tires will snap into that cove and the air pressure keeps it seated there and the friction of the bead on the rim transmits torque from the axle through the tire to the ground. So the bead has a lot of work to do.
If you are lowering the pressure in your tires for improved traction, at some point when you get down below about 12 PSI, there isn't enough pressure to keep the bead in that cove and they'll slip off and basically unmount the tire completely. At which point, you'll have a bad time.
The Method Wheels have two things to prevent this and allow you to go down to a lower pressure than you would with a regular wheel.
First, and most obvious, they have these rough ridges where the bead rests that dig into the rubber and make it harder for the tire to slip sideways out of the cove.
Second, they have what Method calls an "Enhanced Safety Hump"
This enhanced safety hump keeps the bead from sliding off to the inside of the wheel.
Lastly, Method has a whole range of wheels that use Bead Grip Technology, but I went with the 703 specifically for weight reasons. This wheel weighs 27.6 pounds while the 704s are 32#.
These Stock Tacoma Wheels are 25#. And of course, anything with a fake bead lock ring is going to be considerably heavier which is not what you want.
Check out Michael Shaffer's Little Black 4Runner on the Rogue Overland channel for some footage of what the Bead Grip Wheels can do. He told me he has no problem going down to 10 PSI with these and not loosing the bead. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIm8Zq1_dp2Ehbs
So how strong is that bead grip thing really? Well, I can show you...
When we mounted these up at Silver State Off Road, Lance had to use a lot of air pressure to get them to slip over the enhanced Bead Hump. The inside bead snapped on first and it was pretty loud. But you can tell from the camera shake here when the outside bead went on that it was quite loud and shocking. All 5 times.
It took several minutes to develop enough pressure to snap them on and it surprised us each time. I've even heard of tire shops having trouble getting them to de-bead with standard tire machines.
So The take home is that they are strong enough for anything I'm likely to ever do with this Tacoma. Unless things get really crazy...
How low can I go?
That remains to be seen. I got these mounted up towards the end of summer and haven't had time to get them out and really stretch their legs.
For overlanding, these are great down at 20 PSI. I've run them at that pressure a bit and they do really well.
For rougher stuff I'd probably lower them to 15psi. I've had good luck with my 4Runner at that pressure.
If we get into sand and snow, I might try taking them down to 10 PSI. In those situations, flotation is really important.
Thanks for checking out this video, If you found this helpful please hit that like button and if you have a question or comment please post it below.
And you can follow our adventures in the upgraded Tacoma by hitting that subscribe button.
Happy Trails

[@applesbighatranch6906]

Great vid, thanks. Love your truck!

[@HarrySituations]

The work as great as they look!

[@Takusanmizu77]

Just put these on my F150. Haven’t done a ton of off-road yet but they sure are pretty

[@OverlandPNW]

I run Methods on my 4Runner. Love them! Great video!

[@AllTerrainFamily]

Thanks! Do yours take a beating the rocks? With the pizza cutters I’m running, the wheels get a lot of rock action.

[@OverlandPNW]

@@AllTerrainFamily Unfortunately, yes they do take a beating in the rocks. I have a lot of rock dings on them and each ding hurt my soul ha ha!

[@Warpetrie]

I have pretty much everything planned for my truck except for wheels. I'm sure I'm just making it way more complicated than it needs to be when choosing something, but I think I'll end up getting methods. They're purpose made and I know can take a beating, sometimes function really does out weigh form...

[@2keep]

Nice setup. What tourqe setting did you use for the wheels?

[@uniden03229]

I've always been under the mindset of you don't want to float over snow like you do sand. In snow you want as small of a contact patch as possible in order to cut through the snow down to grip from the road. At least that's always the mentality I've employed living in New Hampshire with our winters, I actually run narrower tires during the winter for that exact reason.

[@AllTerrainFamily]

Depends on how deep the snow is. If it’s more than a foot deep flotation is the key. If it’s 6 inches or less then cutting through is best.

[@uniden03229]

@@AllTerrainFamily Ohhhhhh I see what you were getting at now, yes agreed. Also sorry I meant to mention in my original comment, awesome video and I appreciate your response!

[@kanevivalakane3699]

I go with my Prado stock wheels at 13 front and 12 rear on sand dunes..

[@hersonastacio]

It is funny how they say, "now you can air down with lower pressures," just state the psi number.

[@bjornlindblad1194]

I mean I have ran 13 PSI on my Chevy Kilo 2500 patrol truck on the interstate at 80 MPH. No debead. While in pursuit.

[@AllTerrainFamily]

I mean, who hasn’t?

[@dannyhightower1]

Have you weighed your vehicle loaded out? Im asking to help correlate your vehicle weight to the PSI you would run for Sand / flotation situations. Thank you!

[@andrewakers4970]

I have method 316s in 17x8.5 on my 4runner. Been thinking about 255s but concerned it’s too narrow of a tire for an 8.5 inch wheel. Are your methods 8.5 inches wide? Any similar concerns?

[@AllTerrainFamily]

Yes. The tires are just fine on them.

[@steveehh4567]

Where the Nitto Ridge Grappler Pizza cutters the lightest option for a 33 tire in a 17inch wheel? I have the same OR as you but with the OEM’s.

[@AllTerrainFamily]

Definitely not. A SL or C load 285/70 17 is much lighter.

[@richardzavala9820]

What was your MPG loss with the 255/80/17 tires? I’m curious if it’s different than a 285/70/17 with less rolling resistance (theoretically). I’m sure the added weight accounts for most of the loss.

[@applesbighatranch6906]

In my experience, a heavier wheel/tire assembly can affect steering linkage, ball joints and hub/bearing wear... it is mostly tread pattern design (rolling resistance) that may affect MPG. Yes, it takes additional fuel energy to start rolling a heavier mass as well as more heat transferred through the brakes to stop it, but rolling resistance may be the major influence on fuel mileage. Too, a taller tire diameter does make taller the effective final drive gearing... That 255/80 is just over 34" whereas the 285/70 just under 33"... and on average in this tire size range 1" is worth .2 gearing (changing, say, a 3.55 to a 3.30-ish).

[@applesbighatranch6906]

My bad! The Nitto Ridge Grappler in 255/80-17 is 33.3" overall diameter, not "just over 34" as I stated earlier... that'd be a 255/85... and in a MickeyThompson Baja Boss A/T...

[@jpking0512]

Looking for new wheels for my 18 tacoma, I like the look of these. What tire size do you run?

[@AllTerrainFamily]

255/80 r17

[@jpking0512]

@@AllTerrainFamily thanks...did you have to do a body mount chop or cut your fender liner to get them to not rub?

[@AllTerrainFamily]

Little fender liner modifications, no cab mount chop.

[@jpking0512]

@@AllTerrainFamily 👍

[@jeromeoertling1047]

How are the 255's on the highway? Do you get any instability from the taller/narrower tire? Like another comment here, I am trying to decide between your setup and a 285/70/17 and like the idea of a slightly taller tire and less rolling resistance with about the same weight as a 285/70.

[@AllTerrainFamily]

No instability at all. They perform great.

[@frankbailey1733]

Are these wheels hub centric? And they are a 17x8 or 81/2? Thank you

[@AllTerrainFamily]

Yes hub centric for Toyota. 8.5”

[@Mapdotnowhere]

Stock TRD package is 265/16. A 255/17 would be almost the same ride height, right?

[@AllTerrainFamily]

You would need the sidewall ratio to make that determination.

[@omargalvez9032]

What about the tires? What did you use

[@AllTerrainFamily]

Nitto Ridge Grappler.

[@lukearcher1912]

What offset did you get?

[@AllTerrainFamily]

These come with 0 offset.

[@litoornelas6409]

Is there a specific tire you recommend with this wheel?

[@AllTerrainFamily]

Not particularly. I’m running the Nitto Ridge Grappler.

[@richardzavala9820]

What was your MPG loss with the 255/80/17 tires? I’m curious if it’s different than a 285/70/17 with less rolling resistance (theoretically). I’m sure the added weight accounts for most of the loss.

[@jeromeoertling1047]

Same Question! Looking at this setup for my 1st gen tundra.