Should I be worried about wheel load ratings? 2

[JackCharvel]

I've been looking to upgrade wheels on my 2012 Toyota Sienna LE FWD 3.5L for a minute now and am wondering if wheels off a lighter car are safe to use. We're talking GVWR=5,995lbs vs maybe 4,700lbs. So basically the heaviest vs lightest vehicles with 5x114.3mm bolt patterns. I've reached out to Toyota directly and through dealerships, they say we don't test wheels across all models so we can not recommend swapping them, they won't give up the load ratings at all. I've found there are 2 camps, one says if the bolt pattern matches you're good to go (speaking of load only/not considering offset or clearance issues), and the other says that it's a safety issue and you'd be taking a risk. The specific wheels I'm thinking about getting now are '20-'24 Rav4 TRD 18" wheels (PN-PT758-42200, PN for my stock wheel is 42611-08070) But I've considered Camry, Lexus IS, and other manufacturers wheels that have popped up on marketplace with 5x114.3. I found an ebay listing here with pics of the identifiers stamped in the wheel. Nothing about load rating however.

Ultimately, I'd like to find out how to look up wheel load ratings for any vehicle. I think it's a safety issue to not make the info available. If the wheels are overrated, fine. If not, we could confirm that a wheel is not safe. Why would they hide this info from us?

Some other things occur to me that are probably relevant:
-Toyota Racing Division (TRD) packages are common for off-roading, would it be reasonable to assume that these wheels would be over built compared to standard options?
-If there is no definitive answer to be had, could I make a reasonable assumption based on wheel weight across models? (other dimensions the same obviously)
-How common are wheel failures if the max load rating is exceeded by my possible 25% excess?
-What failure mode would be expected for an overloaded wheel in this scenario? (How risky is it?)
Thanks for any input!

 

[CapriRacer]

I think I answered this question on another website. I go by the name CapriRacer a lot, so this might be a repeat. Nevertheless, here is my understanding about wheel loading:

There aren't any regulations about wheels being marked for max load and pressure. I've asked around a lot and the best I can come up with is that wheel manufacturers design wheels to be able to holdup the largest load for the largest tire that fits the rim - and they test for that.

In your case, it means that any wheel that fits your vehicle will have been tested for the worst case. Wheel failures are very rare. I've only seen a few. Not anywhere near what I would consider worthy of concern. The fact that there aren't any government regulations seems to point to this not being a problem.

 

[JackCharvel]

I think I answered this question on another website. I go by the name CapriRacer a lot, so this might be a repeat. Nevertheless, here is my understanding about wheel loading:

There aren't any regulations about wheels being marked for max load and pressure. I've asked around a lot and the best I can come up with is that wheel manufacturers design wheels to be able to holdup the largest load for the largest tire that fits the rim - and they test for that.

In your case, it means that any wheel that fits your vehicle will have been tested for the worst case. Wheel failures are very rare. I've only seen a few. Not anywhere near what I would consider worthy of concern. The fact that there aren't any government regulations seems to point to this not being a problem.

Thanks for your input. That actually makes sense since a manufacturer shouldn't want a wheel underated per the tire making it's way onto a heavier vehicle. I posted this on a reddit engineering group too and one guy went into some math regarding fatigue limits and strengths and used (what I'm assuming is) a typical safety factor of 7. Here is a link to that thread in case you're interested.

 

[lucky-guesser]

I think I answered this question on another website.

Because he has posted this exact same thing before.

Wheel load ratings and compatibility when considering non stock wheels. - Automotive Engineering other topics

I'm new to the site and am hoping some of you good folks can help me understand what I need to consider when looking at wheel options for my vehicle. I've searched this forum and gathered that wheels are typically designed to have a load rating that meets or exceeds half the heavier axle weight...

www.eng-tips.com

 

[JackCharvel]

Because he has posted this exact same thing before.

Wheel load ratings and compatibility when considering non stock wheels. - Automotive Engineering other topics

I'm new to the site and am hoping some of you good folks can help me understand what I need to consider when looking at wheel options for my vehicle. I've searched this forum and gathered that wheels are typically designed to have a load rating that meets or exceeds half the heavier axle weight...

www.eng-tips.com

Well the same topic with some distinctly different and more detailed considerations. I didn't realize CapriceRacer responded on my old closed post til now.