Road salt here in Canada murders alloy rims, I would stick with steelies.

 

I got a set of steelies, I'll sell you for $20......short drive to South of London.

I recommend:
- one nice set of alloys for 3 season driving & downgrade a set of older alloys for winter use
- personally I hate the look of steelies, especially the black ones in winter

PS - neither am I a fan of aftermarket rims (off shore cast wheels) ... quality casting standards, may not exist / OEM takeoffs, is the only way to go

Winter is approaching & time for swapping out the M&S summer tires.

Bought the low mileage RAV4 this summer, wearing Michelin snow tires & SUV came with the OEM aluminum rims & nuts.
- luckily the rusty steel rims, scared away the first two buyers
- otherwise, the RAV4 was totally rust free, even the undercarriage

As purchased:

Used the rusty rims & tires for safety check , next day purchase new Firestone Le2 tires & installed on the factory 6-spoke aluminum rims:

Now comes the 2013 Highlander OEM 17" rims, new 7-spoke takeoffs with 800 Km:
- these rims will be my summer wheels with the Firestone Le2 rubber

From what I gathered: Bolt pattern | Stud Pattern : Toyota Bolt Pattern

2008 RAV4 Limited - rim size = 17x7 & 5x114.3 bolt pattern, with a 45 mm offset
- Hub/Center Bore = 60 mm hole for Toyota center cap

2013 Highlander - rim size = 17x7.5 & 5x114.3 bolt pattern, with a 35 mm offset
- Hub/Center Bore = 60.1 mm hole for Toyota center caps

^^ Only the rim width (1/2 inch) so offset is different by 10 mm - anyone see a problem, with this?
- the new Highlander rims will be for summer now & RAV4 OEM rims for winter driving
Cheers, Larry

 

I live in New Hampshire, plenty of salt and snow. Hate the look of the steel wheels, purchased a set of alloys from Tirerack when I bought snows. Never had any issues with them from the salt and they look awesome. think they were just around $100 per tire. Been doing this for years here with all of my previous cars....2 Matrixs and now my Rav4

 

First winter for my Rav4- H. For those who experienced winter driving with the Rav4-H, what wheel would you recommend? Been contemplating on getting cheap alloy wheels similar to this but wondering if it will be durable enough for the harsh Canadian winter. Do you think this is worth the investment?


AZZ751VMG

I would never put some crappy looking steel rims on my car. I use 2 sets of alloy rims: one for summer and one for winter. I asked Toyota to provide me the whole winter set of alloy rims + winter tires for good price. As for RAV4 the sets were already all sold out so I asked if they would be willing to sell me a set for Lexus for the same price instead. So now I have winter set for Lexus - can't complain. Looks great including the Lexus logo
Salt not a problem so far. I do not regret it. It was a good invesment.

 

I bought a set of 18 inch steelies from Costco for about $400. I still had my 18 inch snow tires from my 2008 RAV4 Sport so mounted on the 2017 with the steelies for the winter.

They do look like crap though.

I was hoping to find a decent set of 18 inch hubcaps that would fit but so far no luck. Haven't looked very hard yet though.

 

Got a set of RAV4 alloys with studless mud and snow tires when i bought my R4H 2016 not a mark on the rims after last real salty swedish winter when I put them back on again last week.

 

Hello makol,
I have driven in Finnish winter with RAV4 12 years, with alloy wheels. No problems.
Toyota's own wheels. Spikes, 225/R17 Nokia, Continental.

I do not see the difference between metal or aluminum wheels. The spikes pins are the most important.

 

I only bought the steelies for my snow tires so i didn't have to dismount and remount the tires every year. It's cheaper and easier to change over the whole wheel and also no risk of damage to the alloy rim during mounting and dismounting.

 

Thanks for all your responses. I decided to get 17" steels from Costco at $300CAD a set and will mount Blizzak WS80 tires also from Cotco. Saved more than $300 with the steel wheels and just ordered a set of Wheel Covers like this one.

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/17-in-..._45415463938_None&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInrOGgJuR1wIVnrXACh0O_AJFEAQYASABEgJyavD_BwE

 

Thanks for all your responses. I decided to get 17" steels from Costco at $300CAD a set and will mount Blizzak WS80 tires also from Cotco. Saved more than $300 with the steel wheels and just ordered a set of Wheel Covers like this one......

Good luck OP, on the steelies / remember to clean the insides when rotating tires.
- rust often starts on the inside-hidden area too

Our used '08 RAV4.3 came with these 17x6.5" steelies, for winter / now heavily rusted & deep flakes, of corrosion - cheaper grade manufacturing steel & poor primer & paint, may be evident here plus a general lack of washing & care. Junk rims where replaced with OEM alloy takeoffs.

- I now have new Firestone Destination Le2's mounted on 2013 Highlander OEM 17" alloy rims
- $380 Cdn = 295 US$ each wheel

 

I’m running 16” steel rims. I don’t care if they look good in winter. As long as my family is a bit safer with them.

 

I just bought Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV with these alloy wheels (225/65R17). Not installed yet but here?s a picture.

It cost me 115$ CAN a wheel including nuts. They are made for our winter and they look not too bad IMO.

 

Not bad at all. Have you ordered them online? Also, is it hub centric? I believe, hub bore for our RAV4 H is 60.1mm. Having difficulty getting a hub centric alloy rims with this diameter that's why I opted for the steelies. I've had bad experienced with hub rings in my previous car.