2005 - Wheels
UK MK1's came with 2 styles of alloy wheels. Early cars (pre 1986) came with 14" 4 stud "Triangles" later cars came with 14" 4 stud "Teardrops" I didn't mind the Teardrops mine came with but they were in need of proper refurbishment and the choice of decent 14" tyres was getting very limited. I really liked the MK3 5 spoke wheels which are the same 4 stud fitting as the MK1 (also the same centre bore as the wheels are hub centric)
The early MK3 wheels did suffer badly from bubbling and pitting. I have heard was due to some manufacturing fault, composition of the alloy is one reason put forward, the other was the way they had been painted.
I know Mr T was changing them for brand new ones FOC even after the warranty period had expired. One MK3 owner I have spoken to had 3 complete sets FOC, they even let him keep one of the old sets for free. I reckon that's one reason there were so many of them going about at the time. Which meant I managed to pick up 5 MK3 alloys pretty cheaply as they were badly in need of refurbishment.
I took them into one of the local powder coaters and it turned out he had done many sets of MK3 wheels for the local Mr T (Toyota dealer) in the past, so had a good colour match for the standard Toyota MK3 silver.
I asked him to add some sparkle to the coating (without being too glittery) and left it up to him how much he put in. I was (and am) extremely happy with the results. Just looks like standard silver until the sun hits them, then they light up.
He blasted the wheels first, then powder coated the complete wheel (inside and out) with the silver+sparkle, oven dried then powder coated the complete wheel again with clear lacquer and oven dried.
Cost me £35 a wheel and it was worth every penny, they are so easy to keep clean and look great and have stood the test of time, still (19 years later) look pretty much the same as the day I got them back.
Comparison of the MK1 Teardrops vs MK3 5 Spokes
Got a set of new wheel nuts as the standard MK1 Teardrop wheelnuts are too long (they are about 50mm)
The centre caps with the Red Toyota logo are the standard UK centres which came with the wheels. However JDM centre caps are Blue with a modern version of the MK1 bird logo which I much prefer, took me a while but I eventually managed to get a set by getting the JDM part number and ordering them from Mr T.
Pictures taken of my car September 2024 same wheels untouched other than normal cleaning, lack of sun an phone camera are hiding the sparkle, still as shiny as before
Other points to consider when using MK3 Wheels on a MK1
MK1 spec:
Tyres: 185 x 60 x 14 Front & Rear
Wheel Size: MK1a 14 x 5J front and rear (triangles)
Wheel Size: MK1b 14 x 6J front and rear (teardrops)
PCD: 4 x 100mm
Offset: 35 ->38mm
Centre Bore: 54.1mm
Early Mk3's had 15" wheels all round, about 2003/4, they changed to 16" on the back, 15" on the front.
Early MK3 spec:
Tyres: 185 x 55 x 15 Front. 205 x 50 x 15 Rear
Wheel Size: 15 x 6J front 15 x 6.5J rear
PCD: 4 x 100mm
Offset: 45mm
Centre Bore: 54.1mm
The Mk3 rear wheels have a location pin on the inside of the wheel (to stop you fitting the rears on the front) These need to be removed before fitting to a MK1, they just unscrew.
The standard MK3 rear tyre size(205 x 50) has a larger rolling radius than the standard Mk1 combination, so your speedo will read low (speedo reading = 70mph, actual speed = 71.02) Using 195 x 50 tyres will correct this (speedo reading = 70mph actual speed = 69.8mph).
Using the standard MK3 tyre sizes on a MK1 badly upsets the handling, not nice at all, the general consensus of opinion is that 195 x 50 tyres all round are the best combination with MK3 wheels on a MK1 and my own personal experience certainly bears that out.
UK MK1's came with 2 styles of alloy wheels. Early cars (pre 1986) came with 14" 4 stud "Triangles" later cars came with 14" 4 stud "Teardrops" I didn't mind the Teardrops mine came with but they were in need of proper refurbishment and the choice of decent 14" tyres was getting very limited. I really liked the MK3 5 spoke wheels which are the same 4 stud fitting as the MK1 (also the same centre bore as the wheels are hub centric)
The early MK3 wheels did suffer badly from bubbling and pitting. I have heard was due to some manufacturing fault, composition of the alloy is one reason put forward, the other was the way they had been painted.
I know Mr T was changing them for brand new ones FOC even after the warranty period had expired. One MK3 owner I have spoken to had 3 complete sets FOC, they even let him keep one of the old sets for free. I reckon that's one reason there were so many of them going about at the time. Which meant I managed to pick up 5 MK3 alloys pretty cheaply as they were badly in need of refurbishment.
I took them into one of the local powder coaters and it turned out he had done many sets of MK3 wheels for the local Mr T (Toyota dealer) in the past, so had a good colour match for the standard Toyota MK3 silver.
I asked him to add some sparkle to the coating (without being too glittery) and left it up to him how much he put in. I was (and am) extremely happy with the results. Just looks like standard silver until the sun hits them, then they light up.
He blasted the wheels first, then powder coated the complete wheel (inside and out) with the silver+sparkle, oven dried then powder coated the complete wheel again with clear lacquer and oven dried.
Cost me £35 a wheel and it was worth every penny, they are so easy to keep clean and look great and have stood the test of time, still (19 years later) look pretty much the same as the day I got them back.
Comparison of the MK1 Teardrops vs MK3 5 Spokes
Got a set of new wheel nuts as the standard MK1 Teardrop wheelnuts are too long (they are about 50mm)
The centre caps with the Red Toyota logo are the standard UK centres which came with the wheels. However JDM centre caps are Blue with a modern version of the MK1 bird logo which I much prefer, took me a while but I eventually managed to get a set by getting the JDM part number and ordering them from Mr T.
Pictures taken of my car September 2024 same wheels untouched other than normal cleaning, lack of sun an phone camera are hiding the sparkle, still as shiny as before
Other points to consider when using MK3 Wheels on a MK1
MK1 spec:
Tyres: 185 x 60 x 14 Front & Rear
Wheel Size: MK1a 14 x 5J front and rear (triangles)
Wheel Size: MK1b 14 x 6J front and rear (teardrops)
PCD: 4 x 100mm
Offset: 35 ->38mm
Centre Bore: 54.1mm
Early Mk3's had 15" wheels all round, about 2003/4, they changed to 16" on the back, 15" on the front.
Early MK3 spec:
Tyres: 185 x 55 x 15 Front. 205 x 50 x 15 Rear
Wheel Size: 15 x 6J front 15 x 6.5J rear
PCD: 4 x 100mm
Offset: 45mm
Centre Bore: 54.1mm
The Mk3 rear wheels have a location pin on the inside of the wheel (to stop you fitting the rears on the front) These need to be removed before fitting to a MK1, they just unscrew.
The standard MK3 rear tyre size(205 x 50) has a larger rolling radius than the standard Mk1 combination, so your speedo will read low (speedo reading = 70mph, actual speed = 71.02) Using 195 x 50 tyres will correct this (speedo reading = 70mph actual speed = 69.8mph).
Using the standard MK3 tyre sizes on a MK1 badly upsets the handling, not nice at all, the general consensus of opinion is that 195 x 50 tyres all round are the best combination with MK3 wheels on a MK1 and my own personal experience certainly bears that out.
