REAL STEEL
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK ALLEN
With the purchase of my new (second hand) Troopy, I figured decent rubber on decent rims would be one of the first additions I’d make. Although the current trend is towards alloy rims and while there are some good reasons behind those choices, I’m opting to stick to good ‘ol steel rims from Dynamic Wheel Company. There are plenty of ‘look-alike’ steel rims on the market, but the long running ‘Sunraysia’ name is a perfectly resilient rim suited to the rugged Troopy and it’s intended long term offroad use, especially given they are rated at 1400kg per rim.
Another reason I opted for the Dynamic Wheel Companies rims are the multitude of rim offsets available for the 70 Series LandCruisers. Given the mismatched front and rear wheel tracks (of 95mm), I could at least legally semi rectify the problem on the cheap by choosing negative 25mm offset rims for the rear. That pushes both rear rims out by 25mm each and widening the track by 50mm which is the legal maximum in NSW. Given the wider rim width (of 8”) and wider tyre selection (285/75R16), will (mostly) overcome the track issue.
I kept to standard 0 offset for the front and the spare, so I figure if I get a flat I’ll have a straight swap for the front and simply (temporarily) put up with the mismatched offset on the rear.
I’ve resisted the temptation to go larger diameter rims and kept to a 16 inch rim (and tyre) to provide plenty of rubber selection and provide the best offroad ability (by way of tyre sidewall flex) I can. Dynamic offer a huge diameter range from 12 up to 18 inches for those that want to step up in size.
Why ‘black’; personal choice that’s all, but the Sunraysia’s are also available in traditional white.
For those that are interested, Dynamic Wheel Company do offer other offsets for the 70 Series (plus other 4x4’s) up to negative 44mm, which for offroad use would (almost) totally overcome the Cruiser tracks issues.
For more information on the range of Sunraysia rims, as well as the complete range of other steelies and alloys, check out www.dynamicwheelco.com.au