Wheel and Tyre Packages: Why Buying Both Together Works

A wheel and tyre package means buying both together, mounted and balanced, rather than sourcing rims from one place and rubber from another and hoping the combination works.

On a 4x4 it is nearly always the better way to buy, and the reason is simple: wheel and tyre are not two decisions. They are one decision made twice.

Why they cannot sensibly be separated

Tyre width has to suit rim width. Every tyre size is approved for a range of rim widths. Outside that range the tyre will not sit correctly on the bead, wears unevenly, and behaves unpredictably at the low pressures you would actually want on sand.

Overall diameter has to stay sensible. Change the rolling diameter too far from standard and your speedometer reads wrong. On a modern ute the traction control and ABS are calibrated around that same figure, so they end up working from bad assumptions.

Offset and tyre width set clearance together. This is the one that catches people out. A wider tyre grows inward and outward at the same time, so it tightens the gap to the guard lip and the gap to the suspension simultaneously. Settle the offset first and choose the tyre afterwards and you discover the problem at full lock in a car park.

The wheel offset guide covers how that relationship works.

What goes into the spec

Diameter

Nomad wheels come in 17x8.5 and 18x8.5.

Seventeen inch leaves more sidewall for the same overall diameter. That sidewall absorbs corrugations, protects the rim from rock strikes, and gives you room to air down. It is also where the widest choice of all-terrain and mud-terrain tyres sits, in the load ratings a loaded ute needs.

Eighteen inch fills a modern dual cab arch better and sharpens the steering. On sealed roads you give up very little.

Offset

Available in +15 or +35. The lower figure pushes the wheel outward for a wider stance; the higher figure tucks it closer to standard. Which suits depends on your vehicle, your tyre width, and whether the ute is lifted.

Tyre type

Touring for a vehicle that lives on bitumen. Quieter, longer-wearing, better on fuel.

All-terrain for the ute that does both, which describes most of them honestly. A genuine compromise rather than a poor one.

Mud-terrain for vehicles that spend real time in soft or broken ground, at the cost of road noise and tread life. It should be a deliberate choice rather than a default.

Load rating

Worth its own thought. A ute carrying a canopy, drawers, water and passengers is a heavy vehicle, and both wheel and tyre need to be rated for the weight actually sitting on each corner when loaded, not empty.

Fitment across the range

Nomad wheels run a 6x139.7 stud pattern with a 106.1 mm centre bore, and the correct hub-centric rings are supplied to suit your vehicle so the wheel sits dead-centre on the hub rather than being located by the studs.

That is what allows one wheel design to cover the Hilux, Ranger, D-Max, Triton, BT-50, Colorado, Everest, Fortuner, MU-X, Pajero Sport and Amarok. There is more on the mechanics in the 4x4 rims guide.

What a Nomad package includes

Packages are mounted, balanced and fitted with touring, all-terrain or mud-terrain rubber to suit how you drive. Fitment is confirmed against your vehicle before it ships. Flexible finance is available, so you can drive away now and pay it down over time.

Call the team on 1800 099 634 if you would rather talk it through than work it out on screen.

Start from your vehicle

Pick your ute or wagon first, then diameter, offset and rubber:

Once the package is fitted, the installation and maintenance guide covers torque and the re-torque check in the first few hundred kilometres.

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