Should I get 18s or 17s for my explorer? gimme the pluses and the minuses of both please guys. im think 18s with a 255/55/18 or 17s with a 255/60/17...what do you think?

I guess no one wants to help... =^(

That sux. Wish someone had an answer to your question cause I would like to know as well. By the way, your explorer looks sharp!

--mark

thanks Mark. I cant believe NOONE has an opinion, even the people with 17 inch wheels? damn...

sideswipe- I have 15's on but still have an opinion, if you will.

I've seen the 17's that Explorer Express put on some of their concepts, they look pretty sharp. They advertise on this web site so you can easily link and order a cataloge.
In the cataloge they give the specs on which wheels and tires they offer for the upgrade.

I don't know about 18's, might look too big!

just my opinion (since no one else responded :))

jeff

I have seen alot of Explorers with 17's and they look they real nice becasue I think the stock 15's look to small. I have never heard of one or seen one with 18's but I don't see why they wouldn't look good. If you goto http://www.autosyndicate.com and look through the shows they have there are a couple of Explorers in there with 18's or 20's, I am not sure and if you check the Before and After there are pics of Jornum1's lowered explorer with 17's and a new Explorer with 17 in Cobra-R's. As for what size to go with its all up to you. If you want a show truck than I would say the biggest rims possible, if you want something that looks nice than go with the 17's. Hope this helps you out.

I would go with the 18's. I think it would look sweet. If it was up to me I would slap a set of 20's on.

I have 17s on my truck and love them, you can see them in the before and after section. I have heard that anything above 17, will take away from performance thats why i didnt go any bigger. I think if you are just going for looks, 18s would look better, or even 20's Depends on your taste. If you want big chrome rims then go for 20's, but I went for more of a performance, racing look, so I didnt go that big.
Hope I helped

I wouldn't put great big wheels on that explorer. Explorer Express, a reputable company with experience modifying explorers says:

"18 inch wheels are too harsh and we don't reccomend them."

They seemed to promote the idea of 17" wheels though.


Hope this helps.
Bryce

Thanks guys for your opinions! (Although it took forever!) Keep em coming!

ok guys. Now I'm seriously considering 18s with a 265/60/18 tire. Do you guys see any clearance problems with that on my explorer? I dont have a lift, its stock height.

I think you will be fine on clearance with those size tires/rims. I think some guys have gone as big as 32's without any lift with no problem.

Hmm, Watch out for the tire size. I know late model explorers will not go more than 30.5 for the overall dia. Unless you want to trim the bumper just a tad and running board if you have them.

The Saleen Explorer XP8 uses the 18" with 255/55 tires
http://www.saleen.com/auto/Xp8/explorer.htm

I'm only running 15s, but it is my understanding that on the Explorer, an 18 inch tire/wheel combo results in a ride that'll throw your back out. Based on that info, I'd say go with the 17".

I would ditch the whole idea of anything larger than 16". You will have a very harsh ride and you may find it very annoying. Don't get too low of a profile tire because on a good hard hit you'll cut the sidewall.

Now go out there and get some mud tires, what's wrong with you? ;)

Ok people, judging by the responses, I've changed my mind again am gonna go with 17" wheels with 265/60/17 Falken tires. Any opinions on that? Thanks for ALL your help and advice, you explorer owners are a dedicated and informative bunch!

Sean

(applause, applause)

Nice choice, see I told you go with the 17's. And why your at it put a supercharger in it.

I would stay close to stock diameter though and go with 275/55/17.

jeff

Depends on which way you want to go, up or down. If you want to go up, 17's are the largest you can go, ProComp makes 33" tires for 17 inch rims. My bud has a set of 33/17's on his forerunner, looks awesome. If you want to go lower or stay stock height, go for 18's or 20's. As for deciding between 18's and 20's, it's whatever your wallet can take. 20" Tires run from $300-400 a piece, almost as much as the rims, on the other hand they fill out the wheel wells perfectly and look pretty badass. My feeling is if you're going to stay low, go big. Seems kind of pointless to me to upgrade your wheels to 16's or 17's if you're staying stock or lower because if you're making an investment in new wheels/tires, you want them to stand out a little. With imports, 16's or 17's look fine because they're more compact, but with something as big as an Explorer, you need big wheels to keep the appearance looking the same. Hope this helps some, just my opinions on stance/look.

Well people, thanks for all your advice, opinions, rants (LOL). I bought the wheels & tires today. I went with the 18" with 255/55/18 tires. Despite people's concers, I just drove 50 miles to work and there is no harshness or noticable difference in ride quality. Thanks again guys, look for the pics in before & after later today.

Sean

What kind of rims did you get? and I would like to see pics of your truck if possible.