DOES FULL SIZE SPARE FIT??

[Petech]

Hi I wanted to get the 265/75R16 tires. Will that size fit in the stock spare tire location under my 1998 eddie bauer that came with the 255/70R16? Also, will there be room for me to add a receiver hitch later? THanks

[jimbo74]

255/70/16=30.1"

265/75/16=31.6"

Difference of 1.5"

It should fit without a problem, with or without a hitch

[Rob2000XLT]

Hey Petech,

Do you have the 265/75's on right now. They don't fit with out the torsion twist and shackles right?

[Petech]

No I don't have them on now. I am trying to decide if I should get them or not. Since they seem to fit however with only slight trimming and no suspension lift, I may get them. Thanks all for your help.

[Robert]

The 265 75/16 should fit with very minor trimming. I had to trim about a 1 square inch piece of plastic behind my front tires. No lift was required to fit the tires. Fortuntately your '98 has more room than my '97. My '97 came with a 225 70R15 temporary spare even though it came with 255 70R16 tires. There is no way to get a larger spare under mine with my round tube hitch unless I deflate it first. My spare is already up against my hitch in two places. Your best bet is to look under yours and see if if you have about an inch of clearance around your current spare. If you do, then you should be able to fit the 265 under there. a hitch may be another story though. You might get by with a square one that goes under the bumper rather than a round tube which tucks behind the bumper.

[ACBlessing]

Petech asked specifically if 265-75-16 would fit in the spare location along with a receiver hitch.

Yes on all counts. I have a 265-75-16 mounted in the spare location with room to spare plus I have the U-Haul bolt-on tubular hitch receiver as well. No problems whatsoever.

AC

[Rob2000XLT]

AC,
Do you have done the torsion twist and shackles??
And is the hitch you have the tubular on that you can barely see because it wraps in under the bumper or the one that is very visible underneath your bumper.
I think you may have been responding to a prior post of mine about 265/75/16 fitting on a stock Explorer. So do they fit without modification??
Thanks for the input,
Rob

[ACBlessing]

Yes, I have 265-75-16s all the way around. In the rear, they bolted on no problem. In the front, while I was getting the tires mounted, the guy did a slight torsion twist and shimmed the front bumper out with washers (four regular washers per bolt) instead of cutting the lower plastic. What's funny is that you can't even tell the bumper is shimmed out slightly. The torsion twist is free and the washers for the four bolts that hold the bumper on cost less that a dollar.

I was skeptical too and didn't go to a larger tire til I was positive I wouldn't have to cut anything, etc. but I'm glad I finally got over it as my ride is higher, smoother, greater on cornering etc. Ford shoulda done this at the factory.

-AC

[ACBlessing]

Ooops, about the trailer hitch...it's the nice black tubular that wraps under the bumper and looks very nice. If you want to see exactly what I have, go to UHaul.com, look up hitches for 2000 Xs and it'll show you a pict of exactly how it looks. The hitch bolts right on in 10 minutes with four bolts, no drilling.

In the rear, I ended up getting 3" add-a-leafs which leveled my ride after the torsion twist. Then, I had the Warrior 153 shackles put on (since the tire place refused to do it) and now the rear end sits slightly higher than the front, which is the look I was going for.

I can't tell you how happy I am riding higher, smoother and cornering better. I'm now seeing the girls in the espresso stands way better than before...and their rear ends are already lifted.

AC

[Dannyboy]

Just to let everyone know. I have a 32X11.5 under my 94 which was intended for a 235/75/15 and I also have a Putnam class 3 hitch. I deflated the tire quite a bit but have a compressor on board. This is like 4" larger than stock.