will these tires fit?

[Doug]

Im lifting my 96 explorer sport 2" via the rear shackles and a TT i was wondering if any one knew if 32s would fit? and if they do is any trimming required?

[TarHeel085]

ok, first: you have sag in the back, measure it and then factor it in to the 2". second: what size tires are your stock ones and that size rim?

[Doug]

ive got 235/75/r15s and the rear is about a half inch lower.

[TarHeel085]

235/75/15 is a 29" tire, so you would theoretically need 3"+ to runs 32's unless you are willing to trim your fenders. a lot of people in you position can only fit 31's. but i mean you could think about puttin in 4 door leafs that would only run you about $100 or less. they would remove the sag and you can geta real 2". hope this helps.

[Doug]

would leaf springs from a 1st gen 4dr fit? I saw some @ a junk yard but i dunno if i want to put used springs on my truck though i suppose theyll be better than monoleafs.

[TarHeel085]

um i dunno if they will fit, maybe someone else could shed light on this, but i think the general consensus was that you could do it (dont take my word for it!) but like you said, anything is better than the mono-leafs. i would suggest getting some leafs closer to your year, like '95-'97 range. caus ewhen i went to get mine, i could only get '98 and up. hope this helps!

[Doug]

it helps a bit ill have to start cruising the junkyards for springs. I wonder if springs from a ranger would fit...

[shawnbru]

This is the basis for the "Zimmerman Mod" where the eyelets on the main leaves of an Explorer are cut off at the ends and a Ranger main leaf is added to the pack so you can get more droop becuase the Ranger leaf is more flexible. IE: less lift and less stiffnes.

I asked the same question a couple of years ago. You might consider trying to find leaves off the rear of a V8. My grandpa has one, butt doesn't sag as much but the ride is stiff.

ShawnBru

[MoabRules]

My vote depends on what your doing with your explorer...I have a 98 sport, and ran 265-75-16 (just shy of 32" tall) without any lift, and on stock alloys. Initially the only trimming I had to do was on the inside of the passenger side front fender well. After that I only noticed rubbing at full compression in the rear or full locked turns.
After installing the Warriors and TT, there is no rubbing, and the ride is alot better. It is true though about what to expect from the shackles in the rear. At best you may only get an 1" lift, seeing that the leafs are slightly sagging. And you only want to do the torsion twist to bring the front up level with the rear, and gain some wheel travel.
If your budget is just for tires now, and an economical lift, go with the 265/75/16...The cost difference is minimal, and the look is great. Depending on your gearing you probably won't notice a large drop in performance either.

[taxx]

would leaf springs from a 1st gen 4dr fit? I saw some @ a junk yard but i dunno if i want to put used springs on my truck though i suppose theyll be better than monoleafs.

The leaf springs I am running in the rear are off a 94.

[Jason_25]

I am running the 265's in the rear and still rub under full compression and in the frong (with upgraded torsion bars), it barely rubs at all and the bars aren't even cranked at all yet!

OME lift here I come!

[becker69]

So if my truck came on 255 70 16's (30.1") and I put on 32's @ 31.7", if I did the Torstion twist for 1.5" and the shackles for 1.75".... I should be ok at full compression with the factory bump stops? I haven't hit trails yet with the 32's so I am trying to guess if I will have probs bottoming out. Granted this only takes into acct. the diam of the new tires, and not the increased width taken up in the wheel well. I know the 265's are narrower, but how else can I guess if I will rub at full compression? Thanks.

[Robert]

If you are talking about putting on 265 75R16 tires, then they are still 10mm wider than your stock tires. The inside of them will rub the rounded corner of your swaybar at full lock and will still rub the top of your plastic fender liner under full compression. A body lift will eliminate the contact with the fender liner but options are limited with regards to the sway-bar contact.

The fender liner contact isn't a big deal though. I had my 265 75R16 tires on for a year before I did my body lift. The liner is soft, flexible plastic. It is the angular, rounded center section that it contacts and it only contacts under full compression. Mine is just a little less rounded and a little more flat where the tire hit it before my body lift. My driver's side contacted much more than my passenger side due to slightly different shapes in the fender liner. Neither side contacted enough to concern me.

The contact on my sway-bar isn't a big deal either. The middle part of my tire (about 1/2 way between the rim and the tread) contacts my sway-bar about where the bend is. My sway-bar has about a 2"x3" shiny spot on each side where my tire rubs it at full lock. My tires don't have any signs on them that they are contacting it (no wear marks). I just back off the steering a bit if I hit full lock if I am able. I'm not concerned about it either though since I have about 35K miles on these tires and you can't tell by looking at them that they hit my sway-bars.

[becker69]

Robert thanks for the insight as to the rub spots; I just put 32's on this weekend, and I have the sway-bar rub ('shiny-spot') and I wasn't too concerned with it, but now I will definately not sweat it. I am real lucky that the Sport Trac's have huge wheel wells, but the tops of them aren't real deap at all (it's almost flat across the arc of the well).