OEM Wheel Question - Yes, I've searched - Now with Pictures! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

OEM Wheel Question - Yes, I've searched - Now with Pictures!

When I bought my Mounty it had these strange multi-layered steel and chrome 15X7" wheels on it which I never liked:

aly3259b.jpg


Now that the tires need to be replaced, it's time to look at a wheel swap. I found a good set of these (also 15X7") for $100:

aly3261b_lg.jpg


Both of these 15X7" OEM wheels have a 4.5" back space.

I'm following up on a couple of leads to buy a set of these 16X7" wheels:

aly3293.jpg


I haven't actually touched these wheels, according to the two people selling them they have 5.5" or 5.75" back space.

The tires I want come in 40 different sizes (15" to 22") so I'm not locked into a wheel size. If I go with the 15X7" wheels I'll get 31X10.5R15 tires which I know will fit because this fine forum says so! If I go with the 16X7" wheels I'll get 245/75R16 tires, slightly shorter and narrower that the 31's. I don't need the "light truck" tires, the P-Metric version is still stronger than the stock tire size and $130 less (for four) than the 31's. With a 5.0 and 3.73 gearing I'm not concerned about the "loss of power" from going to larger tires.

Finally the Question . . .

If the 16X7" wheels really have 5.5" or 5.75" back space that means the tires will be stuffed an extra 1" to 1.25" further into the wheel well increasing the chance of rubbing. Has anyone put 245/75R16 tires on to the OEM 16X7" wheels in the picture above on a stock height 4 door Explorer or Mountaineer? I've found a tire shop that will install and service these tires on my Mounty if they will fit without rubbing, they will not do it if I need a spacer to keep from rubbing.

Thanks in Advance,
Dan
 






Come on peoples. With all of you experts someone has to have installed 245/75R16 tires on OEM 16X7" wheels on a 2nd Gen 4 door.
 






they should fit,, pretty sure the people are wrong on the backspacing, as all 3 sets look like Explorer or Ranger wheels,,
it's easy to get one bring it outside try it on the Mounty though, just take couple minutes
that is what i would do,,
 






LT31x10.50R15 tires are the same diameter as P245/75R16 tires, about 30.5 inches.

Pretty much all 91-2001 Explorer wheels fit on all other Explorers.

Lots of 95-2001 models came with those 16x7 wheels and P255/70R16 tires, which are 30.1 inches in diameter but also pretty wide. Going to P245/75R16 tires shouldn't be an issue.


If the vehicle came stock with 15" steel wheels and P225/70R15 or P235/75R15 tires, you'll probably want to use the correct speedometer gear for P255/70R16 tires so the speedometer/odometer won't be off. You can get them from a Ford dealer or online.
 






Back
Top