Tires & Wheels

Offset and Backspacing When you bought your vehicle from the dealership, engineers have put long hard hours to calculate a wheel and tire combo that would work well with the vehicle. Calculating width, diameter, offset, rear spacing, offset, and much more. Most people think; "The bolt patterns are the same, let's bolt them up." That is where people finally find a problem. Some may fit, some may not, and some will look unsightly. Anyhow, those engineers designed a wheel that would distribute load evenly on the wheel bearings, clear the rotors and braking system parts, and also keep you from rubbing your frame or front bumper. So, well, how do you figure out which works best and what is what - just tell me what I need...

I searched. Im pretty bad at figuring the correct search terms to get what I want so here goes. I have a 2005 XLT. I like the BFG AT/KO tires. What will fit? I want to go as big as possible with no rubbing. It seems the stock tires pretty well fill the wheel well. Well, not fill it, but they dont look funny. Tires.com show stock as 235/70R16. It looks like I can go to 255/70R16. Dare I go bigger? And any idea what that equates to when using the 30x9.5 measurment system? Thanks Steven

hey guys i just got an 06 explorer xlt v8, and im lovin it! i have 3 questions though on the stock suspension, what is the largest tire size i can fit without rubbing fenders or hitting the suspension/steering(or any other issues)? stock size is a 245/65r17. a 265/60r17 would be perfect but its a very uncommon size, but i dont know if a 265/65r17 will fit or not without any issues. what i would love is to put a set of 265/65r17 bfg all terrains on it also, with the larger tires, is it possible to re-calibrate the ecm to show the correct speed rating on the speedo? i've seen this done on some f150's, not sure if the same thing would apply here. if i can re-calibrate the speedo, how would i do it? do i need to use a ford scantool or...

Hey everybody, I went look at some custom wheels and had a few wheels that I like, but the seller told me that I would have to run a set of wheel adapters. The wheels didn't have the exact bolt pattern for Explorers. I've heard that most adapters are made of billet aluminum which pretty much unbreakable. I am worried about the long term effect on the suspension, since I've heard its hard on the front end. Also I dunno if the alignment would be impossible. I would like to hear everyone take on wheel adapters.

The original Hankook s were fine. but, are no longer made. Did a lot of research for replacements. Every tire dealer had a different idea. Very confusing. Finally decided to go with the Michelin Defender LTX M/S 255/50R20/XL 109H (the original tire size). My Ford dealer in Ayer, MA came up with the best price, but would not give me the 30-day customer satisfaction guarantee that ONLY Town Fair Tire over here in Leominster would (other dealers were also a no). I'm thinking --"I'm going to pay $1,172 for this and if I don't like them--tough bleep?". So, I took the Ford dealer's price thing over to Lois and Rick at Town Fair Tire and they said they would match the price even though they had to drop the charges on some things...

I had to pull the trigger on my Mounty, I'm trading her for a '13 Edge Sport. the sport comes with 22 inch wheels and I have some questions about how they will handle winter driving. Any advice for what size wheel / tire size combo I can pick up for running in the winter with out breaking the bank? Thanks

I got a 04 with steel wheels and just picked up some wheels off a 18. What lugs do i need?

Hey all, I'm looking to make my 2016 Sport AWD look a little more rugged and change the 20" rims to maybe 17" or 18" so I can put a more aggressive street/off road tire on. I live in Michigan and winters can be harsh. Has anyone done this? If so can you share pics and what is the max size tire I can put on without rubbing. I'm also considering lifting the front end up to level the vehicle out. Thank you guys, Hans

Good morning gentlemen. First time posting here. I just bought a 2003 explorer 4x4 to toy around with. It has brand new 265/70/16 cooper all terrains and I was wondering if any of y'all may be running these same tires with a small lift and if so, do you have pictures? I have 2 inch lift spacers but don't want to put it on if it will look anemic with that size tire on it. The tires are brand new so I can't justify getting different tires until these are at least a little worn down. Any info will help. Thanks in advance! Excited to start messing around with this thing! Phil

I have a 2003 ltd with the factory 17" rims. The truck is stock. I use it for work in the bush a lot and it has no clearance. Anyone know the largest tire I can squeeze on and how much clearance it would give me? My explorer is constanting dragging the suspension and drivetrain and I am going to have some damage soon. Thanks.

Getting ready to buy some bolt on wheel spacers, no,...not shim style. Just wondering what everybody uses on their sport tracs. Yes, i have oversized tires on aftermarket rims and a 3 inch lift.

hey, i got a 92xlt with the manual hubs from the factory on the stock (jurassic park) rims. i was looking at buyins some used wheels/tires and was wondering how would i be able to turn the hubs if the new wheels cover it? do you just leave the center cap off, or get the dremel out? thanks for the help.

Hey guys, i found some nice 18" wheels for my 2gen explorer, they are from a guy that owns a 2012 explorer if i´m not mistaken, he´s selling the wheels and tires very cheap but i´m still not convinced, if i should get those for my 2gen or just buy some aftermarket wheels and tires, if someone has a picture of a 2gen explorer using these 18" rims would help me a lot!!

Hey guys, recently I found a cut in the sidewall of one of my tires and didn't think much of it as when I got them (from walmart) I got the road hazard warranty. I run 31X10.5r15 Goodyear Wrangler Authority A/T's on stock rims (Link to tires on Walmart) Last week I went in and they told me the tires had worn down from 18/32" to 15/32" and they were only going to replace 1 tire. I pushed back against that because I know that if nothing else you need to replace them in pairs. They ended up not having time to work on it, so I left for the day. I made an appointment and came back today and was told that 3 of the tires were at 15/32" and the damaged tire was at 14/32". I told them it was a 4WD truck and that at 3/32" under new size that...

I would like to upgrade my wheels and tires on my 2002 Explorer Sport. I understand the max tire size is 265/75/16 on the standard rim. I would like to go for a more modern look with a lower profile tire and larger rim. As long as I stay close to the max tire parameters, I'm looking for options. I want to fill up the wheel well a little but not get silly thin on the tires. If I use a mustang rim of 8.5 wide, would 255/55/18 for the front and 285/60/18 for the rear? I'm going for as wide a tire as I can use on the rear. thoughts on this what would the offset be for the rims? 2002 Sports seem to have a lot of extra room in the rear wheel well