Offroad / All terrain wheels and tires

[SES9]

Do you think 18" rims 35 off set with 265/65 tires would work? I want to go up a tire size and get a bit of the off road look.

Yes that should work. Below is the comparison from my setup to what you are suggesting. You will have more clearance in all directions

Tiresize.com has a many calculator tools that you may find useful

 

[peterk9]

Do you think 18" rims 35 off set with 265/65 tires would work? I want to go up a tire size and get a bit of the off road look.

I used 18" steel Interceptor wheels with235/60R18 tires on my 2017 Platinum. 235/65R18 would have been an exact match for the 20" but I had these on my 2014 MKT so didn't want to spend the extra $$ on the vehicle which was a lease. If you are using that size to replace a 255/55R20 tire then it should work. 255/55 R20 vs 265/65 R18 Tire Size Comparison Table with Graphic Visualization (inch difference)

Peter

 

[Pedro504]

Do you think 18" rims 35 off set with 265/65 tires would work? I want to go up a tire size and get a bit of the off road look.

That's the exact size aftermarket rims and Blizzak tires I recently put on my 2021 Platinum. Purchased from Tirerack and the wheels come in black also.

 

[Franz01234]

I run 255/70R18 with no modifications and xlt stock wheels. This is the largest tire i could fit with no rubbing and no modifications.

 

[Carbon23]

On my '21 Limited, I'm going with the 1.5 Traxda lift and 265 60/R20 Falken Wildpeak AT3W which is a 32.5 inch tire, 1.5 inches taller than stock. I also am using 1.5 inch adapters which will make the new tires have just a smidge of poke. Right now, the stock Michelins with the adapters sit flush with the fender and look great. I have test fit coming up in a week or so (need to install the lift first) to make sure everything fits with no rubbing.

I'll also recalibrate wheel size using Forscan to account for the larger tire diameter size.

 

[SES9]

On my '21 Limited, I'm going with the 1.5 Traxda lift and 265 60/R20 Falken Wildpeak AT3W with is a 32.5 inch tire, 1.5 inches taller than stock. I also am using 1.5 inch adapters which will make the new tires have just a smidge of poke. Right now, the stock Michelins with the adapters sit flush with the fender and look great. I have test fit coming up in a week or so (need to install the lift first) to make sure everything fits with no rubbing.

I'll also recalibrate wheel size using Forscan to account for the larger tire diameter size.

View attachment 422869

Please post pictures with your setup when complete, I'm very interested to see how the lift looks with your setup. Also, I was not successful in recalibrating with Forscan so I would greatly appreciate some details on exactly how you do it if you have better results . I'm not very experienced with it and ended up giving up on it.

 

[Carbon23]

Please post pictures with your setup when complete, I'm very interested to see how the lift looks with your setup. Also, I was not successful in recalibrating with Forscan so I would greatly appreciate some details on exactly how you do it if you have better results . I'm not very experienced with it and ended up giving up on it.

Sure thing. Not much info on lifting/bigger tires on Gen6 Explorers. Gonna blaze my own trail

I will be using this tool to assist in recalibration:

Is that what you tried with?

 

[SES9]

Sure thing. Not much info on lifting/bigger tires on Gen6 Explorers. Gonna blaze my own trail

I will be using this tool to assist in recalibration:

Is that what you tried with?

That looks familiar, but I can't say for sure as I was messing with it quite a while ago. I have a feeling I either missed the "step 3", or did something wrong in regard to that step.

 

[peterk9]

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I'll also recalibrate wheel size using Forscan to account for the larger tire diameter size.

With 3% being the generally accepted nominal maximum difference in diameter, you are quite a bit over. Even modifying the size with FORScan, won't reduce the extra weight on the suspension or brake system. It may help features like ABS and Traction Control.

Peter

 

[Carbon23]

With 3% being the generally accepted nominal maximum difference in diameter, you are quite a bit over. Even modifying the size with FORScan, won't reduce the extra weight on the suspension or brake system. It may help features like ABS and Traction Control.

Peter

Yup. Understood. Adding about 20 pounds per wheel/tire but I'm willing to take the "risk".

 

[michael89]

Yes that should work. Below is the comparison from my setup to what you are suggesting. You will have more clearance in all directions

Tiresize.com has a many calculator tools that you may find useful

View attachment 422837

I finally had a chance to play with the calculator. It looks like I would be able to use stock 20” rims with the 37.5 offset with 275/55r20 tires using a 3mm spacer right? Do you know If I would need longer wheel studs with 3mm spacers?

 

[SES9]

I finally had a chance to play with the calculator. It looks like I would be able to use stock 20” rims with the 37.5 offset with 275/55r20 tires using a 3mm spacer right? Do you know If I would need longer wheel studs with 3mm spacers?

I do not know the answer to that. My gut feel is that it probably would be fine, but you would have to confirm how many threads are still engaged with that setup.

 

[Carbon23]

Please post pictures with your setup when complete, I'm very interested to see how the lift looks with your setup. Also, I was not successful in recalibrating with Forscan so I would greatly appreciate some details on exactly how you do it if you have better results . I'm not very experienced with it and ended up giving up on it.

Just a quick update. I ended up going with an 18x8.5 +12mm offset wheel and 275 65/R18 which is a 32" tire rather than the 265 60/R20 which is 32.5". Waiting on the wheels/tires to be shipped to me. When I get them, I will install the lift and post pics.

 

[Pedro504]

Speedometer info/comparison to WAZE navigation.

I have P265/65 R18 Blizzaks on in place of the 275/45 R21 oem wheels/tires. Even though the Blizzak is a larger tire from a circumference perspective, about 2.5% using tire specs from the manufacturers, the speedometer is very close.
When using WAZE navigation on a connected iPhone/Apple CarPlay it reports the same speed as the vehicle speedometer. That's at 45 mph. Perhaps WAZE has a tolerance so results may not match as close as I'm seeing.

 

[peterk9]

With those tires, you'd be going 61.6 mph when the speedo reads 60.

Peter

 

[Carbon23]

Just a quick update. I ended up going with an 18x8.5 +12mm offset wheel and 275 65/R18 which is a 32" tire rather than the 265 60/R20 which is 32.5". Waiting on the wheels/tires to be shipped to me. When I get them, I will install the lift and post pics.

Another update. Finally got the tires and wheels after waiting a month due to a calamity of vendor errors. I hurt my elbow so I'm not able to install the lift myself at the moment. But I got the tires on and they look amazing. Very slight rub with the fronts on the back of the wheel well but with the lift it shouldn't happen.

FYI the tires are Falken AT3 and wheels are Black Rhino Boxer in gun black. Stock wheels (255 55/R20 and Michelin Primacy all season) weigh 70 pounds and the new ones weigh 77. Was very surprised they were only 7 pounds heavier.

Edit: Was also able to recalibrate the tire size via Forscan. Speedo is off by 0 to 0.5 mph via GPS now. Close enough.

 

[peterk9]

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FYI the tires are Falken AT3 and wheels are Black Rhino Boxer in gun black.

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You realize we are going to want to see pictures of them on the Explorer. eh?

Peter

 

[Carbon23]

You realize we are going to want to see pictures of them on the Explorer. eh?

Peter

Ohh OK then...

 

[Carbon23]

Another update. Finally got the tires and wheels after waiting a month due to a calamity of vendor errors. I hurt my elbow so I'm not able to install the lift myself at the moment. But I got the tires on and they look amazing. Very slight rub with the fronts on the back of the wheel well but with the lift it shouldn't happen.

FYI the tires are Falken AT3 and wheels are Black Rhino Boxer in gun black. Stock wheels (255 55/R20 and Michelin Primacy all season) weigh 70 pounds and the new ones weigh 77. Was very surprised they were only 7 pounds heavier.

Edit: Was also able to recalibrate the tire size via Forscan. Speedo is off by 0 to 0.5 mph via GPS now. Close enough.

I finally got the Traxda lift installed. It was pretty easy. Looks great too and gives 10" of ground clearance. However, the steering dynamics under medium to hard acceleration are terrible. The rear squats so much and the front end lifts up and tops out the shock travel. The steering wanders from side to side, like FWD torque steer under acceleration. I tried air bags and that helped a little but the rear is too stiff without a load. And speaking of which, towing anything with a lot of tongue weight, even with air bags, just amplifies this problem. I would not recommend any kind of towing with this lift. I also tried various tire pressures which didn't have any real effect.

I know the reasons why I'm having these issues. But there are no aftermarket parts to get the alignment correct, mainly in the caster area.

So I'm taking the lift out and am going the opposite route. I ordered Steeda's lowering springs, shock and struts and rear sway bar. Also going with Toyo Proxes ST3 all seasons in a 285/60/18. This tire size is just a half inch taller and should fill out the wheel nicely when lowered. It's has an XL load rating which should help by adding some sidewall stiffness over an SL given I have 18" wheels. And they are speed rated to 149 mph.

I wanted so much for this mild off road project to work but the 2020+ just doesn't have the right aftermarket parts to do it right. But it sure does going the other way!

 

[peterk9]

With the vehicle lowered and using a 285 tire, is there not a chance you will experience some rubbing on full turns?

Peter