Rim & Tire Questions

Hello all,
Newbie here wanting to know about tires & rims.

I have a 2000 XLS Explorer & I found some rims on ebay:


Their specs are:
2 -18x9 (+26mm, 6.11" backspace) front, and
2 - 18x10.5 (+27mm, 6.9 backspace) rear.
They are 5-lug (5 on 4.5).

My questions are, Will the 10.5 rears fit without sticking out
(I don't want to pass the fender guard)? Or should I just go
with 18X9's all around?

Also, if I go with the 18X9's, I don't want low profile tires...
Does anyone know: Good beefy tire size to go with /
Places that I could get them cheap /
Any other options I might have?

I've tried to do some research on the net but know zilch &
have come up with more questions than answers.

Thanks for the help, (Great forum!)

Sergio G.
Miami, FL

 

[CDW6212R]

Hello, those front wheels are close to the right size, and limit, to fit under the 2nd gen. Explorers.

Anyway, I have 18x8.5 wheels, with 35mm offset, and 6.35mm spacers(29mm offset).
My front is close inside, and just right on the outside. I'd prefer no more than about 8" wide, and about a 30mm offset.

Your biggest factor though should be weight. Don't buy anything without knowing the exact weight of the wheel, and tire. I went from a 58.5 pound 17" combo to a 71.5 pound 18" combo. It has made a big difference in gas mileage, braking, and acceleration. The ride is a little better, but the handling is a little worse(slower steering, and less responsive).

I went from a 29 inch tire to a 30.5 inch tire. The extra weight and size really changes a lot of things. If I had it to do again, I would keep the weight under 60 pounds. I would try to find a tire 30 inches in diameter. Good luck,
Don W

 

[jimbo74]

19 inch tire?! explorers had stock a 29" tire, or is that a typo, i think my tercel with its 155/80/13s was bigger than 19"

 

[CDW6212R]

Sorry, better?

 

[Super Serg]

Thanks for the help Don,
I hadn't even considered the weight of each rim. (will ask to find out).

What about the 10.5" width in the rear? Is it possible that those will be
able to fit without sticking out past the fender flares? What offset will a
10.5 or a 9" wide rim need to stay flush with the fender flares?
(This is my biggest concern)

Thanks again,

«SS»

 

[CDW6212R]

Do you have flares which stick out beyond the fenders, or are they flush? My Mountaineer has no flares, and the running boards are out at the same point as my fenders. My tires are even with the fenders and boards.
Thus you may have another 1/2 inch approximately to use.

My 8.5 inch rear wheelsused to occasionally touch the inner fender on the inside, so my offset is about the limit on the inside. Use 29mm as an offset with a 8.5" wheel, to calculate the backspacing.

I think you will have about 9 inches of width possible, plus the width of the flares. This is assuming that you will ever drive hard into turns. If you are the rare person who always drives slow in all turns, then you might cheat by running more offset.

You see, the rearend moves a lot side to side in turns. You can probably get a ten inch wheel back there, easily, but how much rubbing do you want to risk.

To gain the clearance that I have in the rear inner fenders, you will have to relocate the parking brake cables. To do it, the easiest way is to unbolt the rear left outer control arm at the frame, as well as the cables where the three join. The cables need to be swapped, left and right, so that the right cable holds the left cable inboard. Then remount the control arm with the cables inboard of it.

This is only necessary if you get a wider than stock tire. You can gain a slight amount by just wire tieing the cables to the control arm. Good luck,
DonW

 

[Super Serg]

Thanks again for the great info Don.

& here's what I'm toying with:



Thanks for lookin,

«SS»

 

[CDW6212R]

Looks nice, and clean. The wheels look almost like my original chrome 15's. I do wonder though how you learned so quickly to post a picture? I tried once ages ago, and didn't figure it out. I've never tried since. Can you give me a quick tutorial? Thanks,
DW

 

[Saleen_SR71]

you type...

 

[Super Serg]

Could anyone tell me if the rim I wrote about above **2 - 18x10.5 (+27mm, 6.9 backspace)** will stick out farther than the fender?

Don,
About the pics, make sure that you have it hosted on the internet 1st. After you have that, when you go to post a message, just click on the image button (looks like a yellow box with a mountain on it) & paste the addr of where your pic is hosted at.
Hope that helps,

«SS»

 

[CDW6212R]

Hello, thanks to you both. It's almost the same as the ********* forum.
DW

 

[eXplorerchic]

I've got 18x9's on my Xploder... There +24mm offset with some 255/55/18 Nitto 404's.
And no they do not stick out past my fender flares, nor do they rub.

 

[refer1]

Deciding Tire Size

Hey Explorerchic!

I've just got some 18 x 9 Saleen replica's and was just curious how did you decide on the tire size 255/50/18 And just out of curiosity how tall is the wheel on your ride..
thanks in advance!
And Happy Holidays

 

[Super Serg]

Awesome XChic!
Thanks for the info. I'm prob going to use that same size setup as well.
Thanks,

«SS»

 

[eXplorerchic]

Hey Explorerchic!

I've just got some 18 x 9 Saleen replica's and was just curious how did you decide on the tire size 255/50/18 And just out of curiosity how tall is the wheel on your ride..
thanks in advance!
And Happy Holidays

29.0"

 

[cartmangt]

HI FELLOW EXPLORERPHILES ,I HAVE AN 02 MOUNTAINEER AWD V6 ,I FOUND 2002 F150 LIGHTNING WHEELS 5 LUG .
MY QUESTION IS ,WILL THEY FIT?thank you
mike s