My New Shoes (Lots of Pics)

[kstrayhorn]

So I worked all summer for some new tires and friday I got them. I ended up with the Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S in 265/75/16. They aren't a particularly good or expensive tire, but for what I can afford, they will have to work. They are listed as 32" tires, but they measure as 31.6". At full lock they rub on the wheel well liners a bit, but not too bad as to where they get ripped off when I am driving or anything, so I can deal with it. I showed my folks the rub and talked them into letting me do a bodylift to clear them. Anyway, on to pics:

New Tires!!!:

My stock tires (for comparison):

New tires:

Comparison shot:

Stock tread:

New tread:

Updated profile:

Thanks for looking and feel free to ask any questions!!

 

[Limited02]

Looks great and I bet you're looking forward to winter

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Looks great and I bet you're looking forward to winter

Little Rock & winter is an oxymoron.

It would look much better with white letters in IMO.

 

[kstrayhorn]

Yeah, kind of late now, I guess I didn't have much of the choice the shop just kind of put them on there. But I guess anything looks better than what I had, three OWLs and one blackwall, lol.

 

[Anime]

Looks GREAT. Those are some nice tires, perfectly suited for a 2WD, and should give you the best of both worlds, off road and on, and in all kinds of weather.

I'd say do a small suspension lift rather than a body lift, though, unless you're planning on getting rid of the factory bumpers.

 

[NHarris]

Now there are some real tires for an explorer Thats what ford should have put on there in the first place

 

[kstrayhorn]

I thought on ShadowRaven's write-up he kept the bumpers?

 

[Anime]

You can probably keep the bumpers if you make bumper brackets to lift them up the same amount as the rest of the body. However I'd say that's a lot of cosmetic work,
and it will compromise the safety of the vehicle in a collision.

I would probably have suggested just getting slightly smaller tires instead, but if you wanted the larger tires and planned on lifting it anyway, I would suggest a suspension lift, since it will be functional and you won't have to mess with moving everything around from lifting the body.

 

[alphabets13]

i want to do the same with my 2004 mounty. i have 17's tho. i just wonder why a 16'' can go 265/75, and a 17'' can only go 265/70? can anyone explain that to me? basically i do not want to lift or anything, just want to fill in the wheel well gap with the biggest highway tire i can without rubbing.

thanks.

 

[jgraf18]

Hey man i love the look of your explorer. I'm looking at doin the same thing to mine. Yiu say the 265 75 r16s rub so ur lookin at a small suspension lift? How much of a lift and what would the cost be on that?
Thanks, J

 

[kstrayhorn]

Thanks, and yeah, I am looking at doing the 3" body lift sometime. The price varies by different vendors, but I think the price for the kit is around $180. Another option is a 2.5" spacer lift from BTF Fabrication. That one is $250. They do rub slightly at full lock, but I make a turn every day that makes them rub and there is no sign of any burning or contact at all after 1 month, so not sure what's up with that. I say that the lift is not necessary, I was going to do the lift whether it rubbed or not, but since it rubs, all the more reason to do the lift!

And anime, sorry for the late response, when we are talking about the bumper, are we talking about the metal piece that connects the ends of the frame rails, or the bumper cover? If it is the metal piece, I plan on getting a brush guard after the lift and a hitch receiver for a winch. With that info, do you still recommend the spacer lift? The only reason I hesitate is that the spacer lift seems to settle some over time, so I would only be getting 2.25" for $250 when I could be getting 3" for $200. Thanks for the help, all, and good luck, J, can't wait to see what your's ends up looking like. When I finally decide on the lift, I will be doing it as soon as I find the time!

 

[sabasigh]

Hey...how is the ride quality so far on those Yoko's?

I'm looking into getting a set for my 2000 Ex Sport.

Thanks

 

[kstrayhorn]

Don't have much to compare them too, besides stock. They ride fine, although they are a little stiffer than stock. For the first week or so, they would pull all over the road, but it really wasn't that bad to handle if you are paying attention. After a month, they don't pull at all, really, although I have noticed that the road noise has become a little louder, although they are not nearly as loud as some others. The main reasons I chose these tires was affordability, and wear. They are projected to last quite some time given the manufacturer's 60k mile warranty, and I got them for $116 each. I am really happy with the tires over all, and would definitely recommend them to you. Just be wary of the size, but you would have to do that with any tire, as to not get them too big as to rub.

As to off-road capability, they are good. They are obviously better than stock, but my friend has a set of new a/ts, not sure what brand or anything, and my car easily drove through where his got stuck.

 

[sabasigh]

Don't have much to compare them too, besides stock. They ride fine, although they are a little stiffer than stock. For the first week or so, they would pull all over the road, but it really wasn't that bad to handle if you are paying attention. After a month, they don't pull at all, really, although I have noticed that the road noise has become a little louder, although they are not nearly as loud as some others. The main reasons I chose these tires was affordability, and wear. They are projected to last quite some time given the manufacturer's 60k mile warranty, and I got them for $116 each. I am really happy with the tires over all, and would definitely recommend them to you. Just be wary of the size, but you would have to do that with any tire, as to not get them too big as to rub.

As to off-road capability, they are good. They are obviously better than stock, but my friend has a set of new a/ts, not sure what brand or anything, and my car easily drove through where his got stuck.

Currently I'm running some Bridgestone Dueler AT with 50k miles on them. Bad balljoints have worn the inner tread of both passenger tires (from rotation.) Anyway, brand new these puppies were very quiet. Snow traction wasn't very good however.

In my area, the Yoko's are a bit more than the General Grabber AT2 and the Firestone Destination AT.

I do like the looks of these Geolanders however.

 

[kstrayhorn]

I looked at the AT2's also, but my dad doesn't like general. I don't see anything wrong with them, though.

 

[dirtdigger19]

Your previous post talking about spacers and body lifts. To give you a heads up a body lift gives you no ground clearance so you cant compare height difference with BL's and Brandons Spacers.

 

[kstrayhorn]

I know, I don't need more clearance at the frame atm, rather at the bumpers. as for the measuring, I have just been measuring from the floor to the top of the wheel wells so that I can see just how much I am getting from each mod.