Ford Ranger with 16" Explorer wheels. How to fix the speedo?

[ChronoGN]

I bought a 94 Ford Ranger with 16" Ford Explorer wheels and large oversized tires.
The truck runs good but I think it has a hard time accelerating and keeping up the speed on the freeway due to the big tires. Also, the speedometer is all wrong.
I want to put a smaller tire on the current wheels to fix the freeway driving problem and the speedometer.
The only problem is that I don't know what size tire I need. I looked for a calculator on Tirerack website but couldn't find what I need.
Is there a calculator that calculates this or does anyone know what size tire I need? :roll:

 

[Carguy3J]

Look at the sticker on the driver side door. What is the stock tire size listed?

 

[ChronoGN]

Look at the sticker on the driver side door. What is the stock tire size listed?

Its 225 70/R14

 

[Carguy3J]

Its 225 70/R14

205/65/R16 is an exact match and 225/60/R16 is close enough to not matter, in terms of "revs per mile" compared to the stock 225/70/R14.

The problem w/ the 205/65 is that it is really a pretty narrow tire, and is not recommended for a rim width over 7.5". I THINK the 16" Explorer rims are 16x8. The 225/60 can fit on a 8" wide rim, but its at the upper limit of acceptable.

Either way, both of those 16" options would be considered a low profile tire, and you ride quality will suffer.

If you want to go down to a 15" wheel/tire, 215/70/R15 would be pretty close, as far as having the speedo right.

The other option would be to keep the larger tires you have now, and figure out what changes need to be made to correct the speedometer by changing the speedo gear. Do a search, as there are several threads on here with details.

 

[RangerX]

What size tires are on it now?

 

[ChronoGN]

what size tires are on it now?

245 75 r16

 

[ChronoGN]

205/65/R16 is an exact match and 225/60/R16 is close enough to not matter, in terms of "revs per mile" compared to the stock 225/70/R14.

The problem w/ the 205/65 is that it is really a pretty narrow tire, and is not recommended for a rim width over 7.5". I THINK the 16" Explorer rims are 16x8. The 225/60 can fit on a 8" wide rim, but its at the upper limit of acceptable.

Either way, both of those 16" options would be considered a low profile tire, and you ride quality will suffer.

If you want to go down to a 15" wheel/tire, 215/70/R15 would be pretty close, as far as having the speedo right.

The other option would be to keep the larger tires you have now, and figure out what changes need to be made to correct the speedometer by changing the speedo gear. Do a search, as there are several threads on here with details.

Very informative post!! Thanks alot!!

 

[Anime]

The 225/60R16 will fit fine on the factory wheels, 8 inches is the max width they are approved for, but I thought the factory 16's were 16x7's.

Don't forget to sell the old tires to get a chunk of your money back.

 

[Carguy3J]

The 225/70R16 will fit fine on the factory wheels, 8 inches is the max width they are approved for, but I thought the factory 16's were 16x7's.

Don't forget to sell the old tires to get a chunk of your money back.

But he needs 225/60/16, not 225/70, in order to correct the speedo. 225/70/16 would be noticeably "taller" then the stock 14" size, with a greater rolling circumference. As such the speedo would read low. He would be travelling faster then indicated.

You are right on the rims though. I just looked at a set I have, and they are 16x7, so the 225/60 would be fine.

 

[Anime]

You are right on the rims though. I just looked at a set I have, and they are 16x7, so the 225/60 would be fine.

Whoops, put a 70 instead of a 60. Edited the post.