Help with Tire Size for Explorer Sport 2014

[Nelson Cordero]

Hi,

Im need to the forum and to Explorer too. I recently purschase an uses Ford Explorer Sport 2014. My question is the following :

The vehicle is actually running on different Size tires. At the front axle the tires are 265/50r20, and 255/50r20 at the back axle. Will this damage the powertrain, awd or other componentes?

Should I hurry to replace them or what Should I do?

Thanks in avance for your comment.

 

[jade97]

Yes, there is a good chance that it will cause damage.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Nelson.
Although both tires are 20", using a Tire Size Calculator, it shows a 'nominal' difference of 1%. The OEM 255 tire will make 671 revolutions per mile while the 265 will make 663 revs. Now keeping in mind that even tires of the same size may differ slightly, I don't know if this is enough to do damage to the drive system. I'm sure there has to be some sort of tolerance. The best thing is to always run tires of the same size especially on a vehicle capable of AWD.

Peter

 

[Adrian Gitch]

If your back tires are in good shape, replace the front ones with same size and brand/model tire. Your back tires are the correct size. As Peter said it may not actually damage anything but I wouldn't risk it.

 

[KayGee]

If your back tires are in good shape, replace the front ones with same size and brand/model tire. Your back tires are the correct size. As Peter said it may not actually damage anything but I wouldn't risk it.

The guy bought a used vehicle and it doesn't seem like there was much of an inspection, or even a simple walk around, done before purchase if it had 2 different size tires.

My suggestion would be to go over the vehicle and maybe even have a local shop do a PPI on it and let you know if there are any other issue that also need to be addressed.

Before replacing any tires, have them all inspected and check date codes. If any are old, have been repaired, or have uneven wear, maybe just replace all four. Probably wouldn't hurt to get an alignment check at the same time.

 

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[peterk9]

^^ Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[KayGee]

Replacing only the front ones with same size is the right approach in your situation.

I get wanting to help, but there is pretty much nothing to go on to support that as the right approach.

The guy bought a used vehicle "recently" and just now discovered it has different size tires.

No one here has any idea if any of the tires on it are any good. Do any have one or more repairs? Are any worn unevenly or close to worn out? How old are the tires? The only right approach is for him to get all the tires inspected and make a determination on whether it is best to replace just 2 or all 4.

 

[J_C]

You need to lift the wheels off the ground and measure the diameter. While it is likely they are too different in diameter, there does exist the possibility that the 265/50R20 are more worn, and 255/50R20 were put on new because new they were very close to the diameter of the worn 265/50R20. Not ideal, but I could see it happening if the vehicle was stranded far from home and that's what the tire shop could get on in a reasonable amount of time (cheap as a tow long distance, anyway). If that were the case, you could keep driving them like that until the 265/50R20 worn down to an unsafe level, assuming similar wear rate which will probably be close enough.

Another option is that there are still some tire shops that will shave tires, that if the larger diameter tires have enough tread to do it, they could be shaved down to match the diameter of the other tires. This would get as much of the remaining life out of them as possible before buying all 4 new tires.

Then there is the issue of their age. If any are the factory tires, now at around 7+ years old they will have some compound hardening and have worse wet and ice traction. How much that matters depends on how aggressively you drive, but they should still be inspected for sidewall and tread cracking. Since it's a sport, if you plan to drive it aggressively then wait no longer, just get all 4 new tires now.

That is the easiest and safest answer, since it's not our money. It's probably the best answer too because it gets rid of the risk and with fresh tires, you only lost a certain % of the old tires lifespan so weighing that against the cost of drivetrain repairs, it makes sense for a vehicle that should have at least a decade of service ahead of it.