Larger tires on an Explorer Sport-Blasphemy!

[RJDriver]

So there I was, at GoodYear, taking advantage of the free tire rotation service, when I decided to ask the gentle person behind the counter, "What is the largest tire you can put on the Sport without any type of lift?" Having read through the excellent threads contained herein, I felt armed with an ounce of knowledge ( a dangerous thing!) considering the matter. The salesperson looked at me as if I was Lucifer himself !!! :fire:

Henceforth, I was preached to about the inherent safety issues involved with such a radical idea; everything from speedo to air bag deployment. Thus, after the speech, he finally churned out a stock replacement size.

What gives ???? Is this just GoodYear covering their end of liability or what ???

Anxiously counting down the days/miles until the ESP expires, then it is open season on mods !!!!!

 

[jimbo74]

hes an idiot.... running larger tires is fine..... a friend of mine said he put 255/70/15s on his 4x2 sport explorer and loves it, no rubbing.....

 

[RJDriver]

Options on stock sizes

The ever so helpful salesperson recited that 235s were the original stock and that the 255/70R16s were an option offered. I am currently rolling on the GoodYear Wrangler 255/70R16s which are the Firestone replacements. I like the Wranglers; they shine up real nice !!!

I apologize to the moderator if this thread was entered in the wrong forum.... I spend a fair deal of time sifting the stock threads.... I forgot to switch over to the mod forum.

 

[PS94]

Bah! Some fool put the 235-70 on my ex...when she should (according to the door sticker) have 255/70's. these are brand new....
But, what's the height of a 265-75-15? I have a set of them on tear-drop rims...are they similar to the height of 255-70 16?

 

[mynameisaric]

before i got my tires and b4 my lift and before i knew about this site, i was asking around, and most shops said they couldnt do it, and then one said " we cant put them on your truck, but we can mount them on the rims " and a year later when i got everything done and was ready for the tires, i went to discount tire and they said the same thing. even tho when i purchased the 33's it said "explorer" under the vehicle. depends on whos running the place i suppose. so if you want biger tires and they wont do it, just take them ur rims and have them put tires on and then mount em yourself.

 

[jimbo74]

Bah! Some fool put the 235-70 on my ex...when she should (according to the door sticker) have 255/70's. these are brand new....
But, what's the height of a 265-75-15? I have a set of them on tear-drop rims...are they similar to the height of 255-70 16?

um are you talking about 15s or 16s? you mention both and in sizes that i dont think are even real sizes.. anyways mathematically speaking:

235/70/15 = 28"x9.3"x15"
235/70/16 = 29"x9.3"x16"
245/75/16 = 30.5"x9.6"x16"
255/70/15 = 29.1"x10"x15"
255/70/16 = 30.1"x10"x16"
265/75/15 = 30.6"x10.4"x15"
265/75/16 = 31.6"x10.4"x16"

 

[RJDriver]

Thanks for the knowledge mynameisaric !!! I also believe it depends on the state. O-hi-O isn't down with being so high. Only 22 inches to the bottom of the front of the front bumper !!!

oh yeah, mynameisaric, I did my high school years in Lake Zurich !!!

 

[TheFox88]

um are you talking about 15s or 16s? you mention both and in sizes that i dont think are even real sizes.. anyways mathematically speaking:

235/70/15 = 28"x9.3"x15"
235/70/16 = 29"x9.3"x16"
245/75/16 = 30.5"x9.6"x16"
255/70/15 = 29.1"x10"x15"
255/70/16 = 30.1"x10"x16"
265/75/15 = 30.6"x10.4"x15"
265/75/16 = 31.6"x10.4"x16"

Sorry to go off on a tangent but i don't think this is new thread material. How does the metric tire size work? I have never been able to figure this out on my own so i was hoping someone here might be able to explain. Thanks.

 

[kslhol]

The 255 etc. is the tread width in millimeters, and the 70 or 75. means that the height of the sidewall of the tire is 70% of the width of the tread. .... I think.... I'm sure someone will pipe up if I'm the least bit wrong...

Back to the topic of this thread, when I was out shopping for 31's, the guy at Costco Tires told me he couldn't sell me tires if I was putting them on an Explorer. I laughed and asked him why, and his brilliant answer was " they don't call them exploders for nothing" which makes perfect sense right?... So I said "OK i'll go give someone else my $700. Thanks anyway..."

 

[mynameisaric]

tire shops dont like the words oversized tire and explorer in the same sentance. put your car on jack stands and use another vehicle to transport the rims and say its for a jeep. and as far as i know kslhol, that is how the metric system works. i made it easy on myself and got a tire big enuf to be measured in inches. but on a 16" rim, a 33 is still measured in metric i beleive.

 

[jimbo74]

ok here is the short version... for the most basic info, this works fine.... a tire is 255/75/16 -- 255 millimeters wide.... 75% of that is the aspect ratio of sidewall... that 75% of 255 = 191.25 mm x 2 = 382.5 mm .... now convert that to inches... you get 15.1 + 16 (rim size) and that equals a 31.1" outside diamter tire....