Max. Overall tire Dia. for a late model

[Xplor]

Okay people, I am planning on changing my new 00'explorer eddie bauer wheels to some custom ones. I've though about going with 18s. I know for the fact that my factory P255/70R16s are 30.5 in overall dia. My question is whats the max. overall dia can I put in there???...am going to keep the suspension stock. I saw a applicant that is 31.5 which am afraid the that it's going to rub, so any pros out there help me out here. Thank you

 

[NoBoundaries]

Check out www.4lo.com look under metric tire.

------------------
Tim Y.
1996 Explorer XLT
4.0L OHV 4x4

 

[David99XLT]

The day I bought my 99 I put on 31x10.50 on the stock rims. The only rubbing I had was when I was in reverse and the wheels were turned about half way. It was such a slight rub that it went away after about a week. It was rubbing on the lower part of the front bumper. I now have 32x11.50 on there with the wheels having a 3.5 backspacing. I had to modify the lower part of the front bumber by cutting away the chrome(plastic) on the inside. If you do it right, no one will ever be able to tell. I have no rubbing at all with the new tires.

------------------
99 XLT 4x4 4.0 SOHC
Rancho RS9000/RS9700
K&N Custom Intake
Custom Flowmaster
Dual Exhaust
Torsion/Add a Leaf lift
Custom Painter Bumpers
and Running Boards
Bushwacker Fender Flares
32x11.50
http://www.geocities.com/northwestexplorers/

 

[KSolo]

Hey David,

I have a question for you. I have a '99 also and I'm thinking of larger tires...possibly the 31x10.50's. I'm curious if the larger diameter tires affected your speedometer, if so, how much? Also was the torsion twist/add a lead necessary to go with the 32x11.50's?

------------------
1999 Limited
no mods yet...but considering

 

[David99XLT]

My speedometer is off a little, only about 4 or 5 mph. To fit the 32x11.50 I had to do the torsion twist, add-a-leaf and shackles in rear, and a body lift. Even after all that they still rubbed. That's when I had to modify the bumper. The 31x10.50 tires were mounted on the stock rims, but the new ones are not. There backspacing is 3.5 They do not even come close to touching the sway bars. Go to the following site for some pics
Dead Link Removed

If there is any other questions I can help with, just let me know

------------------
99 XLT 4x4 4.0 SOHC
Rancho RS9000/RS9700
K&N Custom Intake
Custom Flowmaster
Dual Exhaust
Torsion/Add a Leaf lift
Custom Painter Bumpers
and Running Boards
Bushwacker Fender Flares
32x11.50
http://www.geocities.com/northwestexplorers/

 

[NoBoundaries]

What did you do for a body lift? I know 32's rub a little bit, I have heard of someone having so much trouble with 32's. What exactly did you have to do? Gerald has tires on his truck that are even a little bigger then 33's with just a one inch body litf, of course he also has his anti-sway bar disconnected. The truck looks great! Let us some more details!!

------------------
Tim Y.
1996 Explorer XLT
4.0L OHV 4x4

 

[David99XLT]

Well, I made basically the same mods that Gerald did. I did the 1 inch body lift, move the front bumper out with washers, modified both the front bumper and fender flares to avoid rubbing. I had tried on a set of 33x12.50. The only problem was the rubbing on the sway bar. Since I didn't want to have to disconnect it. I decided to go with the 32x11.50 with a new wheel. Then the only problem was the rubbing on the bumper and fender flares. Took me and my airsaw about 10 minutes to fix that. The best thing is that you can't even tell. I took it offroading last week and never once ran into any problems. There was no rubbing at all. And I did put it through the test. The next thing I'm doing is removing the factory running boards and replacing with the factory side skirt pieces. I know the owner of a local shop and he gave them to me free. They just need to be painted. The running boards were my only concern when I was out playing.

If there is anything else I can answer, let me know


------------------
99 XLT 4x4
Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed


[This message has been edited by David99XLT (edited 03-31-2000).]

 

[Ray Lobato]

Hey David,
Who makes your wheels, and do you have a part number for them? did you also use the Hocley pucks for your body lift? Nice pictures. It would be nice if you registered in the registry forum and then added one of the pictures of your truck there, then link to the registery and list all your modifications there. It helps on bandwith. That way people can look at your truck by clicking on your link and see what mods you have.

------------------
Happy Wheelin'
Ray L.
97 XLT 4X4 4.0L SOHC
Dead Link Removed

 

[David99XLT]

Ray
The wheels are made by Centerline. They are their new Corona wheels. They are a polished billet wheel. As you might have noticed, I edited my previous post and made the suggested changes. Thanks for the tip. The lift was made from an old body lift that I had cut down to 1 inch. Anything else, let me know

------------------
99 XLT 4x4
Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed



[This message has been edited by David99XLT (edited 03-31-2000).]

 

[NoBoundaries]

Do you know what kind of body lift it was? Can anyone answer this for me: Can a body lift from a 91-94 Explorer work for a 95+ Explorer? And is it possible to cut a 2 or 3 inch body lift down to make a 1 inch lift for a 95+ Explorer? Thanks ahead of time!

------------------
Tim Y.
1996 Explorer XLT
4.0L OHV 4x4

 

[ExplorGM]

Xplor,
31.5s should fit well. I have 32" and 32.8" sets that both fit my truck with no body lift and only the torsion upgrade/twist.
Rick

------------------
Rick
95 Explorer Sport Expedition
Dead Link Removed

 

[Tom Wilk]

Hey Rick, haven't seen you post in a while. Hope things are going OK.

It was Rick's 32's that inspired me to try the 265/75-R16's. They are almost 32", and they do fit -- barely. I have minimal lift on mine. The front has only been moved enough to level out the truck after installing somewhat longer shackles in the back. You still may want to see if you can test a set before going over 31", though.

------------------
Tom
99 Sport 4x4
SOHC
Auburn Rear & Gerald's old Shackles
265/75-R16 BFG AT's that weren't supposed to fit

 

[Xplor]

Thanks for the info guys, but if I ever do any twisting with the torsion bars; they are coming down! I know majority of people live out in the west. The only offroading is driving on unpaved roads Which seem most street in Florida are really crappy. ExplorGM,so your saying the 31.5 will fit for the stock height or raised?

 

[ExplorGM]

Xplor,
My (un)educated guess is that 31.5 should fit. It seems as though there is slightly less room in the wheelwells on the 99+ Explorers? Mine is a 95 Expedition model with factory flares that work perfectly out back but reduce clearance at the rear of the front wells. I also started out with 255-70/16s. I went to the 32x11.5/16s like Tom said with the torsion twist/upgrade. I've now got 285-75/16s all around with no additional modifications. They are 32.8" tall and slightly narrower than the Mickey Thompsons. No rubbing on the sway bar now either. When you decide which brand tires you want, go to the tire store and have them try a 31.5 on the front. They should be happy to oblige cause if it works they've got a sale! That's what I did with my 285s. Check out my (funky) web page. Page 4 has some fender/bumper clearance photos of the 32.5s. Hope this helps!

Tom,
Works been a bear lately so I haven't had much time to surf! I missed out on the Moab sign up so I'm suffering massive bouts of depression and have resorted to gardening to soothe my nerves! I'm hoping that an Arizona/SoCal/Baja trip develops soon so I can hook up with everyone again.
Rick

------------------
Rick
95 Explorer Sport Expedition
Dead Link Removed




[This message has been edited by ExplorGM (edited 04-05-2000).]

 

[Xplor]

I think you're right about the 99+ explorers with less room. Mine is the EB model. I seen the how close the stock tires(P255/70R16) are to the edge of the running board when the wheel is turned like 10-20 degrees...kinda tight already in my opinion. But I'll defintey look whatever am interested (tire/wheel combination) for my future purchase

 

[jeffseal]

david, how do you like the bushwackers. also i took off the sidestep off of mine and left it as is i didnt put the new trim piece on the bottom. how do the flares connect to the running boards, will mine be fine or do i need to get the trim piece on the bottom. also with the 1 inch body lift did you see any possible problems with puting on a 3 inch body lift. i am going to attempt it this in mid may when i get out of school. and put 33 1250's with the flars. i like the wheels you got, how much back spacing, and are they 15 8s thanks a bunch
jeff seal

http://people.vanderbilt.edu/~jeffrey.p.seal/

 

[David99XLT]

I like the flares, they give it a better look. They are not as big as the ones on the EB or Limited, but that's fine with me. With the new wheels and tires they are filled out perfect. As far as how do they connect to the running boards, they don't. They attach to the inside of the fenderwell and rest against the running boards. They are cut to fit against them perfectly, that's why I have to put the factory side skirt pieces on. As far as the 3 inch body lift, that I'm not sure on. Although I have done all the modifications myself, I don't know. From what I have read on this site, I don't think it will work without some custom pieces. Anything is possible, I just haven't tried yet. The wheels are 15x8 with 3.5 backspacing. I hope all this info helps


------------------
99 XLT 4x4
Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed

 

[NoBoundaries]

Hey David, your truck really does look great, do you know what kind of body lift you used, and did you do anything to compensate for the drop in the bumpers? Hey Rick, how the heck are you running 33's? (I say 33's, because actually, 33's are 32.5 in overal diameter, your are actually bigger than 33's) with just the torsion lift? Is it true that you have no rubbing, did you max your bars out or just do the conservative 1.5-1.75 twist? I am very interested in the fact that you were able to fit 33's under your truck. Let me know as soon as you can! Thanks for the help! Dead Link Removed

------------------
Tim Y.
1996 Explorer XLT
4.0L OHV 4x4

 

[ExplorGM]

David-Great looking truck! Those are some nice pictures.

Tim,
I started with maxing out the torsion bars. The bars are the stiffest I could get at the dealership. They are about a 2 "grade" upgrade from the ones that came stock. With the bars maxed, I had no rubbing whatsoever.I backed them off about 5 full turns on each side, and took the truck up some local trails. Now there is some minor rubbing at full compression in the rear and under impact at the front. I'm thinking 2" body lift and then I can back down the bars a bit more. I will do a bit of trimming at the back of the front wheelwell and the inside of the rear fender flares for now. That should clean it up until the lift. I have pictures if you would like them sent to you, or maybe I can talk Rick into adding them to his awsome, incredible, *****in, site in the main featured explorers section?
Let me know if you would like for me to E-mail the pics.
Any advice that anyone would like to give regarding the late model body lift would be appreciated!

Rick

------------------
Rick
95 Explorer Sport Expedition
Dead Link Removed




[This message has been edited by ExplorGM (edited 04-12-2000).]

 

[David99XLT]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the compliments. I finally got the look I wanted. The body lift was going to be made of some old parts cut down, but that didn't happen. Instead I went to Home Depot and bought some washers. There work great. No problems at all. So far I spent about $60 for 3 inches of lift. Not bad compared to Trailmaster. Anyway, I am able to run 32x11.50 on there. I have no rubbing at all (after modifications to bumper and fender flares). 33x12.50 would have fit if I would have kept the original backspacing, but would have rubbed on the sway bars. I didn't want that so i went with the 32's.

------------------
99 XLT 4x4
Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed