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Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks. Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar. Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.
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For 265 the 8"s would be best IMO, but the 7"s would work fine. It would just cause the tire to be slightly taller (since it's squeezed more). I wouldn't go much wider than that (or 10.5" wide tires, which is basically the same width) on a 7" rim though. 8" rims will be good up to most 12.5" tires though, so if you plan to ever go bigger you might want to look into the 8's.
The biggest thing would be the backspacing though. I'm not sure on 3rd gen's what a good backspacing is. I know that 5" on a 2nd gen isn't ideal. It'll end up rubbing more on turns. Any 16x8 with 4" backspacing? EDIT: I didn't find any with a smaller backspacing on Summit. Not with the correct width and bolt pattern at least.
From those specs, it looks like the 16x8's would sit in more, with the 16x7's kind of sticking out. As mentioned, the 16x8's would be the better choice if you ever plan to go bigger.
It's worth pointing out the Soft 8's are heavy, HEAVY wheels. They are great for hardcore off-roading, due to the extra material and the strength of so much steel, but are very much overkill otherwise. Just to give you an idea, most replacement wheels for the 16x7 size are ~20lbs, alloys are even less. The Cragars weigh in at a whopping 33lbs. That's an extra 13lbs of unsprung, rotating weight, in addition to the few extra lbs of the 265/75R16's. The 16x8's are even heavier at 37lbs, double the weight of a regular wheel.
My suggestion would be to either stick with the stock wheels for now, or get a standard steel wheel. You'd save a lot of money and not be throwing it away on heavy-duty wheels you might not even need, not to mention the cost over time of the extra gas and wear and tear on parts the heavier wheels would entail.
I'd say you're also better off waiting on getting them until you go bigger later on so you can get the right size and offset for the larger tires. The offset and backspacing you get now with the 265/75R16's won't be the specs you want if you get 33's later on.
Stock rims have 5.75 backspacing and +44 offset so if I'm understanding it correctly, either of these rims should push out a little more which is fine for a little added clearance. These are as big of a tire as I'd go since I don't want to mess with the suspension, gearing, etc. 1.5" body lift, maybe, if there's some rubbing but I'm hoping not based on what's posted on this site.
I noticed they are heavy but the price is right and I'll be honest, I like the look. I have steel wheels now with 255/70's so I'm not sure how much more weight I'd add. They won't see much "hard core" offroading but will see lots of logging roads and such in the coming months. My intention was these are going to be my "winter" set and I'm keeping my stock sleazy tires for summer.
The only other wheel I like that's alloy has a backspacing of 4.437" and 0 offset which would seem like these would push the tires out the most. And yeah these are only 21lbs but $150 more for the set. Not a lot more but $150 is 150 bucks.
I'd just like to do something before hunting and winter gets here. Seems tough to find a traction tire in 16" that isn't a 8 or 10 ply truck tire. :scratch:
I wish 15's would fit believe me. These 16's suck as far as choices. No way they will tho. The calipers are tight to the rims. I looked.
Rangermidtn - sweet looking rig. Looks like they fit fine although I don't have a lift on mine. I just like the look of those and you don't see many of these rigs modded at least around here.
I'd like to see a stock 3rd gen with 265/75 and those rims. I've worn out the search feature and still don't have all the answers I'm looking for so my ride remains a soccer mom wagon.
Is there any down side to stepping down to 245/75's? I loose a little width, gain .5" in height (big deal), ease up price, and have zero fitment issues. Could just go with 7" rims then...
If I could push out the wheels out a tad with the right offset and back spacing they would probably not rub much if at all. I'm thinking about adding the rancho quicklift struts, (buy 4 get one free right now) which is supposed to add a little lift which would probably clear those tires fine and be ok for mild off road use.
Thanks for your help. You've answered a bunch of questions I couldn't find using the search.
Is there any down side to stepping down to 245/75's? I loose a little width, gain .5" in height (big deal), ease up price, and have zero fitment issues. Could just go with 7" rims then...
The downsides to them, is the smaller increased height which is the whole point of going to larger tires, and that they aren't as wide, which is more of a cosmetic thing.
Functionally, and in terms of bang for the buck, 245/75 is better. They'll also do better in snow, too, with the narrower width (still wider than stock) and more weight on the contact patch.
245/75 is the practical solution, especially on stock wheels. They'd still be good with a minor lift.
You can always go with 245/75 now, lift it later, then go to 265/75 or even bigger tires with Soft 8's then.
I've found a set of alloy Sport Trac wheels off an 01 that should work. 16x7, 4.5" BS, +12 OS and 2.78" hub. These should work and the price is better too.
I'm running 265s on a set of American Racing Baja 16x8s, I believe the backspacing is 4.5" and 0.00mm offset which makes my 265s rub like hell with no lift. I would not recommend wheels with significantly different than stock specs due to this unless you don't mind doing a lot of trimming. However, I do love the wheels though.
One thing to note is that the Cladding on the fenders does decrease the amount of room in the wheel well by quite a bit, but they still tend to rub on the fender's lip with the cladding removed when flexing out or going over speed bumps without slowing to a crawl.
Well therein lies the rub. With those wheels I would of thought that they would not rub as they are pushed out some. I've crawled all around mine and don't think they'd rub but it sounds like maybe they will. I don't have the trim around the wheel wells but I'm now thinking the 265/75's are a tad too big unless you do a lift. I've got 255/70's on mine now and it looks to be plenty of room for another 5mm in width and at least .75 inches in dia. but I could be wrong.
I have new rancho struts on the way and maybe an inch+ of lift would be enough? Hmmmmm....245's are looking better all of the time....
Thanks for pic and info.
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I thought that as well when I got the tires mounted, but then again with the rims sticking out it means that the range of motion of the front wheels will be greater when the wheel is turned.
Another thing to add is that it only ever rubs in the front. I have not had any issues in the rear so a 1" spacer lift in the front would probably prevent most of the rubbing and level out the truck.
