New tires

[Thub]

well im looking at putting new tires on my 02 xlt 4x4 and i know 265/70/17 is the size to go for with a stock truck for no rubbing problems, i have no issue with the speedo being off... but i drive in the UP and i don't want to get a flat tire in the middle of no where and be stuck with a off sized tire. I know for a fact it will screw up the diff if its a rear tire, and maybe the front if the auto 4x4 decides to kick in or maybe if its just spinning i don't know. I really don't want to buy 5 tires and swap the spare, that's too much $$$, and who knows if a bigger tire will even fit underneath.

Any one got any ideas/solutions that i have over looked, or am i gonna end up getting 4 new 245/65/17 and play it safe

I guess guys who have upgraded to larger tires opinions are the best.

 

[Exproblems]

well im looking at putting new tires on my 02 xlt 4x4 and i know 265/70/17 is the size to go for with a stock truck for no rubbing problems, i have no issue with the speedo being off... Any one got any ideas/solutions that i have over looked, or am i gonna end up getting 4 new 245/65/17 and play it safe

I guess guys who have upgraded to larger tires opinions are the best.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In the same section you posted this message, there is a topic called "Need New Tires", you should find answers to what you are looking for, in upgrading tire size.

 

[Thub]

i dont think you understand, my truck doesnt have TMPS so i could care less about that. I am wondering what i should do to resolve the problem that if a get a completely flat tire, i cant use the smaller spare. If i have 2 different sized tires on the truck I will screw up the Differential. Going from the stock 245 to the 265 will cause this. I maybe could do a double tire change but it still could mess up the front diff.

I want to know what other guys who have gone to bigger tires have done
such as

*bought 5 tires so they could do the spare as well
*risk it and hope they dont get a flat in the middle of no where

 

[Ronin8002]

A 265/75/16 spare will fit in the stock spare area.

So buy 5 tires in that size and include the spare when you rotate every 5000 miles. That will make buying the 5th tire worthwhile (you'll get more wear out of all our tires since there are more tires being rotated)

Then you don't have any of the problems you are worried about.

If cost is an issue, check out Treadwright. They make great tires and the price and customer service can't be beat.

 

[D Hook]

i dont think you understand, my truck doesnt have TMPS so i could care less about that. I am wondering what i should do to resolve the problem that if a get a completely flat tire, i cant use the smaller spare. If i have 2 different sized tires on the truck I will screw up the Differential. Going from the stock 245 to the 265 will cause this. I maybe could do a double tire change but it still could mess up the front diff.

I want to know what other guys who have gone to bigger tires have done
such as

*bought 5 tires so they could do the spare as well
*risk it and hope they dont get a flat in the middle of no where

The two solutions you list are pretty much the only options you have, afaik. If you can't afford the fifth tire right now, maybe use option two until option one becomes available.

 

[Thub]

thanks for the thoughts

I like your ride Ronin, and i saw in one of your pictures that you have a larger tire under your truck but i have the 17inch wheels i dont know if that will make a difference.

are there any other problems you can think of going to bigger tires will cause except for the speed issue, such as abs problems. I think i will just buy a mis match 265 off of craigslist for 30 bucks that i saw, that should work and save me about 150 bucks

 

[Ronin8002]

the 17 inch wheels make no difference. All that matters is the outside diameter of the tire which does not change with different wheel sizes.

You need to be very careful about buying any "mismatched" tires to use as your spare. If you have to run it, you might find yourself having the very problems you are trying to avoid.

If you must, you can pull fuses 17 and 18 to disable the auto 4x4 when running the mismatched spare...that will keep the auto 4x4 from kicking in.

No other problems with running larger tires.

 

[Thub]

yah im new to the 4x4 world my other vehicle is a 02 taurus, much less complex drive-train. but as long as the tire is the same size does it matter, i mean right now i have crappy duelers on the truck and the spare is a bf goodrich, as long as its the same size tire?

 

[Ronin8002]

The problem is, any size tire may be slightly different in size between different manufacturers or even different models with the same manufacturer. Enough that the Auto 4x4 may kick on and off when mixing and matching. Or it might be fine. You never know.

For that reason it is best just to get all the tires in the same manufacturer/model. If your spare is different then just expect that you might have issues when you use it unless you pull those fuses.

 

[Exproblems]

i dont think you understand, my truck doesnt have TMPS so i could care less about that. I am wondering what i should do to resolve the problem that if a get a completely flat tire, i cant use the smaller spare. If i have 2 different sized tires on the truck I will screw up the Differential. Going from the stock 245 to the 265 will cause this. I maybe could do a double tire change but it still could mess up the front diff.

I want to know what other guys who have gone to bigger tires have done
such as

*bought 5 tires so they could do the spare as well
*risk it and hope they dont get a flat in the middle of no where

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I wasn't pointing out the TPMS to you. If you read all the posts and the "vehicle specs" certain people had listed for their Explorers at the "bottom of their posts", you would have seen that some of them were running larger tires such as P265's. Then, you could just ask one of them on how they liked running those size tires or get them to answer any of your questions. The risk part of you not buying a fifth, same size tire as a spare, is something only you can decide for yourself. No one else can tell you what kind of risk to take because you already know what will happen if you get a flat and don't buy a new spare tire and have the right size spare. I don't know if having 2 different size tires will screw up a diff, but I know it will cause your auto 4x4 to kick in. Buy 5 new tires and have the peace of mind you have a proper spare.
Update: found you some other info that might help you, it's a post by "AKbrener" below:

>>>>>>>>>>>05 v6 2wd 3.55s and 265/70/17s

For the record, the 265s actually make my speedo dead on. I have tested it every speed trap thing on the side of the road. never been more than 1mph off. I think ford undersized the tires from the factory to squeak a few extra mpgs outta the trucks. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>