Tires & Rims for 4" lift

[DCider]

I was talking with a guy at a local 4WD place the other day. He said that 33's would not fit a '92 Explorer w/ a 4" lift. Does this sound right? Some stock Explorers fit 31's???

This summer I plan on installing a 4" lift and replacing the stock body mounts with stock height urathane bushings (may get .5" over current, worn out rubber mounts). I want to get BFG AT/Ko 33x10.5s on some new 16" Weld racing F1 rims but I am concerned that they will not fit.

I want to BFG AT/KOs because I do not go wheeling enough to justify MT tires at this point.

Can anyone comment on what they have and if they know whether or not this will work?

Many Thanks!
D

------------------
David Cider
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 4Dr 4...

Current Mods:
Hi flo cat and muffler, KKM Air intake, SuperChip, Magnacor wires and AutoLite Double Platnum plugs

Pending Mods:
JBA headers, 4" Suspension Lift, Tires & Wheels

 

[CAsplorin]

DCider,
I don't see why they wouldn't fit with almost 4.5 in of lift. I have seen many explorers with 4 in lifts with 33's. I have a 5.5 and don't see why with 1 in less it wouldn't work especially if your not going it is mostly street. BTW: What 4x shop did you go to?

TJ Cotta

 

[DCider]

I went to the place in Santa Clara on Lafayette and Martin, I think it's call 4 wheel parts unlimited? I'm not too sure about that place. Seemed like I mentioned that I had an Explorer and the information flow stopped. The guy I talked to didn't seem to be that talkative or as helpful as I would have liked. Most saleman seem to have more "let me help you out, we can sell you this"...

YMMV

I was going to try the other store on San Carlos but I got there @ 3:05 and they close @ 3:00 on Saturdays.

Where do you go?
D

------------------
David Cider
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 4Dr 4...

Current Mods:
Hi flo cat and muffler, KKM Air intake, SuperChip, Magnacor wires and AutoLite Double Platnum plugs

Pending Mods:
JBA headers, 4" Suspension Lift, Tires & Wheels

[This message has been edited by DCider (edited 04-10-2000).]

 

[Gopher]

You also need to figure what gears you want to have to match the tires. If you plan on running stock gears i would lean towards the 32's for right now. Then when you regear get the 33's. On mine i dont see why you couldn't run 33's. Looks like i have plenty of clearance and i have a 4" lift.


------------------
Brian
94 2wd
4" Fabtech Lift
265/75/16
Flowmaster 2 chamber 2.25"
KKM intake
Clears all the way around
4.11 gears w/Auburn posi

 

[DCider]

The truck came/has 3.73 with a factory Detroit Locker in the rear. I was planning on keeping thie gearing for a while and possibly going to 4.11 in the future since I do drive it on-road. That is why I have been beefing up the motor before the suspension lift and wheel/tire change.

Being new to this, will there be a problem with the 3.73's and 33's? Will I NEED to upgrade to 4.11's or 4.56's? Or is this something that just makes the truck "work" better?

D

------------------
David Cider
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 4Dr 4...

Current Mods:
Hi flo cat and muffler, KKM Air intake, SuperChip, Magnacor wires and AutoLite Double Platnum plugs

Pending Mods:
JBA headers, 4" Suspension Lift, Tires & Wheels

 

[HIX]

It's all about the rim size. I have beemn running 33-12.5s on the stock rims w/ no rubbing for about 7 months. I recently switched to 15x8 inch rims w/ the standard offset. I had to trim a bit out of the wheelwells and the fender to keep it from rubbin.

As far as the gears go... you can get by for a while w/o the gear change. Especially if you live at low altitude. I was just fine w/ mine stock untill I moved back out to Colorado. Now I must have them soon!

Are you sure you have a detriot locker? I was under the impression that the only traction aiding diff available from the factory was the Trac-lok.

------------------
HIX
91 Sport w/ 33s
"Put the hammer down, she likes it rough!"

 

[DCider]

2 things that make me sure
1. The tag says something like 373L on the rear diff
2. When the rear diff fluid was changed, my friend showed me the DL in the rear pumpkin when the cover was off.

I believe that was an option with the tow package which I believe my truck has.

The wheels I want to get are available in 16x8 and I should be able to get the back spacing that I need.

Is there a big difference between the 15" and 16" when fitted with 33's for the off-road performance? Is the difference significant as far a traction goes?

Thanks!
D

------------------
David Cider
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 4Dr 4...

Current Mods:
Hi flo cat and muffler, KKM Air intake, SuperChip, Magnacor wires and AutoLite Double Platnum plugs

Pending Mods:
JBA headers, 4" Suspension Lift, Tires & Wheels

 

[FROADER]

I have a '92 XLT with 4" Trailmaster and i have 33's that fit fine and don't rub at all anywhere. So go for it and get the tires. I have 15x8 wheels so if you want to use that as a reference. You can also see my truck on the truck haven 2000 trip. Schroll to the bottom and it's titled, Colin Ignacio "check out those fenders." Hope this helps you and take care.

------------------

Colin "Fenderguy" Ignacio

'92 XLT

4" Trailmaster

BFG All-Terrains 33's

4.56 w/detroit in rear; tru-trac in front

magnaflo cat back

K&N cone filter

 

[Turner55]

is it possible to put wider tires on the stock rims?

------------------
'93 explorer sport 4x4

 

[RangerX]

DCider,
Sorry to burst your bubble, but your truck did not come with a factory Detroit Locker. 3L73 is the code for a Trac-Lok limited slip. Either this is what you have, or a previous owner put in a Detroit.

Turner55,
Yes, wider tires will work on stock rims per se, but you may need some lift to avoid rubbing, depending on how much wider and taller.

------------------
Bill Collins
93 Ranger XLT 4X4
Modified

 

[Gopher]

D,
From experiance if you want to run 33's go with 15 inch rims. The tires are more resonable than with 16's. I'm going to have 2 sets rims and tires for my truck. My on road pair and my off road set. Off road rims are 15/8. I have 16 inch rims and tires are quite a bit more than the 15's for the same size. Plus when your off on the trails everyone has 15's. So also keep that into consideration too.


------------------
Brian
94 2wd
4" Fabtech Lift
265/75/16
Flowmaster 2 chamber 2.25"
KKM intake
Clears all the way around
4.11 gears w/Auburn posi

 

[DCider]

The problem with 15" rims is...

I haven't found any that I like as much as the new Weld Racing F1 series rims for trucks. If they made the same rims in 15" it would be a done deal. I may have to search more for rims that I like.

If you buy 5 wheels/tires is the trail still an issue for compatibility (15 vs 16)?

As far as the locker in the rear goes, I have all the receipts from the preveous owners (2) but have not gone through them all. When I looked at the locker when the cover was off, it either had DL or Detroit on it, I can't honestly remember. My friend pointed that out immediately as a Detroit Locker. I know the preveous owner and he is meticulous as far as maintaining his vehicles, but I don't think that he would have upgraded this. I don't think that he even changed the diff fluids (the one thing that didn't make sense in his maintenance of the truck). It is possible that the original owner did.

What wheel patterns do you guys like? I like something fairly simple, but not plain. Tell me/show me your fav wheel pattern for off road.

Check these out Dead Link Removed http://www.weldracing.com/Renegade.html Dead Link Removed

They're not cheap, but they are strong @ 3500 lbs each.

------------------
David Cider
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 4Dr 4...

Current Mods:
Hi flo cat and muffler, KKM Air intake, SuperChip, Magnacor wires and AutoLite Double Platnum plugs

Pending Mods:
JBA headers, 4" Suspension Lift, Tires & Wheels

 

[Tyson]

DCider, the place you went to is 4 Wheel Parts Wholesaler. They have shops on San Carlos and Lafayette. They ran out of shop space. They guys are Jeep biased. They don't really know that much about Explorers, at least that's my experience with the two or three reps that I've dealt with.

KVO - What about your experiences???

You learn much more about your truck here, on this board.

 

[DCider]

Believe me, I know this more is invaluable. The info here I belive more than the shops. They are in buisness to make money. Some also to help/educate the consumer when making a sale. But the sale is the important part.

This board to to share info. Real life on the Explorer platform(s).

It help to ask questions of all people and try to determine what is good and what is crap.

Back to the subject at hand. Please tell me you favorite wheels. Let me know what your opinions are on 15" vs. 16" rims.

Thanks!
D

------------------
David Cider
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 4Dr 4...

Current Mods:
Hi flo cat and muffler, KKM Air intake, SuperChip, Magnacor wires and AutoLite Double Platnum plugs

Pending Mods:
JBA headers, 4" Suspension Lift, Tires & Wheels

 

[SteveVB]

David,
Heres my opinion. FWIW

I am going to use 16" wheels on my Navajo next (265/75, or 285/75). The 16" tires are avail in more widths, than the 15" flotation style tires. I dont like really wide tires, and they are hard to find in the 15" rim size. The 16" will give a bit more stability on the road, which is why I think the OEMs use them for the higher line vehicles. The 16" tires are also avail in LT rated with higher load ratings- which in itself is not important for the size of the Navajo/Explorer but the extra plys will add a reliability factor to the tires(while compromising the ride quality).
Finally I think that the 16" wheel makes the taller tires look better in relation to the vehicle- the side walls dont look so big keeps some of the same visual proportions as the original. One drawback is when it comes time to air down, the sidewalls dont bulge as much(they are smaller for a given OD, 15"vs 16"). I can live with that.

Wheels- I like the 16" twisted teardrop that comes stock on 98 up sports, also saw some of the new M/T classic II's and they are looking pretty good to me also, and at $115 or so for an 8" are priced right.

------------------
Steve VB
91 Navajo
2 1/2" Rancho,
31" Goodyear AT/S

 

[DCider]

FWIW, the guy at 4 Wheel Parts Wholesaler mentioned that the MT Classic II's are not manufactured by MT like the other MT wheels. I asked who they were manufactured by, but he did not know. go figure...

------------------
David Cider
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 4Dr 4...

Current Mods:
Hi flo cat and muffler, KKM Air intake, SuperChip, Magnacor wires and AutoLite Double Platnum plugs

Pending Mods:
JBA headers, 4" Suspension Lift, Tires & Wheels

 

[CAsplorin]

Sorry DCider, I haven't seen this post for over a month. I go to 4 Wheel Parts on San Carlos. They are pretty good if you know what you want. They are REALLY Jeep biased. When I picked the Explorer up after the lift I heard them say "Get this dang(edited) Ford out of my sight" to another worker. Pissed me off! Anyway I heard that you can really talk those guys down if you try. Oh yea, the Classic II's are made by, get this, Alcoa.

TJ Cotta