umm....tires?

ok, i'll tell you guys out front...i know nothing about the size or width or whatever of tires and how they translate to the 235/75/15..i dont know what that means. soooo, i read somewhere that the stockers are 235/75/15 and that they're on 15x7 rims. i want some slightly wider tires and i'm wondering what the stockers are...are they 15x7's? if so, i would want 15x8 tires (if they dont rub or anything..i have no lift or anything). what size tire would a 15x8 be? like 235/85/15?? i have no idea...thanks for your patience guys Dead Link Removed

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'93 explorer sport 4x4

 

[jwrezz]

On your stock 15x7 rims, you can fit 31x10.5 tires (about 265/75 R15 in metric). I've heard that pre '95 Explorers may have problems fitting 31x10.5's, others swear that they fit w/ no problem. Give 'em a try.

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John '95 XLT

 

[Turner55]

yeah i know all that, but i dont want to go that big. i just want a little bit wider tire than stock...so what would that be in metric? like one inch wider. what's the 235 mean in the thing? what's the 75 mean? and i guess the 15 is the rim size.

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'93 explorer sport 4x4

 

[NoBoundaries]

75 is what percentage the width of the tire is of the sidewall. Say your tire is 235/75R15. 235 is the width of your tire. 235x.75 is your sidewall, which equals 7 inches. Keep in mind the 235 is not in inches, so I converted the number I got from 235x.75 into inches for you, which is 7. 7+15(your rim)+7 (add 7 twice because you have a sidewall above and bellow the rim and you come up with 29, which is the height of you tire. Convert 235 into inches and you get 9.3 inches, which is your width. If you want to go to a tire that is 1 inch wider, you need to get a tire that is about 10.5 inches. You probably will not be able to find one that is around the same height as the tire you have though. Look around, and you can check the metric measurements at www.4lo.com to figure things out, it is under the heading Metric Tire. Hope I helped, rather than confuse you! Dead Link Removed

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Tim Y.
1996 Explorer XLT
4.0L OHV 4x4

[This message has been edited by NoBoundaries (edited 05-08-2000).]

 

[Turner55]

how would 30x10.5's look on the stock rims and no lift? would they look to bulky? would they rub any without cutting away any of the fender? i have no intention of getting a lift.
thanks for the help guys

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'93 explorer sport 4x4

 

[NoBoundaries]

I don't know of any 30x10.5's, but I am sure you may be able to find them somewhere. From what I have heard, they should fit on your truck without any lifting or fender triming. Hope this helps.

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Tim Y.
1996 Explorer XLT
4.0L OHV 4x4

 

[KodeBlu]

Turner, before trading in my '97 Sport on a Limited, I had put 255/70 R15's on it with the factory rims and no lift. The tires were a little wider than stock with just about the same overall diameter. Oh, and no rubbing.

Hope this helps.

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'99 Limited 4X4 SOHC V6
No mods yet, but getting ALOT of ideas here.

 

[earli]

I have a 94 xlt with the 265/75-15's on stock rims, currently no lift. They are fine. No rubbing anywhere even while wheelin'.

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[mrboyle]

If you only want a little wider tire try a 30x9.5/15 they are only 1/2" taller than the 235, but are also 1/2-3/4" wider. If you want something even wider you could try 255x70/15s, they are the same height as a 235, but they are about 1-1 1/2" wider.

 

[cmnavajo]

Turner 55,
What type of tire are you looking for? Mostly street, some off-road, off-road/no lift??? I was just looking in the current issue of Four Wheeler magazine at some of the wheel and tire advertisements. It seems that there are actually many different tires close to the size you want. Mickey Thompson has a few different 30x9.5-15s, Super Swamper has 30x10.5s, 30x11.5s, etc. On the Super Swamper tires the ad has the actual dimensions of the tires. For example, a particular 30x11.5-15 has a height of 29.6, section width of 12.0, and tread width of 9.7. The height is the overall height of the tire. The section width is the width of the tire if you measured it at the sidewalls-this is the widest part of the tire. The tread width is the width of the actual tread on the tire-most likely what will usually be in contact with the road. You could check out www.intercotire.com for more information on the Super Swamper tires and their sizes. Now, of course these are just a few options. I think you will find a great deal of tires with the looks and performance you want. One more thing, to convert millimeters to inches, take the millemeters and divide by 25.4-235 divided by 25.4 equals 9.2519-and on and on. I hope this can be of some help to you.
Charlie

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Charlie May
1992 Navajo LX 4x4

 

[Turner55]

i have a slight problem: the tires i have on there now are "out of round" and the front's out of alignment and i'm waiting until i get new tires to get the alignment. problem is, i dont have a lot of $$$ and i need a cheap good tire...i'm looking at the dunlop p-metric (which is just an all-terrain, i dont need an offroad tire) which is only like 62 bucks a piece, plus i've heard good things about them. i have to get it done soon b/c i get pissed everytime i drive the thing b/c the pull and the vibration is so freakin annoying...oh well

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'93 explorer sport 4x4

 

[Jim F]

Keep in mind that you can only go so wide if you are keeping the 15x7 stock rims.

I would not trust a tire installer. Trust the tire manufacturer.

{Storytime}
My dad had a set of tire installed that wandered badly. He brought them back to find out why and come to find out the tires should not have been installed on the size rim he had. They told him (same shop that installed them orig) that a good size bump would have separated the bead from the rim. I am sure glad Ford Trucks got away from their 16.5" rims. To add to the potential horror story, this truck hauls an 8ft camper in its bed.
{End Storytime}

Try this website: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html it gives you a picture comparison between stock and new size. It also calculates and speed compansation required for the new size. It does not give the approved rim sizes though. The manufacturers websites usually has that info.

Hope this helped and good luck.

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Exploring CA
98 XLT 4X4 4.0L SOHC

 

[Turner55]

screw it...i need some tires bad and i dont wanna mess with all that stuff...i'll just get stock size

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'93 explorer sport 4x4