What the What ?? Tire / Rim Width.

[Balke]

I gota get new wheels , so i do research and find out that my tires were mounted on the improper rims ,, at least is what the tire width / rim chart says . The tire rim chart says that my 255 mm wide tires are supposed to go on a 9 , or 9 1/2 '' wide rim . What ?? I am being told that the edge of the tire should be parallel to the rim edges . There are also min. mount and max.mount specs.
Well , my stock wheels are 7 " wide and came with 255 mm . , . The chart has min . mount , max. mount , and ideal mount specs.
7 inch rims are stated as 195 min mount , 205 - 215 ideal mount , and 225 max mount . The chart don't even list 255 as max amount for an 8 inch wide rim !!! My 255 tires , don"t even show up until an 8.5 " as max mount . I am only 3/8 "" over with 8 " rims .
The " What the What " is about , that I looked up the specs according to my VIN and found out that , yes , 255 tires came on 7 inch rims , from the factory ,, and the chart is saying that is not appropriate . If the chart is valid ,, then why would Ford do that .
There is only one 16 diam . x 9 " wheel out there on the market that i can find ,, however there are many 16 x 8 .
I'm not sure about the 8.5 . The 16x 9 that i found , will fit according to my bolt pattern , and I will only be 3/16 to 1/4 inch out with the back space ,, , cause of the - 12 mm off set , being as the 7'' wide stock rims , come with a + 10mm offset . I just need some hub centric rings . cause the 9 " bore is a bit larger . O well ,, what the what .

 

[RangerX]

Where is the chart from? It’s some person’s or some company’s opinion really, not gospel nor the law.
You should add the word ‘recommended’ as you read it, as in ‘minimum recommended width’.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto. Ignore any and all wheel/tire charts, instead ask people who know that vehicle. The Explorers came with 15x7 and 16x7" wheels for 1991-2001, same basic chassis, and the same speedometer accuracy for a given tire diameter. 30" tires are the ideal speedometer size for all of those.

Be sure to buy the proper center hub size wheels, skip anything that doesn't match that, which I recall is 70.3mm or close to that. Stock 16" tires in the 98-01's were 255/70/16's, 30" tall. Almost all 1st gens, and the 95-98's with 15's, had 235/75/15" tires, 29" tall. the stock offset is rarely mentioned, I think that 10-15mm figure sounds close.

As you change the wheel away from stock specs, you have to do the math to maintain a similar clearance inboard from the tire to the upper ball joints. I've pushed mine to 18x8.5" wheels with 35mm offset(plus 1/4" spacers that made it 29mm offset). I used OEM 17x8" Cobra wheels on my first 98, with 255/60/17 tires(29"). Those fit well, but 1/4" spacers helped(30-32mm offset - 6.35mm = about 25mm total offset). I also used other OEM 17x8" Mustang wheels this Winter for snow tires, 245/65/17(29.5" tires), those fit well also.

Tires do not have mandatory sizes for a given wheel, because each parameter changes the potential sizes. A taller tire(75 series versus 50 series) can be much wider for a given wheel, than the shorter tire. Thus a factory 90's Mustang had 245/45/17" tires on 8" wheels. You couldn't put 315/45/17's on that wheel, people pushed to 275mm but people would tell you the 245 or 255mm tire handled better. That very wide tire being so short(45 series), needs a wider wheel such as 10" wide. As the tires get shorter, the wheels have to be much closer in width to the tire.

 

[Balke]

Where is the chart from? It’s some person’s or some company’s opinion really, not gospel nor the law.
You should add the word ‘recommended’ as you read it, as in ‘minimum recommended width’.

I will try to link it here . I should have posted this in the "" Wheels and Tire section "" any way here is the link

Tire Width for a Wheel/Rim Size Chart (tyresizecalculator.com)

 

[Balke]

Ditto. Ignore any and all wheel/tire charts, instead ask people who know that vehicle. The Explorers came with 15x7 and 16x7" wheels for 1991-2001, same basic chassis, and the same speedometer accuracy for a given tire diameter. 30" tires are the ideal speedometer size for all of those.

Be sure to buy the proper center hub size wheels, skip anything that doesn't match that, which I recall is 70.3mm or close to that. Stock 16" tires in the 98-01's were 255/70/16's, 30" tall. Almost all 1st gens, and the 95-98's with 15's, had 235/75/15" tires, 29" tall. the stock offset is rarely mentioned, I think that 10-15mm figure sounds close.

As you change the wheel away from stock specs, you have to do the math to maintain a similar clearance inboard from the tire to the upper ball joints. I've pushed mine to 18x8.5" wheels with 35mm offset(plus 1/4" spacers that made it 29mm offset). I used OEM 17x8" Cobra wheels on my first 98, with 255/60/17 tires(29"). Those fit well, but 1/4" spacers helped(30-32mm offset - 6.35mm = about 25mm total offset). I also used other OEM 17x8" Mustang wheels this Winter for snow tires, 245/65/17(29.5" tires), those fit well also.

Tires do not have mandatory sizes for a given wheel, because each parameter changes the potential sizes. A taller tire(75 series versus 50 series) can be much wider for a given wheel, than the shorter tire. Thus a factory 90's Mustang had 245/45/17" tires on 8" wheels. You couldn't put 315/45/17's on that wheel, people pushed to 275mm but people would tell you the 245 or 255mm tire handled better. That very wide tire being so short(45 series), needs a wider wheel such as 10" wide. As the tires get shorter, the wheels have to be much closer in width to the tire.

Thanks for your reply . I posted a link to the chart , on another reply to this thread , I know that if Ford mounted that width tire on those rims , then they got to be right , and the situation wont ruin the tires . I notice that you said to get wheels with the exact same bore , so is there something about hub centric rings that i should know about ??

 

[CDW6212R]

Those rings are a special and critical part, just like a proper spacer should be. Spacers should be avoided because very few are made with close tolerances. Those hub centric rings are even more rare and difficult to make properly. Not many of those are the needed highest quality and made with the two critical dimensions. That's why I said skip them, they should be avoided if possible for safety.

 

[Balke]

Those rings are a special and critical part, just like a proper spacer should be. Spacers should be avoided because very few are made with close tolerances. Those hub centric rings are even more rare and difficult to make properly. Not many of those are the needed highest quality and made with the two critical dimensions. That's why I said skip them, they should be avoided if possible for safety.

Thanks for the advice . I will try to match up an 16 x 8 or 8.5 , to the exact wheel center bore, as there is a wide variety of 8 "" available , however i had measured in the past , and i wrote it down somewhere . I think it was a 71.5 , the specs say 70 .5 , and im seeing a lot of 70.3 . If i don't find it ,, ill wait till the winter weather warms up , this Sunday , and i will have to measure it again , im not even sure if i pulled the wheel the last time that i measured or not . Just for fun i will look up the 8.8 posi rear end , it might be on there .

 

[J_C]

What are you trying to accomplish? Different looking rims, replace damaged rim(s), or fit low profile wide(ish) tires?

If the former, guess it depends on what look you want. Replacement, I'd just source some from a junkyard and if cosmetically poor from degraded clearcoat, strip that off and recoat them and refinish the bead seal area. If you want low profile tires, keep in mind that the vehicle will ride quite rough with them, but then is the best reason to increase rim width if a 255mm wide tire is the target.

Backing up a bit, are you intending to reuse 255/70/16 tires you already have or move to a different size?

The following site is usually accurate for popular vehicles...

2001 Ford Explorer - Wheel & Tire Sizes, PCD, Offset and Rims specs

Wheel size, PCD, offset, and other specifications such as bolt pattern, thread size (THD), center bore (CB), trim levels for 2001 Ford Explorer. Wheel and tire fitment data. Original equipment and alternative options.

www.wheel-size.com

... but it doesn't beat measuring the real thing. I still have a factory front hub lying around from my '98 with same rim specs, just measured it with a caliper at 70.5mm.

Years ago when my hubs started rusting, I cleaned the centers off and started coating them with silicone paste to prevent that. If yours are heavily rusted you may need some rust removal to get back down to 70.5mm. If the rims you want are 70.3mm, it wouldn't take much work to enlarge them by a mere 0.2mm. That's so little you shouldn't need specialized equipment to make sure they don't go off center too much, just a fine sanding drum and compare fit as you go along instead of trying to remove it all before the first trial fit... maybe use a magic marker to mark areas that still need material removal.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, there are tons of OEM Ford wheels that will fit perfectly, if you are after a different style, check those out first. At this age, finding OEM 20+ year old wheels is harder, and they all have blemishes etc. All of the 1st and 2nd gen Explorer wheels fit, the 94-2004 Mustang wheels will bolt on(but the later 17x9's will be too wide for the front suspension). The early Sport Trac wheels work too, which are a suspension like the 2nd gen Explorers.

Here's the 94-97 Mustang Cobra wheels on my old 98 Mountaineer. Those 90's Mustangs had several 17x8" wheels available.

 

[Balke]

What are you trying to accomplish? Different looking rims, replace damaged rim(s), or fit low profile wide(ish) tires?

If the former, guess it depends on what look you want. Replacement, I'd just source some from a junkyard and if cosmetically poor from degraded clearcoat, strip that off and recoat them and refinish the bead seal area. If you want low profile tires, keep in mind that the vehicle will ride quite rough with them, but then is the best reason to increase rim width if a 255mm wide tire is the target.

Backing up a bit, are you intending to reuse 255/70/16 tires you already have or move to a different size?

The following site is usually accurate for popular vehicles...

2001 Ford Explorer - Wheel & Tire Sizes, PCD, Offset and Rims specs

Wheel size, PCD, offset, and other specifications such as bolt pattern, thread size (THD), center bore (CB), trim levels for 2001 Ford Explorer. Wheel and tire fitment data. Original equipment and alternative options.

www.wheel-size.com

... but it doesn't beat measuring the real thing. I still have a factory front hub lying around from my '98 with same rim specs, just measured it with a caliper at 70.5mm.

Years ago when my hubs started rusting, I cleaned the centers off and started coating them with silicone paste to prevent that. If yours are heavily rusted you may need some rust removal to get back down to 70.5mm. If the rims you want are 70.3mm, it wouldn't take much work to enlarge them by a mere 0.2mm. That's so little you shouldn't need specialized equipment to make sure they don't go off center too much, just a fine sanding drum and compare fit as you go along instead of trying to remove it all before the first trial fit... maybe use a magic marker to mark areas that still need material removal.

Upon installation of my new tires , 255 / 70 / r 16 , the service dude told me that one of my wheels is badly warped enough to the point that it would be useless to try and balance , and said he put it on the rear so that i feel less vibration / shimmy . The other wheels , are badly gouged , so , my wheels really have to be replaced , and yes , i did find exact same wheels out at self serve wrecking yard , for an amazing good price , but when i went back to get them , they were gone . My tires are quite new , so yes i am remounting the same tires on the new wheels . I do not car about the look . Ive seen too many wheels out there that look pretty , but the design makes me sick . it looks like pretty wheels will break . I am looking for a good strong wheel , and designed for strong performance , and not looks . Any brand new wheel is going to look good to me anyway .
My stock wheels are really strong !! ,,, but they gota be replaced .
Thanks for your your info ,, about the fitting , and measuring . Yes i will definitely measure them .

 

[Balke]

Ditto, there are tons of OEM Ford wheels that will fit perfectly, if you are after a different style, check those out first. At this age, finding OEM 20+ year old wheels is harder, and they all have blemishes etc. All of the 1st and 2nd gen Explorer wheels fit, the 94-2004 Mustang wheels will bolt on(but the later 17x9's will be too wide for the front suspension). The early Sport Trac wheels work too, which are a suspension like the 2nd gen Explorers.

Here's the 94-97 Mustang Cobra wheels on my old 98 Mountaineer. Those 90's Mustangs had several 17x8" wheels available.

View attachment 327092

Wow !! love those wheels ,, and your truck . I wish that my truck was in that good shape . Those wheels look very strong and that is what i like . Thanks for your input , and it makes me feel good to see a truck like that .

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good. So hunt around where you are for any 16" Explorer wheels from 98-01 etc. The Rangers from 1998-2011 also had the same wheel types, so a 16" from those will fit your truck, and the tires. Hell, even some police Crown Vic wheels in the late 90's and 2000's might fit, I've seen some people use them(but I'm not sure of the offset on them).

Here's the factory 1999-01 Explorer Limited wheels if you can find them, they are nice, and strong.

 

[Balke]

Very good. So hunt around where you are for any 16" Explorer wheels from 98-01 etc. The Rangers from 1998-2011 also had the same wheel types, so a 16" from those will fit your truck, and the tires. Hell, even some police Crown Vic wheels in the late 90's and 2000's might fit, I've seen some people use them(but I'm not sure of the offset on them).

Here's the factory 1999-01 Explorer Limited wheels if you can find them, they are nice, and strong.

View attachment 327106

Thanks , ya those are very nice rims , and i came across those in my search , i will try and get a pic of my rims tomorrow and post . I found that all of the 16 x 7 , including the after market replicas , are all sold out . Nobody has any in stock . I also found out that my original wheels , cost more money than many new fancy ones .
Im not sure if i remember correctly , but these here ,, i looked at the specs , and i think that something was off . i will check again ,. Thanks for the pic.

 

[J_C]

Explorers and Rangers are (were) very popular vehicles.... at least in the US. If no junkyards near you have any wheels from one at the moment, you might check back in a week.

There is no way I can know what's what in Edmonton, but with a brief search, I saw a place called Bucks Auto Parts with an Edmonton location, that just took in 4 Explorers between '98 and '05 in the last 10 days. Odds are they had wheels... but which size?

I searched just explorer, not sport:

Bucks Auto Parts

www.bucksautoparts.com

 

[Balke]

Explorers and Rangers are (were) very popular vehicles.... at least in the US. If no junkyards near you have any wheels from one at the moment, you might check back in a week.

There is no way I can know what's what in Edmonton, but with a brief search, I saw a place called Bucks Auto Parts with an Edmonton location, that just took in 4 Explorers between '98 and '05 in the last 10 days. Odds are they had wheels... but which size?

I searched just explorer, not sport:

Bucks Auto Parts

www.bucksautoparts.com

Ha !! Bucks ?? ya thats the good old "Car Bashers " which is what their name was way back in the old days ,. They are the self serve wrecking yard a few miles down the highway out of town . Edmonton has 2 self serves , the other one being in town and more expensive , called "" Pick yur Part "" . Car Bashers , ( Bucks ) is the yard that i told you about earlier , we have been going there for many years . One of the wheels was left behind , because i found it apart from the truck , so i moved it under a van to keep it out of the weather , so then i could later come back and get all 4 . When they removed the truck , only 3 of the wheels went with it . I should have taken the one wheel cause that all i really need ,, however , that wheel could have been badly bent as well . I was thinking of going out there to look for it , but this is why i figured to just get brand new ones , cause my other wheels are badly gouged . Anyway , i measured my center bore today , in a parking lot , the weather warmed up to - 8 C ,, some dude came over , saw my wheel off the truck , asked me if im OK ,, i told him ""Yes and thank you for offering help ""
I did not bother to tell him that i was just getting a center bore measurement to be sure .
Funny thing though ,,, what i got is closer to 70.4 than 70.5 and on the inch side it looks like 1/ 32 which is .7 mm my ruler measures to the 64 / inch and 0ne tenth of a mm but its only about 20 - 30 dollar ruler .
Thanks for the info about Bucks Auto ,, maybe i'll take a burn out there ,, but its getting cold again .

Did i really put the wheel under the van only to keep it out of the weather , and not also to keep away other customers ?? because then why not just slide it under the explorer where it could easily be seen ?? No wonder they took away the truck . What seemed strange to me was that they don't remove vehicles unless they are stripped completely to the bone , and this truck had a lot on it .

 

[J_C]

I could be wrong but... metal expands with temperature... if it's 70.4mm at -8C, it might be 70.5mm or even more from wear (cleaning corrosion off) at higher temperature.

 

[Balke]

I could be wrong but... metal expands with temperature... if it's 70.4mm at -8C, it might be 70.5mm or even more from wear (cleaning corrosion off) at higher temperature.

Ya , thanks , i did not take temperature into consideration , not much corrosion , i scraped the surface , i'll go with 70.5 ,, its what the specs say , and what some owners here at the forum say , and from my own measurements , is what it seems to look like . I also found a place on line for centric rings where they have custom aluminum machining for pretty well any size that i want . They cost a bit , but will be worth it . Im waiting for a quote , form a wheel dealer here in town , and while i'm waiting ,, i'll do what you said and go check out Bucks Auto , The thing here is that i would like at least 8 ''width , and oem are 7 " , but if that is what Ford puts out , then it has to be good , so , what ever comes first . Tomorrow I will head on out to Bucks and if i find 4 wheels there , then ill be saving a whole pile of money . I'll have to take into consideration the cost of tire mounting , because at bucks auto , the tires will be on the rims , but then i can use them for summer , if they good tires , and wait till next winter to change over .

 

[J_C]

I think you are too caught up on the rim width. It is no problem to use 7" rims for a 255 width on a 70 ratio sidewall tire.

The tire manufacturers spec acceptable rim sizes for their tire sizes, maybe check that? They definitely will not be liberal in their specs for rim sizes, when it would cost them for their mileage warranty, or safety recalls, when they sell different sizes for different rim sizes.

I have never seen anyone on this forum state that they had a problem with 255's on their stock rims. I have seen a post or two that stated that that if you went up to 31/10.5 (267mm) that they won't wear evenly, but many people have also done that on their stock 7" wide, 15" rims w/o issue, and I suspect a large part of that wear issue is that if you have that big a tire size increase, it should not be inflated to max PSI since the vehicle weight is not enough to offset that.

If your primary concern is a certain look, then sure I would buy whatever rims are necessary for that, but on a 20 year old vehicle, to spend hundreds for rims? I'd never do that unless it was a classic vehicle that was appreciating in value, OR if you're turning it into a rock crawler with different tires and other suspension changes.

You will be able to find used rims from an Explorer or Ranger if you are just patient enough. There are millions of them out there and even if someone buys them before you get the chance, weighing averages... that vehicle they were put on will also eventually be retired and the rims return to the junkyard or craigslist or facebook marketplace, etc.

 

[Balke]

I think you are too caught up on the rim width. It is no problem to use 7" rims for a 255 width on a 70 ratio sidewall tire.

The tire manufacturers spec acceptable rim sizes for their tire sizes, maybe check that? They definitely will not be liberal in their specs for rim sizes, when it would cost them for their mileage warranty, or safety recalls, when they sell different sizes for different rim sizes.

I have never seen anyone on this forum state that they had a problem with 255's on their stock rims. I have seen a post or two that stated that that if you went up to 31/10.5 (267mm) that they won't wear evenly, but many people have also done that on their stock 7" wide, 15" rims w/o issue, and I suspect a large part of that wear issue is that if you have that big a tire size increase, it should not be inflated to max PSI since the vehicle weight is not enough to offset that.

If your primary concern is a certain look, then sure I would buy whatever rims are necessary for that, but on a 20 year old vehicle, to spend hundreds for rims? I'd never do that unless it was a classic vehicle that was appreciating in value.

You will be able to find used rims from an Explorer or Ranger if you are just patient enough. There are millions of them out there and even if someone buys them before you get the chance, weighing averages... that vehicle they were put on will also eventually be retired and the rims return to the junkyard or craigslist or facebook marketplace, etc.

 

[Balke]

ya you are right about that one , but new vehicles are not worth anything to me because they are too bottwormed i would never buy a vehicle past 2001 . There is too much bull in the new vehicles and too many problems . My friends neighbor has dealt in cars all his life , and being a mechanic ,, he came over across the street to look at my truck , and he told me to keep it because it is way better than the new ones . Also , true part time 4wds are hard to come by ,, unless it is a new ford Bronco . No other vehicle has what the Bronco has , being that u can use all wheel drive , or the good old part time 4 wheel drive , and option switches for those also . I like the ford leaf spring suspension ,also . Soon cars will drive them selves ?? ha gimme a break . How will that work in snow storms and black ice ??
They will turn this world into a globe of salt to keep the roads dry in winter , they been doing it here for years now . It was so bad , that it made the news .It is a liquid salt solution , and because of the bad corrosion to the pavement , they said that they would stop doing it 2 years ago , and go back to sand , but they never did. Gotta end up washing the vehicle every week cause of the white powdery crap that gets on and sticks to the vehicle .
Yes i know that the width chart got to my head , and that is what started this whole discussion , i"m glad to have learned that 7 '' are alright for my tire size . I have already put new shocks all the way around , new back brake pads and emergency shoes , new tires , wind shield , battery , changed the diff oil , did some rust treatment , a couple of pan drops to the transmission , a bit of body work to the rear outer wheel wells , Leaf Spring boosters, etc. I still have to get upper and lower valve body gaskets , shift kit and a tcc solenoid for the transmission . Only had the truck for 1 1/2 years
Yep , i thought that i was being stupid for even thinking about new wheels for my 2001 Ford Explorer Sport limited 4wd , but I don't want any other vehicle than the one that i have now . I will first look for used wheels , but not for long . If i can get a new set of AR969 ASEN OFF ROADS , then I will , because my truck is a thousand times better than many brand new vehicles out there . My wheels are damaged , and i need wheels . Funny thing , last summer , somebody that was walking by , while i was out there , came over to me and told me how he liked my truck and said that the body style looks new .
I am now editing this , reply a day later , to update ,,, I am going out to the wreckers tomorrow ,, to find one or all 4 16 X 7 '" I do not want to mount 255s on an 8 inch . Ford mounted them on a 7 " rim and i think that it may be cause of the truck being a 4x4 , subjected to many harsher conditions , more strength needed , as on their 2WDs Mustang speed performance cars , etc .,, being as the joint between the tire bead and rim is much more stronger , making it more difficult for the rim to spin around inside the bead ,,thus separating the tire from the rim . This also helps in situations where the air pressure is lowered in the tire , for more traction.
I also got myself a digital precision ruler today , on sale for 18 dollars and yes now i am absolutely sure that the center bore is 70.5
I want to thank all of you for your input of info to help me out , and you have helped me out a lot , and i learned much importent knowledge .