Will 31" tires fit?

I have a 98 Explorer Eddie Bauer. If I raise it 1 1/2" using the torsion bar and shackle lift, will 31" tires fit without and body mods? Also, If I replace my Firestone Wilderness AT's by myself, can I still get money from Ford without having them put the Goodyear replacements on? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Matt

 

[JDraper]

The answer to all your questions is YES!!! The 31's will fit (mine only just brush the swaybar at full lock), and Ford will reimburse you for the tires. I got my BFG 31's from Sears, took the receipt and Deathstones to my local dealer, and a week later, they sent me a check for $550.00 Take a look at my pix below, and you can see how they fit.

 

[BuilderBee133]

thanks man, i like the way that yours looks. not too much, but enough. is it going to matter that i have 16" wheels compared to your 15"? is there a max amount of $ that they will give you for tires? thanks again.

Matt

 

[JDraper]

There is a max amount, but I don't remember what it is for 16" tires. There are plenty of threads on it here if you search, and Ford's website has the $$ amounts (I think). I don''t know if you can get 31's for 16" wheels or not. You might have to go with 225 or 265-16s instead.

 

[ok89]

$130 for 16 inch rims
$110 for 15 inch rims

This is the age old questions of explorers: "Will 31"s fit"

 

[BuilderBee133]

whats the difference between 225's and 265's? and which would you recommend?

 

[JDraper]

Your choice. the # is the section width of the tire in mm. The bigger the #, the wider (and slightly taller) the tire is for a given aspect ration (the 75 in this case) there are a couple of thread up here about tire sizing.

 

[Mark Drysdale]

I have just installed 265/75/16 Pirelli AT onto my 97 XLT and with a 1" lift on the front only these clear both the inner arches front and rear on full lock and when the axles are articulating.

The tires have a rolling radius of 31.7.

So I would consider fitting 31's to be of no problem at all.

In addition the Pirelli's have a nice agressive tread pattern for all terains and give really good grip on dry and wet road with a high resistance to aquaplanning.