1997 stock 4X2 XLT on factory 14" wheels looking to source 16" wheels before buying new tires.

[ven0msho]

Have my trusty 165K 97 4.0L that I ordered new at the dealer (at know it all the age of 20), 20 years ago was my daily now it only comes out of the garage when the weather is reasonalby nice, sometimes it does a short tow of the 3500 Lb boat to the launch ramp, never offroad really, mostly brought out for moving furniture or applianes or the boat etc..

Anyway the 14" tires on it are a decade old and are far from worn out due to the 1,000 miles or so per year but traction is marginal in the dry and nearly pointless in the damp. Minor oxidation on the alloys no bead leaks however I'd rather move to 16" for more tire choices.

I'm pondering getting some explorer wheels and powdercoating as most used wheels are terribly oxidized, but for example if I look for 2002 explorer wheels the link here

2002 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 2002 Ford Explorer. Wheel and tire fitment data. Original equipment and alternative options.

www.wheel-size.com

Shows there is a 16 x 7 with the same offset (12mm) that my current 14's have. but which of the nearly 20 or so wheels car-part shows for 2002 Exploders is that? Was the sport track essentially sold with ranger wheels? I don't want to narrow the stance and risk rubbing and it would look funny....

 

[sgtsandman]

Explorers form that era are Ranger based. So rim fitment shouldn’t be an issue. They shared the same lug pattern and axles (with some modifications) with the Rangers as well. People have used Explorer axles on Rangers for years with little problem other than swapping the spring perches and some other minor stuff. So, they should work just fine. I would recommend doing a fit test just to be 100% sure since there has been some variation on the Ranger front axles over the years.

Better safe than sorry and trust but verify.

 

[CrabGuy]

You might look for a set of the alloy 16's offered on the 4x4. Mine were horribly oxidized with peeling clearcoat and they cleaned up pretty well. I've seen the same wheels on the Explorer so there should be plenty of them around

 

[tinman_72]

The four door Explorers from 2002 and newer have wheels with different offset. They will bolt on but will sit farther inside the fender wells and make them look really skinny. The SportTrac and Sports of that era were still Ranger based and have wheels that will fit your Ranger better.

 

[ven0msho]

The four door Explorers from 2002 and newer have wheels with different offset. They will bolt on but will sit farther inside the fender wells and make them look really skinny. The SportTrac and Sports of that era were still Ranger based and have wheels that will fit your Ranger better.

Thanks - this is the perfect clarification of what I was suspecting. I was noticing that there were some Explorers with an ET10 or ET12 offset every year up through 2005, 2006 (the year the SportTrac wasn't built) is when this went away and all the offsets in 2006 and beyond are ~45 which would need 1.5" spacers or so, I believe 1.5 is the minimum needed to clear the studs anyway at least...