Quick tire/spacer question...

[JimRummy]

So my 93 Ranger (4.0 V6 extended 2wd) needs some new tires. She came stock with the 225/70/14. I've purchased some 15" ranger rims, and am looking to get some nice AT's. Now apparently every tire shop around here refuses to install anything but stock sizes, because after referring to their little super book he told me that the 215/75/15 is the only ones they can install. Apparently the 30/9.50/15 and/or 235/75/15 are "way too large" and wouldn't work. All my research and conversations with other ranger owners gave me a different impression. Any way being that I will be going to a larger wheel (up & down and side to side, and I know that a 225/70/14 to a 215/75/15 isn't a large jump at all) should I be concerned with any rub? They certainly went out of their way to convince me of that.. If I did end up purchasing a spacer, how big would I want to go? Just the 1'' to compensate for the 1" wider rims?
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[--weezl--]

HIGHLY doubt that you would need a spacer, being that the 225/70/14 tis actually wider than the 215/75/15 and only shorter by about 1 1/4 inches... i HIGHLY doubt that you will notice ANY difference driving between those two sizes...

especially seeing as stock on my mustang was 225/60/15 and i have mounted up to 235/75/15 on the same rim, and also a 275-something on it

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

No spacers needed with stock wheels.

 

[JimRummy]

Cool, good deal.
How about if I take the rims in separately, so I can get the larger tires?
Are the 235/75/15's really going to make that much of a different?
After using the tire size calculator it really acts like there isn't much difference at all (like 2'' taller 1 1/2'' wider), so what would be your advice on that?
Stick with the stock size or go a little bigger against the advice of the "professional" tire installers... Also if I did go with the larger size, spacer then?

 

[--weezl--]

you won't NEED a spacer, it will be driveable for sure, it might be a good idea to get one down the road, but you can do that after you have cycled the suspension, and know what's up...

the metric tire sizing (p235/75-r15) means, literally, p is passenger tire (there is also LT and a few others) 230 is the footprint in mm, 75 is the aspect ratio, this is the size of each side wall, compared to the footprint, so in your case each sidewall is 75% of 235mm, which is 176.25mm, there are 2 sidewalls of course, so this number doubles when calculating height, the R, means that it is a radial tire, there is also D, which means diagonal, such as bias ply tires, and B for belted tires... the last number is 15, which is the rim size in inches.

there may be other letters, like a C after all of them, which means it's a commercial vehicle tire, or an extra letter before the R, like for instance, p235/75-zr15, where the z signifies speed rating, in the case of the letter z, it is the highest speed rating that they make (or it was when i last looked into it) no speed rating implies that it is a low rating, i believe 130km/h?