hey guys, im planning on getting a 3 inch performance accesories lift on my 1999 ford ranger rear wheel drive 4 cylinder 2.5 liter regular cab automatic. Along with the lift i want new tires to fit the wheel well. What size tires do you think will be good if i dont want to kill my mpg. Heres a pic of a ford ranger with 33's but i think those are too big for me. I just need advise, thanks.
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/2/3991/3721/22476860017_large.jpg
If you don't want to pay to re-gear the rear end, then you should get 31's. I had 3.73 gears in my 95 2.3 and it was still drivable even without the gear change (though I didn't use 5th gear unless there was no wind or I was going faster than 55mph). If you have 4.10 gears already in it, then you will notice some loss at take off, but it won't be too bad at all.
if you want gas mileage...don't lift it, don't put larger tires on it...
if you put 33's on it.. you'll want 4.56's if not 4.88's..
if you kept it around a 31 inch tire you might get away w/ 4.10's...
i went from a 30 to 33 on my b2 (4.0, a4ld auto, 3.73's) and my gas mileage dropped form about 17 in town to about 12 in town... yeah.... it SUCKS. but i have 4.56's for my new axles that should help some.
I agree, if you put 33s on you will want to re-gear to at least 4.56s (I would go to 4.88s with 33s and a 4cyl).
With my 95 2.3, 3" Body lift, 31s and 4.56s it's pretty good power wise for what I have, If I was going to spend the money on re-gearing I would want it to be at least stock ratios or lower. If I were you, I would decide on what tire size I wanted for sure. If it is 31s, you could put them on and drive it for a while geared the way it is to see if you can deal with the setup. If you decide on 33s, you will want to regear before or soon after you put the tires and lift on or you will be really disappointed with the performance.
If what you want to do is get the truck looking a little cooler but not have your gas mileage eat at your wallet, I would recommend going with 31s. When I first installed my body lift, and got the 31's on with the 3.73 gears, I was getting an average of about 23mpg (that's with the 2.3 though). I haven't checked my mileage with the 4.56s; I can't get my speedo corrected without getting an aftermarket electronic calibration unit.
Do you know for sure what gears you have in it? Also what tire size do you have now?
Something else to keep in mind is, if you would get 33s, re-gear and decide you didn't want tires that big, you would have to re-gear again to put smaller tires on it if you went with 4.88s. 4.56 gears would be your best bet if you would re-gear, because then if you went with 33s, and decided to go with a smaller tire, you could get 31s and still be good. Or like I said, you could just get some nice 31s and drive it geared as it is and see how you like it (cheapest route)
Plus, I could be wrong, but to fit 33s on a 2wd I think you will need a body lift and at least a leveling kit for the front. With just a body lift 31s will fit no problem...