1996 Ranger W/ 17in Wheels

[Texas T]

Hello guys. I have a 1996 Ranger single cab, 2.3 with no body or suspension modifications. I bought a set of 17in wheels and tires for a '73 Mustang that did not fit that application, so I put the wheels and tires on the Ranger. The low profile tires leave way too much wheel well space for me and I need to know what are the largest tires I can run here?

 

[Snoranger]

What size tire did the truck have originally?

Did you like the way that tire filled the wheel well? Or do you want a bigger or smaller tire?

 

[Texas T]

I would like a bigger tire

 

[Snoranger]

I would like a bigger tire

I could arbitrarily throw tire sizes at you all day. To make sure you’re happy with the end result, what size tire was on the truck originally and how much bigger would you like to go?

 

[superj]

Is it a stick or auto? An auto with larger tires/rims and the 2.3 might not be able to get on the highway anymore

 

[Texas T]

It’s a stick

 

[Texas T]

Just looking for a tire to fill this gap a bit. Thinking about 245/65r17

 

[superj]

I was looking at those same mustang wheels for my ranger. They look great but, to me, the truck needs to be lowered to fit the look of those wheels.

And you have a single cab five speed 2wd so i would lower it as far as i could go. Thats what i have slowly been doing on my 04 singlw cab 2wd. Minenis an edge though so i have the torsion bar front suspension instead of coild springs. If i had coils, i would probably be at the point of ball joint demis already.

 

[Texas T]

You’re probably right. I just didn’t want to lower it

 

[Snoranger]

Im going to assume, since you’ve yet to tell us, that those are 245/45r17. (Correct me if I’m wrong, so I correct my numbers here.) That would mean they’re about 25.5” tall. A 245/65r17 would be about 29.5” tall. That would give you about 2” more side wall all the way around. That would fill a good amount of the wheel well gap and it would look pretty good without lowering it.
The only issue would be, as mentioned above, that you’d lose performance. Not that the 2.3l is know for any sort of performance, but it would be a noticeable loss of what little power it had originally.

 

[Texas T]

That’s what I was thinking. It’s not my daily, but it’s handy around here for moving stuff…guess I’ll just live with it like this…she can’t afford to lose any horses…slow enough as it is…

 

[Snoranger]

I have an ‘02 with a 4cyl, so I feel your pain. I’d keep my eyes open for some cheap drop springs. My ‘02 has a 4/5” drop and it’s the easiest loading truck I ve ever owned. You’d be amazed how much better your back feels not having to lift everything quite as high.

 

[JoshT]

If you're just driving it in and around Atlanta, you'll be fine with taller tires. Small or large tires that truck doesn't have enough power to keep up on the interstates unless it's during rush hour. Off the interstate you won't be going that fast anyway. We still need to know what stock tire size was, or what size these are replacing (tire size not wheel size), if we're going to suggest a good tire size for those wheels. If you're unsure what the stock size was, look at the tag inside the door jamb.