2002 Ranger Edge 4x4 Lift Identification and Tire Size Questions?

[Uncle Gump]

@Mr.Wizard

Did you get your truck back together?

Good points made with tire clearance and gear ratios mentioned above. With the lift you have as @DRanger024 mentioned... 33X12.50's will fit most likely with zero issue. I chose 32's with my 4.10 gear... to put 33's back in the sweet spot would require a gear change to 4.56. But lots of folks run 33's with a 4.10 gear.

As for your fender flares.... those look like factory stuff to me.

 

[sgtsandman]

4.10s will work with 33” tires but your get up and go will suffer some. On the plus side, you will be in the best mpg range with that setup.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

@Uncle Gump New axles and bearings going in right now! Mechanic just sent me these terrifying/hilarious photos.

There was never an axle there, it must have gone bad and the PO plugged the diff with a rubber "seal" ("To keep the dirt in and the oil out" to quote my mechanic). He put some junkyard conversion hub on that side with hacksawed hub threads and a locking mechanism that kept the wheel on. The other sides stock so I'm going to drop the spacers for now and find some wheels and tires this week with the appropriate back spacing. I'll take some better photos of the rims when I've got them off, I'm curious if anyone can figure out what they came off of.

So basically it was a three wheel drive Ranger. One of the more bizarre backyard bumpkin mods I've come across

@sgtsandman That's good to know, I've got a short ten mile one way commute but I'll be driving it a few times a week. Probably end up going to the 4.56 down the road once I've got the rest of it sorted and get some offroad miles under my belt.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Wow... I don't see how that pretend locking hub held the wheel hub on. I think the caliper would prevent the hub from just falling off. Doesn't matter now... it has a damn axle.

The smoking deals aren't always what they seem to be... lol. Just glad it is getting properly fixed and you can get out and enjoy your truck.

That's a good looking truck...be sure to show off your new wheels when you get it back together.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

I'm looking at the following wheel / tire combo -- the BFG wheel spec's say it recommends a minimum 8.5" rim (33 x 12.5 x 15), is that a hard won't fit correctly or is that more of a guideline and it'll be fine? I'd really like the wider wheel for the look but will move to the 10.5" if the width will cause issues.

Tire:

BFGoodrich Tires 37881 BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 Tires | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 Tires with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Tires at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

Wheel:

U.S. Wheel 044-5812 U.S. Wheel 044 Series Stealth Crawler Black Wheels | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - U.S. Wheel 044 Series Stealth Crawler Black Wheels with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Wheels at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

General opinions on that combo also welcome! I'm stuck ordering from Summit but they seem to have a nice broad selection.

 

[Curious Hound]

It’s more of a guideline. I wouldn’t be afraid to put them on 8” rims. My personal preference would be to use 9” or 10” wide rims. With 8” wide rims, the tires will bulge a little more and maybe protect the rims better from rocks and stuff. I’m running 35x12.50x15 BFG all terrains on 10” wide rims on my truck

 

[Uncle Gump]

I didn't see weight of each of those listed... overall weight of my tire/wheel combo was a big consideration for me. My combo ended up coming in at 70lbs per. A couple choices and you can go from 70lbs each to 90 or 100lbs each. That is alot of weight on each corner if you don't need it.

But hey... we buy these things because we want the look and to serve a purpose.

As for the 12.50 on an eight inch wide wheel... people do it... would be better on a 10 inch wide.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

Got everything together and dialed in, that rim/tire combination I posted above worked out really well, very happy with it! No rub or trimming necessary and got rid of those pesky spacers. Also sanded down the headlights with 400, 800 and 1200 then gave them a 2k, made a huge difference without spending cash.

Also cut down, sanded painted and 2K'd cleared the stereo bezel to match my black metal flake KZ1100 paint job and annoy my girlfriend. Got it running the components and threw in a 900W Pioneer to run two 8" boxes in the back, super happy with the JVC receiver and the system sounds great. Android carplay works pretty seamlessly (although it's gotta be plugged in the phone, no wireless) and the navigation features are great. Not happy with the Metra adapter, there's another model out there I'm going to try that doesn't sink the screen so far back in the bezel.

Here's some shots of the old rims off the truck, they are true two part American Racing rims manufactured in Japan. Are these worth anything? Was thinking of cleaning up the interiors and giving them an exterior polish, I love the look of them.

And then next steps for the truck - I'm really liking the look of Affordable Offroad's bolt on Elite front Bumper with Baja Wing sides, they've got a bolt on skid plate and bull bar I think would look pretty slick without braking the bank. Anyone had experience with their products? Looks like an honest small business operation I'd be stoked on supporting from their videos.