98 Ford Ranger Tire Size Question

[nsoltero21]

Dudes,

I just bought the WULF 2.5" Front 2" Rear lift kit. I ordered 31x10.5 tires and 15x8 wheels. I'm thinking 31" is weak shiiii, and about going up to 33". Can I run this? If I can what else do I need to make it work or should I just stick with the 31s?

What I got - '98 Ranger XLT 2WD, Manual.

 

[Uncle Gump]

What gear ratio do you have?

 

[Curious Hound]

I think you would be better staying at 31” or add a body lift. 4” suspension lift would be better for 33” tires. Check this article in our tech library.

https://www.therangerstation.com/how-to_pages/ford_ranger_tire_fitment.shtml

 

[nsoltero21]

What gear ratio do you have?

I have 3.72

 

[nsoltero21]

I think you would be better staying at 31” or add a body lift. 4” suspension lift would be better for 33” tires. Check this article in our tech library.

https://www.therangerstation.com/how-to_pages/ford_ranger_tire_fitment.shtml

Thanks Eric. I hear you and thanks for sending the link

 

[Uncle Gump]

3.73 gear and 33 inch tires don't go so well together.

Is you truck TIB or SLA?

 

[sgtsandman]

The kit you got isn't enough for 33" tires. 31" tires is the limit and not rubbing or at least not rubbing badly. You would need one of the lifts mentioned above for 33" tires to fit. Keep in mind, the 4" suspension lift can cause reliability issues with your front drive shaft. There is products out there to address that but even then, it can still be an issue. Note that I'm saying CAN and not WILL. But you need to go in knowing the info up front just in case you end up having issues.

The benefit of the suspension lift is it will give you more ground clearance compared to stock but by nature of the torsion bar design, not as good as a TTB would. The rear axle clearance will not change since it is just blocks lifting the truck. The front uses drop brackets and knuckles to create the lift. The drop brackets lower some items like the Torsion bar mounts and lower control arm mounts in order to make the system work. The angle front drive shaft increases from the lift and that is what causes the reliability and wear issues.

A body lift is cheaper but creates big gaps between the body and the frame, which can be undesirable as far as looks. Also, some items may need to be lengthened to prevent binding and allow them to operate properly like the parking/emergency brake cable and brake hoses.

EDIT: I nissed the part about the OP’s truck being RWD. If it’s a coil spring front end. Not a lot out there for them.

 

[Curious Hound]

The kit you got isn't enough for 33" tires. 31" tires is the limit and not rubbing or at least not rubbing badly. You would need one of the lifts mentioned above for 33" tires to fit. Keep in mind, the 4" suspension lift can cause reliability issues with your front drive shaft. There is products out there to address that but even then, it can still be an issue. Note that I'm saying CAN and not WILL. But you need to go in knowing the info up front just in case you end up having issues.

The benefit of the suspension lift is it will give you more ground clearance compared to stock but by nature of the torsion bar design, not as good as a TTB would. The rear axle clearance will not change since it is just blocks lifting the truck. The front uses drop brackets and knuckles to create the lift. The drop brackets lower some items like the Torsion bar mounts and lower control arm mounts in order to make the system work. The angle front drive shaft increases from the lift and that is what causes the reliability and wear issues.

A body lift is cheaper but creates big gaps between the body and the frame, which can be undesirable as far as looks. Also, some items may need to be lengthened to prevent binding and allow them to operate properly like the parking/emergency brake cable and brake hoses.

Is 98 torsion bar or SLA?

 

[Uncle Gump]

Is 98 torsion bar or SLA?

Those are the same... Short Long Arm has torsion bars.

And we are dealing with a 2WD truck... so it will have either TIB or SLA.

 

[Curious Hound]

Those are the same... Short Long Arm has torsion bars.

And we are dealing with a 2WD truck... so it will have either TIB or SLA.

I didn’t know all SLA’s were torsion bar style. My 97 F150 has what I would call SLA. But I didn’t notice any torsion bar. It just has coil springs and the anti-sway bar.

 

[JohnnyO]

It's a 2wd and not an Edge or Trailhead model so it will have the coil spring front suspension. 32's might fit but I agree, 33's won't fit and for gearing purposes I would stick with 31's.

FYI, 2wd Edge and Trailhead models sat higher and used the 4wd torsion bar suspension.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Anything can fit with a sawzall, lol

honestly I would probably stick with the 31s unless you want to lift it more AND re-gear to 4.10 or 4.56. I had 31s on my 2wd years ago with 3.73 gears but mostly stuck to 30s. My choptop I had 4.10s and started with 31s, lots of power. Then 33s and it was tolerable. Then to 35s and it did not like that, first through third it pulled hard and fourth it fell flat on its face with the 2.9l, had to swap to a 4.0l motor for enough power or I would have had to re-gear. I had the motor from another project but didn’t have the deeper gears

 

[sgtsandman]

I missed the part about it being RWD.

Coil spring front end? Not a whole heck of a lot of anything out there for them. The OP might only have body lift as an option if they insist on getting 33s.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Amazon.com: WULF 2.5" Front 2" Rear Leveling Lift Kit with Front Shocks compatible with 1998-2012 Ford Ranger 2WD: Automotive

Is this the lift you purchased?

 

[55trucker]

I hope that with the install of this kit you have enough movement on the upper control arm eccentrics to adjust the camber angle to get it back to the near -.5 OEM angle. You have the same suspension that I do.
Not saying you positively will but when I dropped my front end there was no way the upper brackets where they were welded to the frame would allow the needed positive direction adjustment of the upper arms & I had to cut them off & move them outboard 1/4" & re-welded them to the frame to get back to the factory angle of -.5. One raises or lowers the front end one will inherently induce negative camber.