Another tire question

[RJH]

Ok I know this has been hashed over before and I searched but really can't find the answer, so here it is. I have a 97, 2wd, 5 speed with the stock 225-70-14 tires. I am thinking of going with 225-70-15 or 235-75-15 tires as I got some 15 inch rims now. My trusty Ranger is used as my daily driver, 25 miles to work and back home again. Has any body made the same switch and how did it affect mileage. Thanks

 

[RonD]

225 is 8.9" wide, 235 is 9.3" wide, wider tires have better traction and also more friction, and more friction is lower MPG, skinny tires get better MPG
Bigger tires also weigh more and make truck sit higher, neither of which is good for MPG, lol.

You would notice some change in MPG but wouldn't be much, maybe .5
Might be a bit more on 4cyl engines because it was at its limit with Rangers weight with stock tires, lol.

Speedometer will also be off, so hard to tell MPG change if using odometer

Good site here: https://tiresize.com/tires/Ford/Ranger/

Click on the tire sizes and look at the REV per mile

The 1997 Ranger should still use the gear driven VSS(vehicle speed) sensor on transmission(2WD) so you can change the gear to get speedo/odo back close to true speed/miles after a tire diameter change

 

[pjtoledo]

your mileage will be affected by the type of tire just as much as the size.

I have a 2005 reg cab 2.3 5sp manual Ranger, it has 11.25" front rotors and 3:73 rear gears. had it since new, currently at 315,000 miles. its seen a few sets of tires.
this was my work truck, 100% pavement, mix of suburban and country driving.
came with 225/70-15 on 6" wheels, which was OK. I ran the Conti's in the summer and Goodyear snow (not winterforce) in the winter. oddly, the Goodyear snows handled better than the Conti's.
235/75-15s produced a small difference in acceleration & braking, a little longer letting the clutch out but easy to get used to. mileage about the same. ran a set of Goodyear Wranglers and later General Grabber AT2s in that size. I like that size.
for a while I had a set of Goodyear Triple Treads in 245/70-16. big difference in clutch, acceleration, braking, hills etc. I did not like those. too heavy, they overwhelmed the Ranger and bounced too much. not good for a daily driver. dropped the mileage a bit.
currently running General KSI Slollom 225/70-16. being a dedicated winter tire they are squishy, and cost a mile or 2 per gallon.

before you screw with the speedometer check it with a GPS unit. according to GPS my larger tires are more accurate than the factory sizes were.

what size front rotors does a 97 have?
you'll need to consider your rear gear ratio, my guess is a 225/70-15 is a good choice for you.

 

[RJH]

Thanks for the reply's. My truck has the 3.73 gears but am unsure of rotor size. I have been running cooper snow tires on all 4 corners and by going to a 15 inch wheel Imhave more options. Of course if I go with the 225 the tire is 1 inch taller and I would suspect that I would not notice much difference. But the 235 is almost 2 inches bigger, I was unsure how that would change mileage and acceleration. I finally have a 4 wheel drive that Imcan drive when the weather gets bad so I will probably go with a more of a street tire. On my truck my speedometer is off as well, if I drive 55 the speed is actually 53 so if I go with the 225-15s it should be right.

 

[Dangerrangers]

RonD got it right again , knowledge is bliss. Listen to this guy.