Help a Dad help his Son

[thumper4fun]

My dad is giving my 15 year old son his ’01 2wd Ranger Ext Cab XLT with a 3.0 V6 and 3.73 gear. It is silver has been garage kept, low miles and in excellent shape. My son has big plans for his new truck and I’m trying to help him build a safe dependable driver and spend his limited budget wisely.

One of the things he has on his list is to upgrade wheels and tires. He has it in is mind to put on a set of chrome Cragar 15x7 soft 8s (I talked him out of the black soft 8s, I just don’t think the solid black wheels look that good on a silver truck IMHO) wrapped in 31x10.50x15 tires. Obviously to fit the 31s we will need to lift the truck and he was leaning towards a 3” body lift, but after doing some research on this site it appears BLs are not the fan favorite. The truck will see little if any off-road use but he wants the aggressive off-road look…it seems to be the fad with the boys and their rigs around here.

I know my way around a tool box pretty well and have a fairly well equipped home garage (I’m and old drag racer), but I need to draw on the experience and knowledge you guys have. Below are the questions I need your help with.

Are the 31s just too much tire to safely and economically put on a 2wd XLT?
If so, which tire package would you recommend?
If not, what are your suggestions for lifting the truck and how much should it be lifted? Need a parts list, approximate cost and where to get them if you don’t mind and please keep in mind a $1000 lift kit is not in the budget.

I’ve probably forgotten something so feel free to add insight where necessary. I’m open minded and will appreciate any and all feed back. Sorry for the long winded post.

Thanks….Eddie

 

[Chance]

I'd try to convince him to lower it.

The truck will be just fine with 31's and 3.73's... the 3.0 will be a dog a lil, but not bad... just keep it around 3k.

As for the lift, I don't know... I'm not a 2wd guy. I figured I'd throw out my opinion anyways.

 

[Quartermile]

Unless he is going to the dunes, you dont need to lift a 2x4. If its just the look he wants just put extra lights on it and some all terrain factory size tires. If you lift it and put bigger tires on, it'll need a new rear differential too or it wont have any power. click THIS for more tech info

 

[daniel3507]

I have 31s on my 2wd and dont have any problems. I have 4.10 gears and a 4.0 but you could get by with 3.73. You can easily fit 31's on a leveled 2wd truck. It looks a lot better than a 3'' BL and is also cheaper doing a full suspension lift.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

Yep Lower it.
look up some pics of lowered trucks and tell him to be different than the other guys.
Try to help him spread his money around the truck not all in one stroke....Stereo...wheels...window tint and so on.
Hit eaby and Craig's list and see what you can find at a bargain.A little time with you doing some behind the scenes shopping might give him some new ideas instead of copying his friends.
The truck is his not theirs.

 

[07rangerfx4lv2]

trust me he'd get in a lot less trouble in a lowered truck then with a lifted one...having mud tires and being young is not a good idea...

 

[thumper4fun]

Thanks for the lowering suggestion but that is not an option. He wants the aggressive off-road. Contrary to most folks perception of Birmingham it is not flat. There are a lot of steep driveways and entry points that a lowered vehicle can not access. I would pay twice as much on repairing the damage caused to a lowered truck than I would to what little off roading he could possibly do. He and I ride dirt bikes and most of the places we unload our bikes a lowered truck would not be able to get in to.

 

[thumper4fun]

daniel3507,

Checked out your truck and it has the look my son is going for. Are those really 31s in the pic? How did you level yours? I have a friend that works at the Ford dealership and he is my go to guy if I need any work done i.e. 4.10/4.30 gears

I have 31s on my 2wd and dont have any problems. I have 4.10 gears and a 4.0 but you could get by with 3.73. You can easily fit 31's on a leveled 2wd truck. It looks a lot better than a 3'' BL and is also cheaper doing a full suspension lift.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

Thanks for the lowering suggestion but that is not an option. He wants the aggressive off-road. Contrary to most folks perception of Birmingham it is not flat. There are a lot of steep driveways and entry points that a lowered vehicle can not access. I would pay twice as much on repairing the damage caused to a lowered truck than I would to what little off roading he could possibly do. He and I ride dirt bikes and most of the places we unload our bikes a lowered truck would not be able to get in to.

That little bit of info would have been helpful before I shot off trying to help....lol.
Looks like you gotta go up instead of down.

 

[thumper4fun]

No worries Copperhead. Like I said I'm open minded....to a point at least.

That little bit of info would have been helpful before I shot off trying to help....lol.
Looks like you gotta go up instead of down.

 

[bcost882]

here is my truck, same suspension. the spindles prolly aren't easy to get i got mine by luck off craigs list http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76538 they have coils spacers for this truck (don't go over 2in. cause then you need upper control arms and they are like 400-500). you can find em on ebay, get the steel ones not aluminum or poly. Or you can get leveling coils duno much about them. if you put on 3in of lift you can fit 31s good and prolly 32s. please don't do a bl everyone des em and it does nothing for improving performace of the suspension. the only thing i wish i had was some 4.30 gears to make up for the power loss but it really isn't that diffrent to drive. Is it a manual or auto trans?

 

[superds]

I think the black wheels would look cool on a silver Ranger. That's what I would do if it were mine. Also, look into the 15x8 wheels instead, I think they generally run about the same price and they will fit the 31x10.50 tires a little better and allow even larger tires in the future! (like when he's done with college and you don't have to foot the bill anymore)

 

[thumper4fun]

Bcost882,

My son's truck has an auto trans. Your truck looks good by the way. Do the spindles make the front track wider? All the ones I've seen with the spindle upgrade look like they are wider in the front than a stock truck. Or is that just an optical allusion?

here is my truck, same suspension. the spindles prolly aren't easy to get i got mine by luck off craigs list http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76538 they have coils spacers for this truck (don't go over 2in. cause then you need upper control arms and they are like 400-500). you can find em on ebay, get the steel ones not aluminum or poly. Or you can get leveling coils duno much about them. if you put on 3in of lift you can fit 31s good and prolly 32s. please don't do a bl everyone des em and it does nothing for improving performace of the suspension. the only thing i wish i had was some 4.30 gears to make up for the power loss but it really isn't that diffrent to drive. Is it a manual or auto trans?

 

[thumper4fun]

I agree the black wheels would look good, but I just think the chrome wheels look better on the silver truck especially with chrome trim & bumpers, IMHO. The reason we are going with the 15x7 wheels is so he won't be tempted to go to a larger wheel in the future. I think the 31x10.50x15 will be all the tire he will ever need....especially when he has to buy them.

I think the black wheels would look cool on a silver Ranger. That's what I would do if it were mine. Also, look into the 15x8 wheels instead, I think they generally run about the same price and they will fit the 31x10.50 tires a little better and allow even larger tires in the future! (like when he's done with college and you don't have to foot the bill anymore)

 

[RjFabWerx]

I'm also in on the black wheels...If 31's would be even close to rubbing, I put some 30/9.50 Hankook M/T's on one of my Rangers and it looked mean and there was TONS of room to play around with no lift...You can get 5 of these (matching spare) in the ball park of $400-$500...Just my .02...Good luck...