Is this a common tire size?

[gjm4l]

My rangers door sticker says it takes 215/70R14's, I've been running 205/75R14's which I know are both about 26" and 8.5" and 8" wide respectively. I just snagged a set of 15" wheels to put some summer tires on(if only they were aluminum) If I did the math right a set of 215/65R15 are 26x8.5. The problem seems to be that none of the used tire stores seem to have any in that size and I wanna do used tires until I can save up for some nice one's or nice rims. So the question is, is 215/65R15 a common tire size or is another combination of those darned metric widths and percentages out there that everything runs. I never buy street tires so I have no idea whats what..... Maybe even 2wd rangers with 15" rims run the exact tire I need lol. Any help would be appreciated. Oh another possibility is one of our old work trucks that doesn't run has a nearly new set of 215/75R15's on it which come out to be like 27.6" or something that and I could prolly get them cheap/free but I'm afraid my little 2.3L and 3.54 gears will lose the little bit of pep I pretend it has and possibly lose mileage( the 205's are mud n snows hence the want for street tires). Any thoughts on that one?

 

[JohnnyO]

With that engine and gears I wouldn't go real tall on the tires.
The 215/65-15 was a common size back in the 80's, it was the standard tire on Z-28's and Trans Am's at the time, optional size on S-10's and Astros. If you check some tire shops they should have them or be able to order them. A 235/60-15 is about the same OD and may be more easily findable. They really don't put 15" rims on much of anything anymore except for compact cars.

 

[Heavyfire14]

the 215/75r15 is the stock size. just go with those. ecespically if their really cheap/free. p225/75r15 will fit too and will look better cause their a lil bigger than stock.

 

[gjm4l]

Thanks for the info Johnny O. I'll keep checking around. I can find that size new but for now I'm searching the used places for cheapies til I save up. I'll ask about the 235/60's now too. Yeah I don't wanna go too upsize on the tires cause it's my DD and I want keep up MPG's. I just didn't know if anyone would know if 1.6ish inches would be a big jump and hurt mileage. Measuring the actual tires mounted they are marginally bigger but the 215/75's are on a 2wd F150. I may go with them but idk yet. Thanks heavyfire but 215/70 is my stock size. The 215/75's are almost 2" bigger(with change from 14 to 15 rims). I like a bigger tire for asthetics (had 30's on my 06' ranger, I loved it but it had 4.10 gears) but I know it'll hurt my mileage and power. I would just drop a size or two to get some more torque but that hurts the looks lol.

 

[JohnnyO]

BTW, love the siggy. Check out www.mulletjunky.com.

 

[Will]

15" were the big rims. What happened? Steel got cheaper than rubber?

 

[gjm4l]

Indeed I thought it was nuts when I noticed my 98 F150 had 16" steelies stock. Now our silverado's have 17" steelies at work....... So now I can't find used 15" tires! It's a racket between car makers and tire makers, every inch up in wheel size seems to add $50-$100 to each tire.....At least my wheel upgrades were free even have 265/75 cooper atr's on them(3 at 20% and 1 bald) but those are way to big for me to run. Still hopin somebody near me will want to trade tires. I've got pics and the tale up in the general forum under "a great day for the ranger and me" if anybodies curious.

Johnny O that site is AWESOME! I usually find great ones on peopleofwalmart.com My future brother in law would like your avatar. He explains the finer points of microbrews to me constantly in way more detail than I care about (I just want it to be good) He's even taken up brewing in the last few months and is already up to a second kegerator that hold 4 kegs(the pepsi style) each. Admittedly even his very first batch while not perfect was perfectly drinkable and I understand that's impressive for anyones first try.

 

[gjm4l]

I just realized all my posts are reallly longwinded or long typed or whatever just long.....

 

[gjm4l]

Bummer the cheapest tires I can find in 215/65r15 are around $80 each. I paid $250 installed for all 4 mud n' snows I have now in 205/75r14. Am I missing something? I thought switching to 15's would open up possibilities including cheap tires...... Is there a size equivilent that is way more common therefore cheaper thats measured as overall a 26x8.5ishx15 but in stupid metric sizes. I hate metric tire sizes..........

 

[gjm4l]

Rather than open a new thread I'll ask here first. Can anyone definitively say yes or no that around 2" larger diameter tires will have a BIG effect on power/mpg. It's on my 92' reg. cab, 2wd, 2.3L with 3.54 gears. The metric difference is 205/75r14 to 215/75r15, and with the upsize in rims it makes it a bigger jump in actual diameter(I hate metric sizes...) Yes I have all that info scattered throughout the thread but I'm putting it all here at the end to make for easier reading/understanding because it boils down to I can get the 215's for free and I'm too broke to buy the size I want new right now, but I REALLY wanna run my new to me wheels and save my mud n snows for wintertime. But if it kills the mpg and the "massive" power of the 2.3 there's no point in going through the trouble of rim swapping and blah, blah, blah that I'd have to do to get the free tires in question. But that's what I expect and I'm hoping someone will come through and say oh yeah I did that and my 2.3 pulled it fine and I actually gained mpg. I doubt thats the case but I'm hoping lol.

 

[JohnnyO]

Bummer the cheapest tires I can find in 215/65r15 are around $80 each. I paid $250 installed for all 4 mud n' snows I have now in 205/75r14. Am I missing something?

Will gets it:

15" were the big rims. What happened? Steel got cheaper than rubber?

Actually it probably is cheaper. These days you're lucky to find any tire for less than $80. 1), the gubmint has a tax on tires imported from China, which is a lot of them. This makes the Chinese tires cost more and then the tiremakers can also charge more for the tires made here. 2), tires are not really made from rubber tree sap in Botswana, they are made from oil, and we know what's happened with the cost of that.

 

[06_FX4]

You will be fine

Your stock tires are 26.1 inches in diameter and the new ones are 27.7 inches. Take a look at this great resource in the tech library...

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/gearandtirechart.html

With those 3.55 gears you will want to stay in the green area for a good daily driver. That means you can run 26 - 28 inch tires no problem. The problems you need to look out for are the shift point changes in the tranny, if it's an automatic, and the 6 percent drop in the speedo reading. Since that truck is a 92 the shift point changes probably won't even be noticeable. But with that 2.3 L you might expect a little drop in mileage. It all depends on how and where you drive it .

Recently I changed the tire/rim size on my 1998 4.0L XLT with 3.55 gears. The stock tires were 225/70/14. I upgraded them to 225/70/15, which is a 4 percent change. The difference is not that much, but I have noticed the tranny shifts a little smoother, and I like the slightly higher gearing. It's mostly highway driven and the mileage didn't change at all, and it can still smoke the tires off the line.
Ironically my speedo is right on the money after the change, as it always read about 2mph fast at 60 mph.
I'd say you're gonna be just fine staying below a 28 inch tire.

Here's another fantastic resource for checking tire size changes...

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

[06_FX4]

Cheaper tires

BTW if I had more time and money I would change my 3.55 gears to 3.73 and put on some 235/70/15 or 235/75/15s. On occasion you will see them on sale for about 85 bucks. The Wranglers are a great tire in that size too.

 

[strvger]

i don't think you will see any difference between the 215/65 and the 215/75 sizes. the 60 series with it's wider footprint will give you more traction, but at the cost of more drag. the narrower 75 series will have the smaller footprint and less drag, but being taller will affect the overall gear ratio. i'm thinking they should just about even out for your gas mileage and performance. to me, the nod would go to the 75 series tires because they are FREE. you will have to drive many, many miles to equal things out cost wise between buying new tires and the slightly lower (maybe) gas mileage with the taller tires.
just my $.02.

 

[gjm4l]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Good point about free tires outweighing losing a little mpg strvger. And another good point on the cost of rubber and that political crap johnnyO. 06_fx4 I totally forgot about that chart being in tech thanks for that. When I do eventually mount my jeep wheels it will be just like the problem you just solved in your thread about your tire issues. I posted overthere and I'll be having to mount these the same way I was talking about on your thread but never thought about it for your issue lol, sorry. Oh and my trucks a 5 speed I can't stand a 4cyl auto that has to shift if you sneeze out the window and make it lose some momentum lol.