Is this the way all Rangers were equipped? Spare tire

[RangerVet]

I have only owned my '05 Ranger Edge (2wd stick shift 3.0) for a few months and am slowly discovering things about it. The door sticker shows it came equipped with 235 75R 15 tires all around.
I dropped the spare today to lube the lifting mechanism and check the air pressure. Imagine my surprise to find that the spare is a 235 70R 16. The tire has never been run on the road as far as I can tell. The nubbins are still on it and the white letters on the tread looks brand new.
Is this something Ford did with the Ranger? It seems odd that the spare does not match the original wheels!

 

[Dirtman]

No, it's not a ford thing... over almost 15 years someone most likely just threw a new spare under there using whatever they had laying around.

 

[Mike Tonon]

I’m pretty sure that my 07 had the same size tire. Unless you have 4x4 or limited slip, you probably don’t need it.

 

[pjtoledo]

as a general rule, loosely adhered to: 2wd gets mini spare, 4wd gets full size.
is your spare an actual temporary tire?

wait as minute, Edges can have the front brakes upgraded to 12" rotors which would need 16" wheels to clear the bigger brakes.
what size are the other tires? what size are the front brake rotors? torsion bar front suspension, right?

I think 235-70-16 is a common Jeep size.

 

[86merc5.0]

If you look up the tire diam you will see 235/75/15 is 29 in & turns 729 and 235/70/16 is 29 in & turns 729. so overall diam is the same. the 16 will clear bigger brakes/control arms. also note: current vehicles have larger diam rim/tire combo's as factory new. 16"/17"/18"/19" are the new 13"/14"/15".

 

[sgtsandman]

My 2011 came with the same setup. I fixed that when I changed out the factory Goodyears with some BFG KO2s.

The non- matching spare isn't a big deal if you use it as a temporary spare and put it back after you get the flat tire repaired or replaced. You don't want to be driving around with mismatched tires for a long period of time though. It is better to have all the same tires, especially if you have a limited slip or a locker in one or both of the axles.

 

[RangerVet]

Thank you for the information. I will check my front rotor size tomorrow. The wheels and tires it came with were 15" per the door frame sticker. Yes, it does have torsion bar suspension.

 

[Mike Tonon]

I would recommend that you have the same size tire as a spare. And preferably similar, if not the same style tread and about 30-50% tread left on it. Unless you have 2wd and open diffs.

 

[19Walt93]

My 11 Ranger came with 235/75r15's on the ground and a 16" spare when new- and still has them. My 2004 Ranger had 245/75r16's and a Traction Lok rear with a 15" spare. I suspect your spare is the original.

 

[Ranger850]

my 01 Edge came with 15" steelies -5 of them, 4 on the ground and a spare.

 

[fastpakr]

As someone else said above - if the overall diameter is the same, it's perfect. Drive as far as you need to on it with no worries.

 

[Mike Tonon]

Not perfect, but not worth changing.

 

[racsan]

My 93 4x4 came with 235/75/15’s but the spare was a 225/70/15. Said “temporary use only” on tire but was a real, regular tire. Maybe a 235 wouldn’t fit in the spare carrier. I always move my spare to the bed, current ranger I had to remove spare carrier anyways when I made a receiver hitch. I’m guessing the 225 said temporary because of the size difference between it and the 235’s that truck came with.

 

[Danno1985]

Mine came with a normal 15X7 steelie with a 225/70r15. 235/75r15 would definitely fit in the spare carrier; you should be able to fit at least up to a 31 down there, I would think.

 

[sgtsandman]

A 31" fits but only just so. Anything bigger, one would need to find an alternate way to store it.