My son's first truck. I need ideas!

[Simple Man]

Well, he's down to deciding between black and maroon. It will be one of those colors but he's undecided yet. He has decided that he wants a set of soft 8's black steel wheels, and we'll probably go with the BFG at's although that's not set in stone yet. I think I will go with the 2" skyjacker coils to level it and may even bump it up a tad higher if we don't get the look we are desiring. He's wanting to run 31" tires and from everything I have read we should be able to accomplish that with the 2" lift.

The black steel wheels I have found have a back spacing of 4". Will this be okay? It seems like I might have read somewhere that the rangers needed a 3.5" BS??

 

[Simple Man]

just one question, will you adopt me


and as a contribution an upgraded stereo would probably be cool too

LMAO one kid is enough for me!
He got lucky in that the truck already has a kick arse satellite stereo in it with nice speakers all the way around. But, if he wants to upgrade the system too then I'm all for it but he'll have to wait on that for last.

There isn't anything I enjoy more than doing things for my son... He's my life and I get to enjoy it all with him.

 

[WNY964x4]

Well, he's down to deciding between black and maroon. It will be one of those colors but he's undecided yet. He has decided that he wants a set of soft 8's black steel wheels, and we'll probably go with the BFG at's although that's not set in stone yet. I think I will go with the 2" skyjacker coils to level it and may even bump it up a tad higher if we don't get the look we are desiring. He's wanting to run 31" tires and from everything I have read we should be able to accomplish that with the 2" lift.

The black steel wheels I have found have a back spacing of 4". Will this be okay? It seems like I might have read somewhere that the rangers needed a 3.5" BS??

i have run 31's on almost all my trucks except my 97 2wd , and i have never lifted one of them , and when i di lift the 2000 , i dad a 3 inch , and the 21's looked way to tiny

and the 4" is fine , they need a minimum of 3.5" , and with a 4" it will give the truck a wider stance

 

[Beast4x4]

I had a 2002 2wd ranger at one point, while i had it i had put BFG All Terrains on it thinking it would be better than the stock oe tires in the winter. now it was way better than the stock tires were but deep stuff of 6 inches forget it i would still get stuck so +1 on the locker idea.

I did put new wheels when i did the tires i got the soft 8 series 99 in a 16x7 with a 3.73 back space on em from 4wheel parts. they fit great and i think spacing looked perfect, the tire lined up right with the body. But it all depends on the "look" that he is going for.

 

[Simple Man]

i have run 31's on almost all my trucks except my 97 2wd , and i have never lifted one of them , and when i di lift the 2000 , i dad a 3 inch , and the 21's looked way to tiny

and the 4" is fine , they need a minimum of 3.5" , and with a 4" it will give the truck a wider stance

3.5" back spacing means the wheels will stick out further than a 4" back spacing. The smaller the back spacing the further the wheels sticks out from the truck.

So, my question is: since the 4" BS wheels stick in closer to the truck, will they work on a ranger with 31" tires?

 

[Simple Man]

I had a 2002 2wd ranger at one point, while i had it i had put BFG All Terrains on it thinking it would be better than the stock oe tires in the winter. now it was way better than the stock tires were but deep stuff of 6 inches forget it i would still get stuck so +1 on the locker idea.

I did put new wheels when i did the tires i got the soft 8 series 99 in a 16x7 with a 3.73 back space on em from 4wheel parts. they fit great and i think spacing looked perfect, the tire lined up right with the body. But it all depends on the "look" that he is going for.

Yeah I could see the tread on an AT tire getting packed with snow and decreasing traction. I am still undecided what tires to go with. Heck, I may set him up with a full blwn mud tires like my Cooper STT muds I'm running on my F150.

Here is my F150

 

[WNY964x4]

3.5" back spacing means the wheels will stick out further than a 4" back spacing. The smaller the back spacing the further the wheels sticks out from the truck.

So, my question is: since the 4" BS wheels stick in closer to the truck, will they work on a ranger with 31" tires?

yea , sorry bout that , i always get backspace and offset confused

and it depends on what size rimwidth he is getting , here , check this out , i run a 15x8 with a -19 offset , https://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html bout a quarter of the way down is a chart