Is there any advantage or disadvantage to doing so?

Currently have 245/75s on 16x7s (4.10s) and am shopping around for new wheels. Not sure if I want to stay with 31s or move up to 33s (no lift), as I drive 500+ miles a week for my commute. I found a set of wheels I like that are 15x7s and didn't know if it would benefit me by staying with 16s (cheaper rubber, weight distribution, etc), or if it mattered.

 

I think 15" tires are cheaper than the 16" But it might depend on what kind of tire you would get

 

In general 15 wheels are cheaper than 16s because of the tire size. If you have 16s already would stick with that and go with a 285/75/16 tire. Remember if you go with 16s the sizes will be metric

 

larger tires are going to affect your fuel economy...be prepared to shell out more for gas

 

Oh yah, if your going to be driving 500+ miles to work I wouldn't go to big, stay with your 16s and get 265/75/16

 

What's that, a 32? Is there going to be any real difference between that and my 31s~245/75s?

 

245/75r16 is 30.5 brand new. Smaller than a 31.



Honestly, you're way over thinking. You MIGHT gain a little mpg on the freeway by bumping up a tire size or two. 265/75r16's or something of the like. Just keep in mind the load range of the tire. Hard part with 16" truck tires is that they're most typically made for 3/4 and 1ton pickups....so a 1ton tire is gonna ride like a brick on a Ranger. Larger tires will lower your effective gear ratio, drop highway rpm's some, but will also make the engine work harder to get going in town(less mpg's).

I haven't a clue what engine you have, but if it's the 4.0 SOHC, they LOVE rpm's. I regularly see 19-20mpg on the freeway in 5th and pulling 3100 rpm's at 75-80 mph and my truck's a tall fat brick. lol. And remember, anything above 65 in a truck is pushing a brick through the air and mpg's drop off.

 

basically just make sure you stay with a "p" tire not an "lt"

anything higher than a 4 ply will ride pretty rough compared to what you're used to.

mpg won't change from a 245 to a 265. you're looking at MAYBE 2 or 3 more pounds a tire it's not noticable lol. but you're going to notice it handles alot better with a wider tire! :) plus more rubber on the road helps you stop a bit quicker
another note however-bigger wheels are alittle harder on your brakes but not horrible by any means!

 

Not necesarly true. Like I said, it's the load range. C or D range is Ranger range. E or F are full size range which would cause the rough ride, but very very long lasting tires. Similar to semi-truck tires on a 1ton...they'll last freakin' forever. lol. You should know this, Mr. Les Schwab! lol.



Not necesarily true. The weight difference is a small minor issue. What really is the issue with mpg and tires is the diameter difference changes the trucks effective gear ratio(the ratio at the ground). On a 4.10 truck with 30.5's(245/75) and going to a 265/75, the effective axle ratio changes to about a 3.90(no calculater, it's a guess to make a point). This could be just enough to actually gain you some mpg on the freeway and lose a little in town. Difference won't be much at all. 1-2 tops.



Overall, driving habits is the biggest mpg gainer. And think about it, you're driving a heavy truck with a big motor....it's never gonna pull Honda Civic numbers.

 

hey now lol

they will last forever haha. but with the extra plys comes alot more weight. and thats gonna tear stuff apart. i say 6 ply at the most if he's using it as a daily driver :)

hahahaha shane if you want some 12 plys i will git you some nice 255/85's!! haha.