As the title states I'm a big newbie when it comes to wheels. I have been thinking about maybe getting some wheels for christmas but I really have no clue what sort of information I should look for. I'm looking to get a little bigger wheel and a little smaller tire, so it would try and come close to stock calibrations... I found a set of 17x7 wheels that are said to fit Rangers but I wanna make sure first. The specs on them are...
Size: 17" x 7"
Offset: 42mm
Bolt Pattern: 5 x 112 or 5 x 114.3
Normally I see people go with atleast an 8" wide wheel, so would 7 inch look okay too? Will I need adapters or anything? I really have no idea about any of this stuff so any info would be greatly appriciated, thank you for you time...
Also if anyone could post some pics of the type of setup I'm talking about I would really like it, thanks again

 

You will definately need adapters with the 42mm offset wheel. Our factory offset is 12mm I believe, hence why I went with a 7/16" spacer for the wheels I'm using, which have a 24mm offset. 12mm is roughly half an inch, if that gives you an idea.

The smaller the offset number, the "deeper" the wheel appears. Civic aftermarket rims are close to 42mm, whcih is why they are normally very flat.

Mustang rims have a slightly more dished effect to them....most Mustang rims are 22-24 mm offset.

If you were to mount the 42mm offset rims on your truck with no adapters, they would sit about two inches inside the fenderwell, and look goofy.

Ranger bolt pattern is 5 x 4.5

An 8" wide rim would be better, but remember: the wider the rim/tire combo, the more prone it is to following ruts in the road. Traction is significantly increased, though.

 

5x114.3

would fit...

im runnin 17x9's.. and a 275/60/17 tire, you know what my truck looks like...

im not lowered though..

and 275's are too wide for the front.. with a 17x9 wheel and 5.95" backspacing...


oh, and i got 2" adapters... to pull them out to the fenders..





and yes, wider tires do fallow ruts, mine are about 11" wide..

 

Thank for the replies.

Something else, what size backspacing should I look for?

The reason I ask is because some Mustang wheels are very nice, so are they very compatible? Thanks again for the very quick replies

 

Almost all Mustang wheels will be around a 24mm offset. To run these properly, you will need a 7/16" spacer, longer studs are up to you but I've been running mine on factory length studs for two years with ZERO problems.

Finally, the dust cap will be in the way if you intend to use the Mustang center caps. You should "massage" them down a little with a hammer, or try to retrofit some smaller ones. I would not recommend completely removing the dustcaps, as water can enter the bearing and grenade it. Ask me how I know.

Other than that, it's bolt-on. Now, what size tirea are you looking at? We need to get your optimum overall diameter established. How much are you dropped?

 

I am not dropped at all right now. But when I was I had no problem with my stock tires rubbing. I had pleanty of room at full turn and such. I think the stock size was 235/75/15? Anyway I really dont know what size tire I would run, close to the stock diameter... I tihnk stock was like 28.8 or 28.something... sorry I cant be of any better help out more... :(

It was hard to measure the front but I think it was about a 3/3... from the ground to the uppermost part of the fender well was just over 30" front and back...

 

Ahhh, okay. See, my stock O.D. was 27.4" (225/70/15). I wanted to stay very close to that, so that's why I got 255/45/18 tires. Yours is an Edge though, so the O.D. is slightly bigger.

You're saying you will be lowered 3/3 with the new wheels? If so, I wouldn't go wider than 255 in the front. But with a 7" wide wheel, you normally don't exceed 235 width. Too much sidewall overlap, and the bead won't seat properly. You could probably put a 255 width on a 8" wheel with no problems.

In the back, go crazy. I know of guys running 295's in the back...

Give me your ideal wheel diameter and width, and your desired O.D., and I'll see what I can come up with concerning the proper tire size. :)

 

Well I just did the calculation for my stock OD and it says 28.9. Thanks for all the help so far John. I wish I were able to give a good ideal size but with my budget its just kinda what comes along for the best price... I would say ideal would be atleast 17x8 and probably an OD of about 28.5 but 29 would be prime I think...

 

Aight....I'll go to work.

 

Here is a tire that fits a 17" wheel with a final O.D. of 28.6", so in other words your speedo would read 1% too fast. Your speedo would show 60; you'd be doing 59.4 mph. Pretty damn close. Size is 245/60/17. I don't think these will serve you well, they just fit the size.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

If you're willing to lose an inch in O.D. to gain *some* performance, try these, which are 245/55/17, and CHEAP:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

With those, your speedo would be 4.4% too fast. 60mph speedo reading is actually 57.4 mph. O.D. is 27.6".

These are the best deal IMO: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Kumho Ecsta, size 255/55/17. O.D. = 28.0", so you'd only be off by 2.9%, or less than 2 mph at 60. Price ROCKS, and performance is damn good for the money. I highly recommend these.

Hope this helped. :)

 

Wow, you amaze me. Thank you so much for all your help, you have no idea how much I appreciate your help.

Now I just need to find some wheels for a decent price. Do you have any suggestions on where I should look? Right now I look mainly at Ebay just because its easy to sort through what I want... once again thanks so much...

 

No problem. :)

Ebay is a damn good place to find wheels, just be sure to look at feedback. The good thing is, ebay is pretty competitive so people will sometimes cut you a deal on shipping. If you shop wisely, you should be able to come up with a set of wheels and the Kumhos for right at $1,000 including shipping.

Good luck! LMK if ya need anything else.

 

I think I am going to use E-bay as a starting point to find out about how much wheels will cost. Then go to my friends father and try to order them from he, he gets everything wholessale so I may be able to still cut a little more off of the price. Thanks again John for all your help.

 

Any particular stlye you're looking for? I can keep my eyes open for deals.....

 

I am kinda into Gun Metal... but only if it was Bullitt style with the chrome lip. Other than that probably Torque Thrust II's or a Cragar SS style... I really like having a little bit of a lip on a wheel. Anyway the Torque Thrust II's run for just over 700 on E-bay brand new for fords, so that may be the rout I go... Hopefully by mid July I will have enough for the wheels...

EDIT: Well I have been searching around E-bay to see all the deals out there and for the same price I could get some 17x8's I could get some 18x8's or 18x9's so I may just look into that. I would love to have an 18" wheel but I have never had any luck finding any cheap enough. Most the 18's I have come across are mustang style wheels so I may just go with one of those. There are some Bullitt styles out there that arent to high...

 

Well, ordered a set of 18x9's today. Was curious what size tire I should run. Seems like 255/55/18 is a fairly common size and pretty close to my stock OD. Anyone run this size tire or have any comments on it? Any idea of a better tire size to run? Any good brands out there, open for ideas like always :)

 

i had 285/50/18's on the lightning wheels, 31" tire almost, but it was almost 12" wide too..

Are you back to stock height?

And, if its a mustang wheel, anything wider than 265, is gonna rub your stock spindles.. Trust me its why i got the eibach adapters..

My 275/60 kumho's were rubbin..

My 275/60, would compare to a 255/55...i believe.. ill check brb



See if these work...
http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCal...?action=submit

 

As of right now I'm stock edge height, but once the wheels get put on I'm going to remove the blocks and lower the torsion bars a litle bit. Eventually I will be back to lowered once I get some Belltech drop leafs.

Heheh thanks for the info. Yeah its a Bullitt style rim. What size adapter should I use? I hear a lot of people saying they use 5/16" but John said I should use a 7/16" (back when i was talking about getting a 17x8). Now that I'm going with a 9" wide wheel do I have to worry about a spacer? Wheels and tires are all new to me so I cant really do much on my own... yeah i dont know if that was very clearly wrote... thanks for a reply...

 

I did mine for not only the space, but the looks, to bring the wheels out to the flare, flares are the only reason i went so big...

Eibach 2" adapters... Youve seen my truck you know what they look like, no need to post..

 

Yeah I like how wide yours look, but I probably wont go with that size. Thanks for the info man...

 

Hey Zero, if you can get by with running 5/16", go for it. The less the better.

A 9" wide Mustang wheel will rub the spindle and in some instances the upper A-arm...but you have TB setup so nevermind on the last one....

The spacer also helps the look, as Leo stated. The 255/55/18 tire size should be fine. That was the O.E.M. tire size on the Saleen Explorer from 1999 to 2001. And it was good for 130 mph :D. Shouldn't have rubbing issues, although my left front one rubs the splash guard in the fenderwell at full lock, but only in reverse.

 

Sweet, guess thats the tire size I will be order when... I get more cash :( As of now I will just have some wheels sittin in my room taunting me heheh. Thanks for all the help...

 

My Saleens taunted me for a month. I'm a parts packrat anyways....lol. I've got the entire Edge front end sitting in my closet, minus the hood and the headlight clips.

 

Yea, my cobra's taunted me for 2 weeks...lol

 

Well my wheels came in today. They look just amazing. Also got some free chrome lugs, locks, and valve stems with the wheels. Best shipping time I have ever had off an E-bay item. Ordered them Tuesday night, get them Friday evening.

Now it comes down to finding which tire size I really wanna go with, ordering the spacers and spline lugs, and just waiting to get my next couple checks. Im pretty excited...