Wheels & Tires Semi-Tech General discussion of wheels and tires for the Ford Ranger.

Running a bigger tire on one side?

Old Oct 6, 2010
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Running a bigger tire on one side?

My spare has not seen a mile. My other tires are wore pretty good. Would running a 35 with say a 33 on the other side in the rear hurt me? 8.8 limited slip.
 

Last edited by seed60; Oct 7, 2010 at 07:33 AM.
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Old Oct 6, 2010
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with the limited slip I'd say yes...one tires going to spin faster then the other...= gear munching time!
 
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Old Oct 6, 2010
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Yes
 
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Old Oct 6, 2010
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be ready to buy some replacement gears....
 
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Old Oct 6, 2010
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that big of a change yes.
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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I'd say he's good to go if it's temp. The clutches in the LS will be slipping the entire time.....it'd be like you're making a constant turn. Gears won't be hurt at all what so ever. Yeah, it's not wise to promote heavy accelerated wear to your LS clutches, but hey, you've got probably over 50k on that unit so the cluches are probably close to toast anyhow.


Ideally you'd want that way off diameter tire on the front where it's open and not LS.
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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Originally Posted by Fx4wannabe01
I'd say he's good to go if it's temp. The clutches in the LS will be slipping the entire time.....it'd be like you're making a constant turn. Gears won't be hurt at all what so ever. Yeah, it's not wise to promote heavy accelerated wear to your LS clutches, but hey, you've got probably over 50k on that unit so the cluches are probably close to toast anyhow.


Ideally you'd want that way off diameter tire on the front where it's open and not LS.
Yeah, the ls is not that tight. I figured if I swapped them side to side every once in a while it would be alright.

I've always heard running different sizes on the front is a big no-no. Also I've got the aussie up front so I don't even want to mess with that.

I'm just trying to use this tire before it gets dry rotted from just sitting around.
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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You should be able to sell it pretty easily... lots of people would be interested in a 33" spare (I'm looking for one... lol) Then I'm sure you could pick up a good used 35.
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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do not run different sized tires on your truck, front or rear PERIOD! even with an open diff it can do damage... it will take a while tho. running it as a spare in a pinch is ok but dont go to long on it
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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How it can do damage is beyond me...even on an open stick axle. It just doesn't make sense at all. Clutch LS...Don't see how it'll do any harm but add alot of undo slipping on the clutches.



But....why Matt wants to run a tire just to run it before it gets weather baked is beyond me as well. Why bother?
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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you are constantly putting the power to one side of the axle which will put unwanted stress on the assembly
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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buy one new tire then run your spare and the new one. Then you can use your wore tires for spares.

done, no problems
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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Originally Posted by camodown
buy one new tire then run your spare and the new one. Then you can use your wore tires for spares.

done, no problems
says above his spare is a 33, and hes running 35s, wouldnt make sense to put two 33s and two 35s unless he wants a sorta dragster look
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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Originally Posted by ranger4.0
do not run different sized tires on your truck, front or rear PERIOD! even with an open diff it can do damage... it will take a while tho. running it as a spare in a pinch is ok but dont go to long on it
You are absolutely correct on this....while I was in Iraq, my wife had a flat and ran the smaller 29" with the 31s that were on it. She neglected to get the tire fixed right away.... After probably about 50-60 miles total, the rear began to smoke, real bad. She took it to a shop and they swapped the fluid and checked the insides for her. No damage, but the fluid was TOAST. That was an open 4.10 28 spline 8.8 with Scamsoil in it.

If you have two different tires, one side will be constantly spinning faster than the other in teh carrier, hence the buildup of heat. It can get you home, but driving fast and far is not a good idea.
 
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Old Oct 7, 2010
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Originally Posted by ranger4.0
you are constantly putting the power to one side of the axle which will put unwanted stress on the assembly
How? If you go around spinning the smaller tire all the time sure, but otherwise no. There would be no ill affects other than wearing clutches.


Originally Posted by buckgnarly
If you have two different tires, one side will be constantly spinning faster than the other in teh carrier, hence the buildup of heat.
This however is true, it would get hot.


Is it really a 33 or just a worn 35?
 
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Old Oct 8, 2010
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But....why Matt wants to run a tire just to run it before it gets weather baked is beyond me as well. Why bother?
Why not. It's like new and I'd like to use it rather than let it go bad.

Is it really a 33 or just a worn 35?
Wore down 35.


buy one new tire then run your spare and the new one. Then you can use your wore tires for spares.

done, no problems
That's the plan, that or sell it and get a a cheap spare. I've been looking just haven't found anything yet.
 
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Old Oct 8, 2010
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which tire do you think is going to recieve the power? a heavy 35 or a smaller and slightly lighter 33? the smaller tire will always get the power because it weighs less. and yes it is always going to be turning faster. that means the bigger tire will always be moving slower so power will go to the wheel spinning faster.

this is how an open diff works. same principle as when one tire is spinning... spinning tire is the only tire getting any power, basically the same thing driving down the road. its like your always doing a one wheel burnout
 
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Old Oct 9, 2010
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Originally Posted by ranger4.0
which tire do you think is going to receive the power? a heavy 35 or a smaller and slightly lighter 33? the smaller tire will always get the power because it weighs less. and yes it is always going to be turning faster. that means the bigger tire will always be moving slower so power will go to the wheel spinning faster.
I'm not sure that your logic makes sense. The only thing that the size and weight affects besides the speed of the rotation of the tire is the amount of traction that the tire has. If he doesn't take off like at bat out of hell and spin the smaller tire then there is nothing to worry about when it come to the power balance between the two drive wheels.
 
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Old Oct 9, 2010
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Originally Posted by elementsenjoi
I'm not sure that your logic makes sense. The only thing that the size and weight affects besides the speed of the rotation of the tire is the amount of traction that the tire has. If he doesn't take off like at bat out of hell and spin the smaller tire then there is nothing to worry about when it come to the power balance between the two drive wheels.
everytime you take off the smaller wheel is going to receive the power from the diff because it is already spinning faster due to its obvious smaller diameter. the smaller tire will be easier to turn... makes perfect sense
 
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Old Jan 12, 2011
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Ended up getting a flat and had to use my spare. So I figured I'd measure the tires. The spare, which is a new 35, measures about 34 1/2". The worn tire measures about 33 3/4".

So maybe an inch of difference at the most. Will that little of a difference really matter?
 
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Old Jan 24, 2011
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Dayton Timberline A/T P255/70R16 tires

I ran a Dayton Timberline A/T P255/70R16 tire with my 16" Continental full size spare on the rear for a few miles. Do you think I did I did any damage to the gears?
 

Last edited by BlackRanger04; Jan 24, 2011 at 06:17 PM.
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Old Jan 24, 2011
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chicken and bacon.
 

Last edited by zak873; Jan 24, 2011 at 06:29 PM.
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Old Jan 24, 2011
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Very doubtful any damage was done...
 
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Old Jan 25, 2011
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Thanks for answering my question ... I feel much better now
 
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