Change Wheels on 98" Ranger?

[jim]

I have a Ford Ranger with a 4 Cyl engine, 5 Spd manual tranny, and 14" wheels, and the tires I like are getting difficult to find in this size, but are common in 15" wheels. Would it be likely to cause extra clutch wear or damage the drive train if I upgrade the wheel size?

jim

[tufhelp]

I thinking probably won't hurt a bit, it is not like these 4x4 conversions where they use gigantic wheels - there they tend to beef up the axel diameter with those. You are only probably increasing the tire circumterence by only a few inches.

The only thing that may prove annoying is that your speedometer and odometer will be off. The bigger wheels may change the circumference of your tires, thereby changing the perceived distance traveled. Larger circumference will actually travel further per revolution but the speedometer/odometer will only think you went the old distance per revolution.

I have this problem on my 84 Dodge 350 truck, not for the same reason, but I had to replace the transmission (4 speed manual) and after all was said and done the odometer turns 1.2 miles in a mile, and the speed indicated is about 5 +/- MPH faster than the vehicle is actually going. All I can figure is that the gearing that drives the speedometer cable in the used replacement trany is for different sized tires. My PU has 16.5 inch wheels and that trany could have come from a vehicle using smaller wheels. I haven’t looked into changing the spedo drive; I just adjusted to the offset. OK in most cases unless you’re concerned about an accurate mileage indication on the odometer. My insurance is calculated on how many, or in my case, how few miles I drive per year. If I cross 7,500 miles it will cost me more money. So losing .2 miles per mile driven adds up – fortunately I don’t drive enough to worry about it.

[msta999]

Jim, you can go with a 15 inch rim and put on a smaller tire. If you have 235/14s go with a 225/15 or something like that. You don't want to go too big or the tires will rub when you turn and you will loose power/fuel economy. Most of the time going a little larger will look better and not make much difference in performance. You could always call one of the franchise tire companies and they should be able to look up the correct 15 in tires for your truck.

[jim]

Thanks!

[Ophir]

You will have no issue. The little Ford Ranger's are tough little trucks and beaten hard by the prerunner kids in our locale.

[jim]

Thanks!