Author Topic: Lowered my truck and tires are rubbing  (Read 1350 times)

Offline adamd

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Lowered my truck and tires are rubbing
« on: January 16, 2005, 03:44:48 am »
I've got a 1999 2WD Ford Ranger and I just lowered it 5 inches. The tires now sit about 1.5" from the fender. They rub very very slightly when I go over big bumps, but really the only problem is when I turn. I can't turn sharp otherwise everything goes to hell.

I am going to need new tires and rims anyways so I was wondering what suggestions people could recommend. I also have a question about offset - What on earth is it? - What does 42mm means? I come from a land of US brands and I am used to hearing 5" backspacing. Can someone tell me what 42mm means in US backspacing?

Also, can someone recommend tires for my truck. The ones I have now are 225/75R15. I measured them and they are about 26" tall, probably cause of tread ware. So I figure I need a 25" tall tire I guess, but I still am worried it might rub. How can I be sure? I dont want to order tires and have em show up and find out they rub.

Offline inco

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Lowered my truck and tires are rubbing
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2005, 07:17:50 am »
Adam - go to the TireRack website and play around with some of the sizing choices there. It will not only tell you about the right tires, but will also go into details about offsets.

It's a good site to learn from and will help guide you as to what to do.

Offline bob

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Lowered my truck and tires are rubbing
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2005, 12:30:44 pm »
When you lower a vehicle, especially by 5 inches, you are going to have to expect issues. There is no hard and fast rule about what will fit now because there are too many variables that are going to have an effect on whether or not things rub.There is a lot of trial and error needed to figure out what is going to suit your purposes now...

Maybe spend a bit of time researching some lowrider clubs etc, finding out what others in your situation have had success with. Again, what worked for someone else may not work for you, but it is a place to start...

Before you go and drop a bunch of money on new tires to find out that they don't fit though, I would suggest going to a decent tire shop and maybe pay them for their time and labour to test fit a few different sizes to see what might clear and still leave you with the necessary load carrying capacity etc needed for your vehicle to remain safe. Once you find a tire that fits the bill, then sort through the different brands and models to figure out what you want...

Offline brian

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Lowered my truck and tires are rubbing
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2005, 12:44:28 pm »
^^^ What they said.

TireRack should have a page explaining offset.  Really, it's FAR better than backspacing because it does not depend on the width of the wheel.

When choosing a wheel and tire combo that fits, in theory if you pick it properly it should not rub regardless of ride height.  With your current combo it was possible that you were already (or could have) experiencing rubbing under certain conditions where the suspension got compressed a lot.

Offline eddie_82

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Lowered my truck and tires are rubbing
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2005, 02:30:21 pm »
Check out this link:
http://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html

Specifically, the Backspace to Offset Conversion Chart

Hope that helps!