got my new rims on order, 15 x 8 black "D" window wheels, havent decided on a tire yet, stock size is 235/75/15, thining of either 255/70/15'2 or 31/10.50/15's. i have the 4.0 ohv, and 3.73 gears, stock suspention. most of my driving is on road, but would like a "do-it-all" tire thats not super expensive, really like the michelin ms 2, but they are quite a bit, thining of the general at2's, they seem to be pretty reasonable and look like they would work well in snow. i know my speedometer will be off a little, do i have to go through ford for a correct speedometer drive gear? i know one would exist, 265/15's are the same as a 31/10.50, if i end up with the 255/70's id be ok since there the same size as a 235/15, just a wider tire. hopefully the new setup doesnt affect power/economy. (if you can call a compact 4x4 with a 4.0 "economy, lol) i know the assemblies will be heavier than stock, not sure how much going up to a 31 (if i pick that size) will change things, at least i have 3,73's to start with, i wouldnt think about it if i had 3.55's. heres the rims:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/clm-7015812/overview/

 

I'm running stock sized 225/70/15 Michelin LTX M&S, put on back in 08, doing fine. Found them on special at Tire Rack for $74ea. Had them installed & balanced at my local gararge. With UPS ground shipping, dismount old tires, mount & balance new ones, I had about $92 each in them. Was way less expensive than Any quote I recieved locally at other tire places.

 

31x10.50s take a lot of HP to roll down the highway, you will feel a difference in get-up-n-go.

 

im really starting to consider 30 x 9.50's, there not much bigger than the stock 235/15, and will fit the 8" rim size... i know i had a jeep with factory 8" rims that had 235's, but they seemed a bit "streached", from what ive been researching, most tire mfg recomend a 7" rim with the 235, and as nice as 31's might look, my truck struggles enough at 55 with the trailer...if it wouldnt look outright dumb, id go with 235 60's, and my gearing would effectivly change to 4:10 or deeper...but i think the 30 x 9.50 's would work for me, if not i'll just swap back to my other set for trailer towing. (dont pull all that often, or id have changed my gearing by now) ironically tire discounters has been the most expensive place ive looked, tire rack is reasnoable, the best has been retreads from treadwrite (might have spelled that wrong) although ive heard sometimes its a 4 week wait for tires from them, i usually get the pep boys definity dakota tires (looks like a bfg a/t-great tire!) but they are in the 140-160 dollar range, depending on size...
heres the retread site page with the 30 x 9.50 they offer:
https://www.treadwright.com/p-6-30-9-50r15-puma-c.aspx
...on edit: almost certian now that im going with the general grabber at2's, i keep coming back to them , and after considering pricing, reveiws, and availability, the generals seem the way to go. and i think im going with the 255/70/15's, same diameter as the stock 235's, just a inch wider, sure i may still lose some performance and mpg's, these rims are a heavy rim and the tire is pretty heavy also, but overall i think this size will work the best. shipping is the only killer, tires are only 102, but its 100 in shipping!, still a better price than other places ive checked for this tire.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....num=57SR5GRAT2

 

front:

rear:




looks like the tires will be right at the edge of the body or a little beyond. didnt buy centercaps, think i have a couple out at the farm, fronts i wount even bother with.

 

What's with link (log) chain near the wheel well and the connecting link swinging in the breeze? Tell me it's none of my business, but I thought I should know if I need one.

 

the link you see hanging down is supposed to go to the rear axle swaybar...2 years ago when i was teaching my daughter how to drive (wanted her to know how to drive a manual trans) she didnt straighten up after a sharp corner, paniced, and drove through a narrow but deep ditch at a 45 degree angle...in 1st...floored...im guessing 40 mph....several things happened, the frame was tweaked, the l.f. ttb was bent and the rear sway bar snapped. the front axle beam has been changed, frame is still bent, and i havent done anything with the broken rear stabilizer bar but remove it. along with the rims, ive ordered a new one, dont have a garage so i will wait until its warmer to put that on. the chain you see was a idea of mine. you heard of "traction bars", well this is a "traction chain", what it does is prevent axle wrap during acceleration, i notice it making a differance when im pulling my 6x10 box trailer, the force on the chain is a "pull" force, just like it would be if i got the james duff traction bar kit, only i didnt spend $100. it goes from the center of the axle to the backside of the front spring hanger, attaches to a peice of angle iron that uses the rear bolts of the spring hanger to mount it to the frame. ive seen a video of a similar setup on a 3/4 ton truck, you can clearly see that the chain keeps axle wrap from happening. do you need one? hard to say, its possible, i also have coil helper springs on my rear suspention, they dont contact the frame until i have 300# in the bed (or on the hitch), ive kind of made my own "3/4 ton" in a way...dont have the better brakes or axle, but ive got spring rate!

 

I've got 31x12.5x15 tires on 15x10 rims with a 4:10 rearend. When I switched tires/wheels, my gas mpg tanked. Part of the mileage drop was in part because my speedo is so far off now and other part is my truck is a 2.5 and the extra weight from the tires and wheels sucked my gas
Even with this setup, my little 4 banger has a lot of power.
Since I can no longer buy 31x12.5x15 (no one makes a 31x12.5 anymore) tires, my next purchase will be 33x12.5x15 and a 5:13 gearing for the rear

 

well today i put a bead of black rtv silicone around the rim where the center section meets the outer rim shell, keep rust from forming in that crack. i had bought some bolt-in valve stems but they ended up being too small, i didnt even know there was two different sizes, so i got some pull-through rubber atv stems and put in, there short and look good, plus were only about $6 for the four of them, the fancy ones i got (the securing nuts would be inside the tire) were $12 for the set of four. oh well....noticed something else kinda off, when i test fit them the day they came in, it seemed like they were out a little far, i know its a 8" wheel, but with 4" backspacing, it should be at or near the edge of the body, looked like they were just past it. well i measured the backspacing today and they are 3-1/2" backspacing....guess its not too big a deal, but idk why they werent 4" like they were advertized, heck, most of the rims from this company (bart wheels) are advertized as 4" backspacing..... should be getting tires in the next week or two. gotta find those centers for the back, thought about drilling/tapping holes to use my stock ranger centers, but kinda hate to do that, the centers of these rims are 1/4 thick, thats pretty thick to be drilling/tapping a 4mm fastener for, my luck id brak a bit or tap, or it would end up being off somehow. i'll just keep it simple.

 

Check out Mastercraft Tires, Mastercraft Tires - Home . They're made in the USA by Cooper Tire and I think they're the best "bang for the buck" tire you can get. They have a tire selector on their website and you can pick how aggressive of a tire you want. I've been putting Mastercraft tires on my vehicles for over 25 years and plan to in the future.

 

think ive finnally decided how to do my centercaps, thought about drilling/tapping and using the originals from my alloy wheels, but i happened to have a old rusty set that ive painted with primer then clearcoated, will do the same (grey primer/clearcoat) to the brake drums and front lockouts. not sure if i'll bother with paint on the front calipers, will just get dirty quick or discolor from the heat of brake useage. ready for it to warm up so i can get the tires and new sway bar on, see how it will be with a set of wider tires. going with a 255/70/15, im not sure how im going to like the tires being a little outside of the body, but since i got 3-1/2 offset instead of the 4" it was supposed to be, i cant do much about it, just hope its not too much of a load on the wheel bearings with the off-center loading...guess i'll find out!, i plan on going through the front end before i put the new tires on, make sure my bearings are good to begin with and i have fresh grease and proper preload in place.

 

I'm running Kumas. Not sure of the spelling or even if I got the name right. Priced around and the local Super Lube was the cheapest for any 60 thousand mile tire I could find, and in fact these are rated at 80 thousand but I doubt I'll get that out of them.

Total price for all four was over a $100 less than any comparable high mileage tire I could find, and included life time spin balancing and road hazard.

Real happy with the performance of these tires. They are smooth as silk on the highway and grip snow better than when I had 240 pounds of sand in the bed with the prior tires for traction. Haven't felt the need to put the bags in the bed this winter, and we've had tons of snow and ice this year.

Couldn't be happier with these tires. I'd recommend them to anybody who is budget conscience and wants a high mileage tire that gets great traction in the snow yet is smooth on the highway. Even doing some checking online I couldn't match the price I got.

 

going with these tires:
Tire Details Futura GLS Super Sport | Pep Boys
cooper tires, 60,000 mile rated tire, probly just run these in the summer anyways, too wide for winter useage, might try them and see, pickicing them up saterday, im sure theres still some snow left this winter. would have rather had the generals, but these are quite a bit cheaper and for what i do with my truck , these will work and probly be better on mpg's.

 

bought my new tires today. wont get them on until after i go through the front axle, probly in another month, too cold out right now to work outside. best thing is, when they rang up my tires, they listed them as a 225 70 15, when really they are 255 70 15. so i got 96 dollar tires for 80 bucks per tire! didnt even notice their mistake until i got home and was looking over the receipt. i know i got the right size on my rims, i checked that out before i loaded them into the truck.

 

going to paint my lockout hubs and brake drums the same grey as the rear center caps, may see if i can find a cover for the end of the lockout hub, either a pvc end cap or maybe a trailer hitch ball cover, i measured it and its 2-1/2 ". ive noticed after hub service, some oil will leak out a little, which means water could get in. going to paint the "hub cover" as well.