Having a hard time locating them here in Jersey. Will any other size safley work instead of them ? Thanks

 

225-70x14 is the same diameter, should work ok.

I only find a Goodyear trailer tire in that size on Tirerack, so you will have to find some in the 225 size.

235-60x15 is the same diameter if you want to go w i d e.

You can look for more, the ratings etc before you buy:

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500

 

Tire Search Results

 

205/75R14 will be alittle narrower and shorter, so the speedo will be slow, but they would be safe. Just about anything would be safe.

 

I use and like very much, Firestone Destination A/T, size 225/70/14. Kinda aggressive tread for Jersey, but, they work great for me on Coastal BC, Canada. They also sell the same size in the Destination LE, more of a highway all-season tire. BF Goodrich sells their All-Terrain T/A KO in a 195/75/14 size; again, an aggressive tread but a very good tire. All these tires are LT rated, not just passenger car rated. Someone here mentioned a Cooper tire, which is also light truck rated.

Cheers, Mike

P.S. I gotta agree with Khan... on his next comment; the Aerostar handles better with LT rated tires. I can also scoot up dirt roads with sharp rock shards, which have a tendency to rip up passenger tires. Although I run 225's on my '89, I have had no problems with rubbing though. Also, I believe Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring tires come in a 205/70/14 size, but I don't know it load rating which I would concerned about being a passenger car rating.

 

Just so you know width does matter. Not sure what was used, but on my '97 someone used a wider tire and it rubbed int he rear wheel wells, both sides. I'm assuming it only did so with heavy loads and/or hard corners. The right Cooper tire is the 27x8.5R14, they are almost exactly the same size as the larger stock tires, but they are LT rated. They last much longer than a comparably passenger tire. If you inflate them to about 45 psi, good compromise between ride comfort and load capacity and tire wear. If you inflate them to about 35, they will wear on the outside. Any good LT tire will also improve handling, Aerostars otherwise wallow too much in the corners.

 

I wonder if 225 tires would be too wide for the stock 6" wide wheels?

The 235/65-15 are way too wide, and you will rub front and back. I tried a set on 15x7 wheels with what I thought were proper offsets, but anyway you look at them, they're just too big.

If you want to got to a 15x7 wheel, the best fit is probably 215/65-15. It's also a popular size.

 

Yeah, the 15x7 wheels do offer a firmer ride. If you can get the rims cheaply enough, its not a bad swap, though the wheels will not wear the same. My moms van has 15" rims, but it also has the disc brake conversion, which requires the larger rims. Her van actually rides pretty good, though it does not like speed bumps.

 

Thank you everybody for your informative posts. Well I went with a set of 4 215/70/14 from firestone today. They are called Primewell tires, the ride seems very nice and the fellow honored the internet price of just over 60.00 apeice so they were reasonably priced. Hardly the best, but I am good to go for some time now. This is my 2nd Aerostar, put 241K on my 93, liked it so much I got another. This 97 has just over 70k on it. Thanks again and have a great night.

 

I gave the "15" wheel recommendations?" a bump so you could read about it. To sum it up, I put some new Hankooks on my Aero last December (I think) and they've been great. I suspected they were old tires, but a check of the tire serial number shows they were current production. These tires are quiet, are wearing nicely and my wife commented on how great the van rides. The place also gave me an excellent price.
If interested, find a Hankook or an independent tire store and check 'em out.

 

Xlt4wd90 and forum - My 225's are fine on the 14" x 6" alloy rims, but probably too much for the 14" x 5.5" steel rims.

 

I just added my $0.02 in the Suspension Modifications & Upgrades sticky at the top of the forum. I recently put General Grabber AT2 27x8.50R14 LT tires on my van & am very happy with them.

 

I am running 205/75/15 on 94-95 Mustang factory Alloys. Michelin tires adequate load ratings. Much lower rolling resistance and much less noise then the Primewell's that I had 215/75/14 Factory Alloys. Better in snow and rain as well. Speedometer now runs closer to true, only 2 miles over actual speed. The 215/75/14's had the speedometer off even more. I do not haul or tow often, if I did I would run with LT's as others do.

I have run 225/55/16's and they rubbed on the rear on sharp turns, this was before I replaced the POS Monroes, short life, and before the Hellwig Sway Bar.

With the 15's

Looks nicer, ride is better, handles better.

New Gabriels all 4 wheels helped after the new tires and wheels.

Hellwig Rear sway bar was a huge improvement after the above.

Mine is a 1996 XLT 4.0 with factory tow.

 

New tires always sound quieter, and often ride smoother than worn out old tires, unless the new tires are really crummy. Usually it's because of the new treads; they are designed to be quiet, but they get noisier as they wear out. Also, the rubber tends to get stiff with age, making the ride harsher, and the handling worse. So it's hard to objectively compare an old tire with a new one.