so i had a tire blowout today, and i now have a slight problem. i obviously need new tires as the sidewall on the drivers side rear tire failed and the passenger one doesnt look too far behind it, these are older tires anyway so not a real surprise they are letting go.

anyhow my dilemma is what to do for new tires, i change two tires at a time, and my front tires are about 60 percent tread left so i will just be doing back tires at this time. i have been lucky in that i have never had a problem with my TIB wearing tires funny so i dont have to rotate them as often. i currently have 265/75r15s on and from my googling i find they are the exact same size almost as a 31x10.50 tire. i am looking at the BF Goodrich all terrain ta KO2 tires as they are one of the few non dedicated snow tire that have the snowflake over a mountain and they seem to get rave reviews. here is where it gets tricky.

i can get the 31s but at the moment my tires on front (the 265s) rub at full lock when driving forward, in reverse the suspension must change geometry enough that they clear as i have never had them rub in reverse. they dont rub real bad and i have lived with it for a long time. i could also install a very small spacer and clear as the tires just barely rub. another thing to note is i am getting some new shocks as mine are completely gone, i can compress them easily by hand and the shock body is rusted out, this might alter the steering geometry enough to not rub. i have the exact same tires on the front of my 94 f150 and they dont rub for some reason (but that truck is 4wd so that could be why). i could also get new rims ($$$$$) which i do not want to do so the tires wont rub. my third option is to get the BF goodrichs in 30x9.50, but the problem there is that i will have two different size tires on the vehicle front and back and i am not sure if that will be real noticeable or not, my truck does sit nose down so it might level out a tad more than it is now.

so my 3 options are to 1. run a 31 inch tire and live with the rubbing or fashion a spacer ( a parts guy told me to stack washers on the lug studs to get extra clearance but that doesnt seem like a good idea, someone correct me if i am wrong though)
2. get different rims (avoid at all cost)
3. get 30s and have 2 different sized tires on the vehicle for about a year.

i want to keep the front tires i have now as it maintains my 2 tire replacement plan and i hate not using good tires. would appreciate everybodys input and opinion on this, thanks

 

I'd say not to put too much stock in online conversion calculators. Yes, that's technically what they translate to size wise, but just like shoes, 2 different brands (or even designs) aren't ever actually the same size. I don't care much for BGF, but it's my understanding that they tend to run short vs. their states sizes. I think if I were you I'd go to the 31's and clearance whatever needs to be clearanced.

No, don't run washers as spacers. There are actual spacers you can buy, just make sure you have enough lug stud engagement.

You could just see if the shop will let you compare them mounted and aired up and see which one is closer in size.

 

as someone in the tire business,DO NOT EVER RUN WASHERS AS SPACERS!

now, as before stated, there will be a slight difference in height between 265/75R15's and 31x10.50R15's. you didnt mention in the post ( or perhaps i missed it) if the truck was a 4 wheel drive, or a 2 wheel drive. IF it is a 2 wheel drive, then yeah, you are perfectly fine running a different size tire. However, if you have a 4 wheel drive, driving with mismatched tires while the 4WD is engaged may cause very serious issues. like excessive wear and breakage type of issues.

 

What about going with the 265 ko's and trimming the bumper back a little? Or putting the washer s in the bumper.

 

A little tire rub won't hurt anything and not worth changing tire the size in your case unless you want to, if it rubs quit turning the wheel and it's not a problem.... It works on my 89 Ranger with 30x9.50r15's and i'm guilty of letting them rub hard often with no ill effects to the tires.

 

Yeah... Rubbin is Racin. or maybe not racin... but rubbin is ok!

 

Ok, was not going to use washers.

Also I forgot to mention it rubs on the radius arms.

Edit. It's a 2wd

 

That is rediculous, glad he's not a mechanic somewhere. It's guys like him that ruin reputations of competent parts store employees.

 

My former 94 F150 4x4 with 31"s and my 89 Ranger 4x4 with 30"s both rubbed the arms when fully turned and never had a problem, the arm is smooth and won't hurt the tire.

 

Get the 31's. Rubbing won't hurt a thing. I use to have 31x10.50's on my 2wd 91 Ranger and if I so much as hit a moderate dip in the road they'd rub up in the wheel wells. Turn hard and they'd rub on the radius arms. Never hurt them one bit.

And yeah whatever parts guy told you to run washers is an idiot. If I had to guess what he probably drives, it's a lowered import car with the camber all screwed up and with washers behind his "tuner" rims.

 

im not sure what he drove, it didnt seem right to me but i just smiled nodded and said okay, as a matter of fact i did it exactly the same way as i did when the guy who put my tires i have on now told me to crank my torsion bars up so i had more clearance at a ripe age of 16 years old i knew torsion bars didnt belong on a real truck, and ford made real trucks. didnt figure on arguing with him or trying to tell him they were radius arms and they just located the axle and didn't suspend it as that was what the coil springs were for, figured he wouldnt take my advice too kindly