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Old Jul 8, 2008 | 03:18 PM
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Tire size help!

I 'm trying to find some tires that are close to what came on the truck factory. Originally the truck (82 F100 Shortbed) came with 195/75R/15 tires. Calling some of the tire shops they say they haven't seen tires like that in years. A 205/75R/15 is as close as the have in stock.

What size tire can I use on the stock rims that would not effect the speedometer very much? I would like to keep the tire as narrow as possible to help with gas mileage.
 
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Old Jul 8, 2008 | 05:29 PM
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uh...195...i dont think so

235 maybe.
the damn diff would almost drag the ground with 195's....

how wide are the stock wheels?
 
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Old Jul 8, 2008 | 06:05 PM
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Um. I'm not sure, I'll have to check and see what I can come up with.
 
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Old Jul 8, 2008 | 09:54 PM
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Ranger...if you were to go with a 205/75, your speedometer would be less than 1% off. I'd venture a guess and say that the 205 would fit your stock wheel with no problems.

OTOH, if you have a 6" rim, I say go with the 235/75, although this would require a speedo driven gear change. Changing the gear is so ridiculously easy it shouldn't be legal.

Pat
 
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Old Jul 9, 2008 | 05:06 AM
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It has 235's on it now, I just wanted to keep it as close to stock as I can.
 
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Old Jul 9, 2008 | 10:59 AM
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just a guess here...but 235 is prob the stock size.
theres no way that came with 195's...


Originally Posted by PatsPOS
Ranger...if you were to go with a 205/75, your speedometer would be less than 1% off. I'd venture a guess and say that the 205 would fit your stock wheel with no problems.

OTOH, if you have a 6" rim, I say go with the 235/75, although this would require a speedo driven gear change. Changing the gear is so ridiculously easy it shouldn't be legal.

Pat
i dono about that, even NEW stock they can be as much as 5-7% off, from the factory.
theres no way to know where its going to be, without checking it after the fact.

also, every tire manufacture has a slight variance in the size...they arent all equal.
 
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Old Jul 9, 2008 | 05:25 PM
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Here's a picture of the sticker from the cab on my truck.



As you can see it calls for 195's all the way around. You have to remember this was back when they were trying to build trucks that got better gas mileage. They kept the weight down as much as possible.

I know they don't carry a 195 in stock any more but I want something that won't change the speedometer a lot.
 
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Old Jul 9, 2008 | 06:13 PM
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i'll be go to hell....

is that thing geared that high? thats a SMALL tire

also note..its a CAR tire...wtf

i wouldnt run anything smaller than a 235.
you can get a speedo gear, for fairly cheap. and theyre easy to change.
 
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Old Jul 9, 2008 | 07:10 PM
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It came with 2.47 to 1 rear gears. Someone had worked on it (sort of) and got the backlash to tight. It ruined the pinion bearing and I had to replace it with a 2.75 to 1.

All I have left is to get the new gas tank in it and run some new gas lines which I already have. Also need the tires since the ones on it are getting pretty weather cracked.
 
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Old Jul 10, 2008 | 05:59 PM
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When you say a different speedo gear are you refering to the one on the end of the cable that fits into the trans? If so how many teeth should I be looking for?
 
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Old Jul 10, 2008 | 06:48 PM
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The closest to the OEM size would be 205/70R15, the 2nd is 205/75R15. Personally, unless I wanted to use it as street road, I'd go up to 215/75R15 or 235/75R15 (as long as they fit!) -- these 2 are the light truck sizes.
 
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Old Jul 11, 2008 | 06:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Ranger GT2
When you say a different speedo gear are you refering to the one on the end of the cable that fits into the trans? If so how many teeth should I be looking for?
yes, the one on the end of the cable.

well, you need to get it on the road, and see how far off it is first.
then determine what tooth count your going to need.
 
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