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  #1  
Old 07-15-2009, 08:10 PM
marioism marioism is offline
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Default Smaller tires

Hello,

The time has come to change tires (when asking for a rotation service, I was told the tires were that bad to do one ).

I was considering the posibility to change them to a smaller size with the intention to save gas (I don't care about looks).

I have P245/75R16 109S M+S

I live in Minnesota (snow/ice conditions during winter) and have a 2 hour round-trip commute.

I've never take it off road since I bought it early 2007.

Can I do it? Is it worth it? Do I have to change the rims right?


By the way, since I bought it I noticed these tires are very slippery even on wet road (when starting from a total stop) for me anyway (first truck ever).
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Last edited by marioism; 07-15-2009 at 08:16 PM. Reason: More infomation
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  #2  
Old 07-15-2009, 09:49 PM
RangerJustin RangerJustin is offline
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You can get a set of summer and a set of winter wheels and tires.

Yes you can go smaller tire, you can also crank down your torsion bars to get lower for less wind resistance.
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Sold:2004 XLT 4x2 Ext. Cab. 3.0 Mods: 3" spindle, AAL, shackle, 32x11.5 on 15x8s, billet grille, clear corners, flow 40 dumped, line-x, CB/PA, traction bars, lil sound system, auto up down windows
Sold:2005 XLT 4x4 Ext. Cab. 4.0 Mods: ProComp lights w/ HID swap on tabs, 32x11.5 on 15x8s, CB/PA, black out heads/corners, lil sound system, cranked t-bars, flow 40 dumped, line-x, shell, bed rug, 06+ tails, metal tail gate handle since plastic one shattered, OHC, Mustang Dome.
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Old 07-16-2009, 03:56 AM
Jay FX4 Jay FX4 is offline
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I think it would take a drastic change in tire size to see a noticeable impact on fuel economy. I have the same tires, which are roughly 30.5x9.5. I'm not sure that going too much smaller would be a good idea, since you want to take advantage of four wheel drive in Minnesota winters. Your tires aren't particularly big for a 4x4, and they're pretty narrow. Narrow tires are better for driving in snow, especially with the Ranger being as lightweight as it is. Even with a smaller diameter, I don't think you could reduce your width by much more than the 9.5" width you have now. I believe that tire width has more of an impact on gas mileage than diameter, but that's debatable. The wider the tire, the more rolling resistance you're going to have. I always say that the best way to improve gas mileage is your right foot. I have the same engine as you do. I'm not sure about your trans and gears, but I have the auto and 4.10's, and I'm able to consistently get 18-20 mpg - all stop and go city driving.
So to answer your question, I personally don't think it's worth it. But as Justin said, you can always get a second set of wheels/tires. Since you said you don't care about looks, 15" steel wheels can be had for cheap.
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  #4  
Old 07-16-2009, 04:44 AM
STL STL is offline
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My friend put smaller tires on his car once for better MPG and it actually got worse and the speed was off by like 8 mph which I think is why he got worse MPG
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Old 07-16-2009, 06:32 AM
RangerJustin RangerJustin is offline
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Smaller tires will make your odometer readings off, I think they will give you a false good mpg, as you will be showing more miles than you are really going.
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Sold:2004 XLT 4x2 Ext. Cab. 3.0 Mods: 3" spindle, AAL, shackle, 32x11.5 on 15x8s, billet grille, clear corners, flow 40 dumped, line-x, CB/PA, traction bars, lil sound system, auto up down windows
Sold:2005 XLT 4x4 Ext. Cab. 4.0 Mods: ProComp lights w/ HID swap on tabs, 32x11.5 on 15x8s, CB/PA, black out heads/corners, lil sound system, cranked t-bars, flow 40 dumped, line-x, shell, bed rug, 06+ tails, metal tail gate handle since plastic one shattered, OHC, Mustang Dome.
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