[tang]

My current plan, when the tires on my 16" wheels need to be replaced, is to put snow tires on those and then acquire a set of 17"x7"s for three-season use. I've been eyeing the current-gen Mustang 17"x7"s and couldn't help but wonder... how are wheels designed; could I put an Escape-spec tire on a Mustang-wheel and be okay? It's kind of a silly question but I genuinely have no clue.

The new Focus has a set of 17"s that look pretty cool and, if the size and price are right, might become another option.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SUVord]

Not all rims, street and off-road can safely be interchanged with defferent specs tires.
Not knowing the mustang wheels you are talking about, I would take one to a good tire specialist and see what he/she says.
The reason is that rims are designed for certain use and their side lips are contoured to accept certain use tires.The tires themselves, regardless of their size, are constructed accordingly.

 

[tang]

Not all rims, street and off-road can safely be interchanged with defferent specs tires.
Not knowing the mustang wheels you are talking about, I would take one to a good tire specialist and see what he/she says.
The reason is that rims are designed for certain use and their side lips are contoured to accept certain use tires.The tires themselves, regardless of their size, are constructed accordingly.

Thanks Panos. That's the answer I was looking for!

 

[oskerb]

A caveat/side note on that. Factory rims will be "neutral" to everyday and not so everyday use. Now a days they are alloy, light and strong. Unless you go aftermarket and specifically for street use with the note of "Not for Offroading". That there will not be used for offroad use. When I say offroad I mean balls to wall offroading..... Blah blah blah Youll be fine if you go with the Focus rim and more aggressive tire.

 

[srobby]

Hi. New to the forum. I have a 2005 Mariner Premier V6 4 wheel drive that we bought new. It has 76K and it has been a great ride so far.
My question is this. I need new tires and currently have 235/70R 16. A friend just sold his truck and is offering me 4 TOYO Open Country AT tires with 1K miles for FREE! Only problem is that they are 265/70R 16. What do you all think? Are they too wide or can I squeeze them on?
Thanks for the advice

 

[tang]

Hi. New to the forum. I have a 2005 Mariner Premier V6 4 wheel drive that we bought new. It has 76K and it has been a great ride so far.
My question is this. I need new tires and currently have 235/70R 16. A friend just sold his truck and is offering me 4 TOYO Open Country AT tires with 1K miles for FREE! Only problem is that they are 265/70R 16. What do you all think? Are they too wide or can I squeeze them on?
Thanks for the advice

I can tell you right from the start that the tires are both wider and taller... so expect incorrect speed readings from the dashboard. As for size and fit, best to consult our resident off-roaders..

 

[Ajax]

Regarding the 265/70R16s, they are probebly going to rub a little on the corners, but I'm not 100% sure (on the 01-07 models they would). Your best bet would be take them to a tire shop, have them mount one tire on your front rim then install it and run the steering back and forth looking for clearance issues. If they don't fit then give them back.

 

[Ajax]

And Tang, there are people running the old Bullitt style rims on their Escapes so you'll be fine for on and light offroading, as much as the Escape can handle.

 

[SUVord]

The 265/70/R16 are too big for the Escape, even to a 2" lifted one.

 

[tang]

The Escape's OEM 17" tire is matched with a 17" x 7" wheel... will there be any problems if it's put onto a 17" x 7.5" wheel? It seems like all of Ford's 17" wheels aside from the Escape's are 7.5" wide.

Note: most of them seem to be offset by the same amount as the Escape

 

[SUVord]

Unfortunately Tang, there is a problem.For very conservative driving not so much if they are a little overinflated, but with Jacinda's driving, (as an example), the sidewalls are overstretched, especially around turns.

 

[tang]

Unfortunately Tang, there is a problem.For very conservative driving not so much if they are a little overinflated, but with Jacinda's driving, (as an example), the sidewalls are overstretched, especially around turns.

lol. I guess that means it won't work for me either. Thanks!

 

[etrailer]

We've got a resident tire expert here. He used to work for one of the big, big online tire retailers. I've learned more about tires from him in the last year than I did in all my years of Mustang modding and racing.

A given tire size, may fit a variety of rims. Example: 225/60-16 will fit 16 inch rims with widths of 6, 6.5, or 7 inches. Now, that tire will fit the 6.5 width rims the best. On the 7 inch, the tire is a little stretched, the sidewalls will tuck in. That same tire is a little fat on a 6 inch wide rim and the sidewalls will bulge a bit. They shouldn't pull off the rim since modern rims have a significant bead seat to hold the bead in place.

What can happen by switching tire sizes, is throwing off your speedometer, a little or a lot, depending on tire size. Here's how this works, we'll use my Mustang as an example.

I have factory 17x8 rims. The OEM tire size is 245/45-17. 245 is the width in mm. 45 is the aspect ratio that tells us how tall the sidewall is. It means the sidewall is 45% of the width. We can use this info to find the overall diameter of the tire.

245 x .45 = 110.25mm
110.25mm = 4.34 inches
4.34 x 2 = 8.68 inches (both sidewalls)
8.68 + 17 = overall diameter of 25.68 inches

Now, for drag racers, a wider tire is preferable. More surface area can increase your traction and reduce your elapsed time. So many of us using 17x8 rims would switch to 275/40-17 tires. Wider, but a narrower sidewall ratio so that overall diameter was about the same.

275 x .4 = 110mm
110mm = 4.33 inches
4.33 x 2 = 8.66 inches (both sidewalls)
8.66 + 17 = overall diameter of 25.66 inches

The diameter difference is minimal, probably not even enough for us to perceive on the speedometer.

Tang,

Long winded, I know. So, take your current tire size and run the calculation to find the overall diameter. As your shopping for new wheels and tires, make sure you find something that is the same diameter, or close enough, so your speedometer, and consequently the odometer, are reading right. Mustang wheels will fit the Escape, same bolt pattern, you should be able to find quite a few options looking for Mustang wheels. The thread below, by theescaperoute, shows his Escape with aftermarket Mustang wheels. The wheels are styled after the 2003-2004 SVT Cobra. The OEM wheels are 17s but aftermarket wheel builders provided 18s with the same design since it was so popular.

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=7506&start=0

 

[tang]

Thanks for the lengthy description. I've actually done the math for someone else in another thread so I'm pretty familiar with it. One of my primary goals is to keep as close to the OEM tire diameter as possible if/when I decide to go for a new wheel/tire set. I guess my primary question is whether an Escape 17" tire + Explorer 17" wheel (17x7.5) will be okay or not. Judging from what you mentioned about how the 1/2" makes a difference, I'm guessing that I should probably stick with something the same size if I don't want to have to endure the hassle.

One of our members has a set of the Explorer 17" wheels and I like how they look, but I believe he is using the OE tire on there so he is obviously experiencing some incorrect speedometer readings.

Here are some numbers I pulled up:

16" on Escape: 235/70R16 (with 16x7 wheel)
17" on Escape: 225/65R17 (with 17x7 wheel)
16" on Explorer: 235/70R16 (with 16x7 wheel)
17" on Explorer: 245/65R17 (with 17x7.5 wheel)
17" on Edge: 235/65R17 (with 17x7.5 wheel)
17" on Fusion: 225/50R17 (with 17x7.5 wheel)

Offsets on all the wheels are approximately +40-45mm.

It looks like the first-generation Fusions used 17x7 wheels and the current ones use 17x7.5 wheels. Also, from what I can find, even though the base-Edge wheels and the old-style Fusion 17" wheels look identical, the former is actually 0.5" wider.

To be honest, I think the Explorer 16" would look better on an Escape.

 

[etrailer]

Having a tire that's a little wider or narrower isn't so much of a hassle. It really depends on aesthetics or purpose. Obviously, a drag car would benefit from a wider set up. You see a lot of the tuner, FWD imports running around with narrower profiles. They like the "tucked" look.

There are ways to correct the speedometer. There were plug-in modules for Mustangs. There may not be anything for the Escape like that, but you might be able to find them. Also a tuner will allow you to adjust for tire size. There were some guys I used to run with that were using 26" or even 28" diameter slicks or drag radials. They used their SCT XCals to compensate so the speedometer and odometer were accurate.

You're thinking of using a 225/65R17 on an Explorer 17x7.5 rim right? I looked up a 225/65R17 Goodyear Assurance. It's recommended rim width range is 6-8" so it would be OK to use this tire on a 17x7.5 wheel. The manufacturers for tires provided a recommended rim width, it varies from tire to tire. Just depends on shape and design.

 

[SUVord]

What Goodyear or any other manufacturer does not tell you is that the tire put on the 6" rim will have a much wider cheek protruding off the rim and as a consequence this set-up is more prone to sidewall tear at an off-road excursion.Also the same set-up invites for the tire to come off the rim at a fast tight corner or during an avoidance maneuver.
I believe that speedometer accuracy is the least of worries when one fiddles with tire sizes.
After all, two similar tires from different manufacturers but with the same dimensional numbers on them have different perimeters when equally inflated.
When given the opportunity one can verify this descrepancy.It might be not much but it is still there.

 

[tang]

Good points, Panos. Probably should be less picky. I'll probably have to go backwards with my search then... tire first, then wheel! I'm looking for a set of snow shoes anyway.

 

[theescaperoute]

The 265/70/R16 are too big for the Escape, even to a 2" lifted one.

I'm on 255 55 r18 with plenty of clearance, and stock height.

 

[SUVord]

The 265/70/R16 are too big for the Escape, even to a 2" lifted one.

I'm on 255 55 r18 with plenty of clearance, and stock height.

Doing the math, the 255/55/18 combination is smaller by 2" in total diameter from the 265/70/16 combination.

 

[Ajax]

I forgot to put this before but I'm running 255/65/16 on the factory rim, virtually no height change over 235/70/16. Here's a tire size calculator:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html

The 265/70 is 1.6" larger than stock.