Would 10mm Narrower in the Front be OK?
- Thread starter GreasyG
- Start date
prolly fine, today the OD of the tyre is most important. i often vary my tyre sizes but watch the OD closely + of course AWD vehicles are picky. lighter smaller tyres that handle the load safely can add a little mpgs + narrower tyres of the same type are better in the snow!
I believe that the 225 were an upsized option, so as far as weight handling is concerned I think you are ok. The big question is are your rims too wide for the new tire. There is usually a range of sizes that will fit on a particular rim width but you will have to check with the tire manufacturers web site to find the rim width recommendation and see if you rims fit into their range.
225/70/14 = 26.40
*215/75/14 = 26.69*
215/70/14 = 25.85
*215/75/14 = 26.69*
215/70/14 = 25.85
Just make sure the sidewall comes out past the rim otherwise you're going to get curb rash to the wheels. I see it all the time, people spend $8000 on a set of wheels and then get the tires a size too small and grind the rims against the concrete curb.
This is a '98 Ranger.
Right! Plus it's got 200K+ miles!! I'm hoping I don't have to pay more than $80 for the one rim that I do need! ha ha
Think I spent $120 on Craigslist for these wheels to put on my XL. Included good tires.
This looks interesting but I'm ignorant to it. Are you saying a 215/75/14 has less variance in size to the original and is therefore a better match? I don't know what the 3 "= XX.xx" mean.
Why are you even doing this? Surely the price difference is small. You will have issues with tire rotation and spare replacement. Possibly ABS if present. Tires are not a good place to cheap out.
Around here, any good tire shop will not install smaller than specified tires.
Liability and lawyers $$$$
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id done that on a 94 B4000 and it drove just fine until a deer jumped out front.
The final number is the overall diameter in inches. In other words,(225/70/14) the 26.40 inches tall. For speedometer error, .02" correlates to 1% in speedometer error(
The 215/75/14 is 26.69" tall(or round up to 26.7"), meaning that the 215/75/14s are .03" taller than the 225/70/14s which is still acceptable IMO. However if you have ABS, this could effect that. If no ABS, no worries.
This can get a bit complicated and IDK if I explained it right!
I appreciate the heads-up, but the vehicle was really only purchased to haul trash exactly 2-miles from home (4-miles round-trip) maybe 10 or 12 times a year - less than 100 miles a year for sure.Why are you even doing this? Surely the price difference is small. You will have issues with tire rotation and spare replacement. Possibly ABS if present. Tires are not a good place to cheap out.
Around here, any good tire shop will not install smaller than specified tires.
Liability and lawyers $$$$
You explained perfectly for me -- THX much!
You make a good point.
OP, I wouldn't risk it! Sounds like those Deer love 215's.
Take a good look at the load range/index on the tires, particularly if you haul heavy loads in the back. I had a Toyo 225 have a nasty blowout on the I-894 bypass around Milwaukee while my ‘85 GMC conversion van was pretty well loaded down in back. Tire was not terribly old and had good tread. If you run LT tires, you should be okay.
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Keep in mind that the taller the tire is, the slower the speedometer will read and visa-versa.
And for future use, you can always use the +/- .02” for the 1% speedo error.
To figure this out:
tire width in mm / 25.4 = **.** x aspect ratio = x 2 =, + wheel size in inches. e.g.
225/25.4 = 8.8582677165 x .70 = 6.2007874016 x 2 = 12.4015748031 + 14 = 26.4015748031
And for future use, you can always use the +/- .02” for the 1% speedo error.
To figure this out:
tire width in mm / 25.4 = **.** x aspect ratio = x 2 =, + wheel size in inches. e.g.
225/25.4 = 8.8582677165 x .70 = 6.2007874016 x 2 = 12.4015748031 + 14 = 26.4015748031
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