larger tires to increase ground clearance

[foes]

I would love to get a little more ground clearance for my Transit. Does anybody know the largest tires that will work on the stock rims without problems.

[hollowwood]

I would love to get a little more ground clearance for my Transit. Does anybody know the largest tires that will work on the stock rims without problems.

I just did a web search for tires and one site listed 667 mm x 225 mm max. That works out to a jump from 205 /65r15 to 215/65r15 for regular tires.The Snow Tires I am getting will stay at the stock size as they have a bit more rubber in the tread and normally are bigger in diameter. Jumping up one size will almost always be safe to do.

[mrtn]

I have inreased the index by one: 65 to 70. It was visually more pleasing, less useless wheel well space and a some gained ground clearance.

[Bikesnbreakdowns]

I'm going to attempt to make some strut spacers to make about 25mm of lift up front.

Update-

St focus spring distance kit for 20mm of front lift

With these 205 75 r15 General Grabber AT

Edited January 6, 2012 by Bikesnbreakdowns

[Bikesnbreakdowns]

I just installed the Yokohama Geolanders in 205 70 R15, No rubbing and gained an inch of clearance in the front!

Before shots:

(Front)

7" clearance on front bumper

3.5" of fender / wheel gap

After shots:

(Tires)

8" clearance on front bumper ( +1")

2.75" of fender / wheel gap (-.5")

Edited January 27, 2012 by Bikesnbreakdowns

[neunrg]

The taller tires mess with your speedo but did you also notice a drop in mpg's?

Thanks,

Michael

[hollowwood]

The taller tires mess with your speedo but did you also notice a drop in mpg's?

Thanks,

Michael

It is not as simple as it sounds. Taller tires means that for each revolution of the tires, you travel farther. But, it also means that the engine has to work a bit harder to do it. It is like using a higher gear.I used to run BFG-ATs on Toyota FJ Cruisers. I went from 13 mpg ,with stock tires, to an adjusted mpg of 13mpg! No change! What I gained on going farther, I lost on making the engine work harder.I drove a FJ 60 Wagon with 1 ton stock axles and a curb weight of 3800 lbs. On a lighter truck, you may see better results.PS: Not that wider tires will reduce your mpg due to more wind drag and road friction. I ran the 950-30 BFGs which were not Mudders. They were Rock and Rut tires.

Edited February 9, 2012 by hollowwood

[Bikesnbreakdowns]

Based on the revs per mile, my speedo / MPG should be about 5.9% off. As far as MPG goes 20mpg (21.2 corrected for tires) all city driving, lots of hills

Edited February 9, 2012 by Bikesnbreakdowns

[theRoadWarrior]

Thanks

 

My tires are about shot so Im going to try the 205 75 R15's unless anyone thinks I can go bigger

My purpose is to get the thing higher off the ground. This is a new vehicle for me bought new about a year ago and

I'm used to the 215 75 r15's and the clearance on a stock jeep cheorkee. I know I can't get that with a Transit but would like any suggestions as to what I can do to get it as close to a jeep clearance.

 

Thx

 

 

[G B L]

You will not get a 15 inch rim to fit the front hub because of the brakes . The 215 60 16 will add a 1/2 inch to the sidewall height . A 215 65 16 will add just under 1 inch to the sidewall.  This tire will rub the body on some tight turns.  The TC will need a mechanical lift to get a big change in the ride height.

 

[mrtn]

Do the coilovers we've discussed here have a lift possibility as well?

[G B L]

They could but there would have to be a way to make a camber adjustment if the Height is raised a lot.

[mrtn]

Then there are camber adjustment plates for the strut tower:

[G B L]

That is a nice set up. You have to make sure the kit you get has all the stuff.  Some do and some don't

Edited December 4, 2016 by G B L

[Beta Don]

Interesting that Bikesnbreakdowns gained an inch of ground clearance just by going from a 205/65R15 to a 205/70R15.  The 65 series tire is 25.5 inches in diameter while the 70 series is 26.3 inches in diameter  -  Just  0.8 inches larger in diameter, so the increase in ground clearance should have been only 0.4 inches

Regardless, changing tire size to increase ground clearance isn't the way to go about it.  Going to a tire large enough to make a significant difference will upset all sorts of things you really don't want to mess with.  Forget the speedometer difference  -  You're effectively changing the gear ratio and that would mean you'd need to reprogram the transmission shift points to make the van drive as it was designed.  A taller tire also means the brakes work harder and likely your stopping distance would also be increased

If you need another inch or two of ground clearance, leave the gear ratios alone and lift the van by modifying the suspension and not by going to monster tires

Don

[Fifty150]

Don, you are correct.  On my truck, I have a suspension lift.  But just a lift kit is not good enough.  I added steering stabilizers, regeared the rear end, upgraded braking, new wheels to fit around the new brakes + mount larger tires, and custom tuned with correct gear ratio and tire size.  All of that for a 6" lift with just slightly larger than OEM tires.  The lift kit was cheap, compared to what everything else cost.  You really can't do just a little bit, and expect to gain anything at all.  What is that inch going to do for you?  Since there is no lift kit for a transit connect, you would need to fabricate and engineer a lot of new parts.