Wheels on a ?13 explorer

[Little Dutch]

It?s time for new tires on my 2013 explorer. It currently has 20? rims on it. I?m seriously debating moving to 17? or 18? wheels to save money on tires over the long term. I know basically zero about wheels and tires though.

Any advice on moving to a smaller rim?
General advice on tires for it?
Got a set of rims you need to sell?

[20X11]

There are charts out there that will help you pick the correct height tire on a smaller rim so your speedometer is not affected. I recommend Les Schwab tire centers...I had to buy a new set for my Tundra and they were very helpful...Got some nice Raceline wheels for about 100 per wheel (plus tires of course)

[20X11]

PS...check your door sticker to see what size it had from the factory.

[Gman]

A number of the tire stores and sites have various wheel size and tire size options for your specific application.

I do a lot of research on TireRack.com . They have numerous reviews and track tests. I assumed it was an Explorer Sport 4x4 with a 20" OEM wheel, but you didn't specify. Let's see if this link works:

https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/resu...oModClar=Sport

Just a quick look indicates that there are a bunch of options in an 18.

I've also used DiscountTire.com to find info and I've often bought through them. Discount did have the incorrect OEM sizing for my 2019 Ram, so make sure you double-check the info to make sure.

[00tec]

I have a set of 19s that will fit, but tires are more expensive. I went to 20s when it came time for tires.

You can correct speedometer inaccuracy with Forscan.

[Little Dutch]

255/50r20 is stock and what’s currently on the truck.

It’s the Limited trim, instead on the Sport, but the wheels are the same i think. I’ll redo your search with the correct trim to be sure though.

Thanks for the link and all the advice. I’ll do some searching with all the companies listed.

[Gman]

It's a popular vehicle, so there should be a lot of various wheel and tire options that should have the same outside dimensions as the stock 20" setup. There should be no need to tweak the speedo unless you decide to put a lift on it and go oversize.

225/50r20 is stock and what’s currently on the truck.

That's interesting. TireRack.com shows the OEM tire size for the Limited as 255/50-20 and Discount shows 2 OEM sizes as 245/50-20 and 255/50-20.

[Little Dutch]

You are correct on the sizes. 255/50-20. That was a typo on my part. Editing the original post to correct it.

[ray1970]

Not specific to the Explorer in question, but sometimes downsizing rim sizes can depend on the brake rotors too. I doubt stepping down from the 20?s will be a big issue but but sometimes as wheels have gotten bigger it wasn?t done for looks or that cool factor but rather when manufacturers started putting bigger brakes on their vehicles.

My Dodge has 20?s and uses a 275/60/20 which is really an odd duck size and as far as I can tell is only used on Dodge trucks.

I was dreading what the price was going to be for a set but found it really wasn?t too bad. I went with Discount and got a full set of all terrains for about $650 out the door and just carried on with my life.

[Gman]

Not specific to the Explorer in question, but sometimes downsizing rim sizes can depend on the brake rotors too. I doubt stepping down from the 20?s will be a big issue but but sometimes as wheels have gotten bigger it wasn?t done for looks or that cool factor but rather when manufacturers started putting bigger brakes on their vehicles.

My Dodge has 20?s and uses a 275/60/20 which is really an odd duck size and as far as I can tell is only used on Dodge trucks.

I was dreading what the price was going to be for a set but found it really wasn?t too bad. I went with Discount and got a full set of all terrains for about $650 out the door and just carried on with my life.

Great point on going smaller. The Tire Rack calculator for the Limited didn't offer anything smaller than 18", probably for a reason. The new Ram DT has issues with caliper clearance on many of the 18s, even though the Rebel comes with 18s, precisely due to caliper clearance. The wheels require a barrel that gets larger on the inside of the wheel for clearance.

You might find a Ford forum where folks are discussing the Explorer and see what they're experiences have been with wheel and tire combinations?

275/60-20 was the size that the Discount Tire calculator kept telling me was OEM for the 2019 Ram DT. It is actually 275/55-20 and there are fortunately a ton of options in that size.

As to unusual sizing, the 2016 Mercedes GL 450 that I had was so unusual at the time that there were only like 3 tire options in that size. Having a size that makes the tire almost a 'commodity item' certainly keeps the pricing down.