The Black Beast of AAAAGGGHHHHHH!

[Michel Jeanneau]

I've had worse....look you stoopid bahstid, your arm's off!
no it's not

I could go all night.
But seriously, with the windshield replaced, camera recalibrated, and the speedo correction inputed for the new (265/70/17 Cooper disco at3 4s @34 psi) tires, I did a mini rolling circunference measurement experiment using my original Hankook spare (265/65/17), one of my used Hankooks with 19.3k miles and the new ones; I marked the sidewall and driveway at a point perpendicular to ground and rolled each tire one full rotation, then marked driveway where each tire rolled one turn. Measured between each driveway mark in millimeters. Caviat: the old tires are off rims with no air or load, and the new ones are mounted on the truck and under load. The results:
-new Hankook rolled 2395 mm (tire circunference was set at 2390 on BCM)
-used hankook rolled 2373 mm
-new Coopers rolled 2435 mm (tire circunference adjusted to 2437 on BCM)

Speedo seems spot on...in case anyone cares. Do note that those hankooks lost 23mm in circunference in 19k miles, rotated every 5k miles.

Then tabulated my real time MPG with two years' worth of fill ups; my combined average was 21 mpg; my highest avg between fillups was 25 mpg and my lowest 14.95 mpg

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[garyrox]

I ,too, have 265/65/17's on my 2019 Ranger and I am thinking of going to Cooper Rugged Trek 265/70/17's. the same tire size you went to. 50% of my driving is sand and rocks, I live in the Southern Utah desert. My question is will the new cooper 31.90 diameter tire fit in the spare tire holder under the bed? Did you replace your spare with the Coopers or just hope bad things don't happen? I have never driven with a mismatched tire size. I could drop my spare, but not sure it would tell me of a 1.5" difference. Thanks in advance, if you can help me, thanks even if you can't.
Gary
Kane County Utah

 

[Michel Jeanneau]

No, I replaced all 5 tires, the discoverer at3 4s list a diameter of 31.6....it fits, but it's tight. But the hsnkook spare was pretty tight also...mostly due to my aftermarket curt hitch

 

[garyrox]

Thanks, appreciate it
Gary

 

[Michel Jeanneau]

If I think of it I'll grab a picture of the spare as it sits on the truck now

 

[Michel Jeanneau]

And here it is:

 

[garyrox]

So where it comes up against tour trailer is too tight for another 1/2", or is your trailer hitch ( Curt Hitch) longer than my stock hitch? I sure appreciate you laying down and taking those pictures!
gary

 

[garyrox]

I just climbed under and I have 1" between my stock hitch and the tire, but I think the spare will slid forward a tad, unfortunately I have the damn steel spare wheel, I guess I could investigate getting a spare stock wheel like my other four. At least Ford gave me the correct size spare. maybe just take a chance on the 265/65/17 spare.
Thanks again, enjoy NH, born and raised in Pittsfield Mass.
Gary

 

[Michel Jeanneau]

The ford stock hitch should have no issues accommodating a full 32" spare. My Curt hitch is not the low profile one but the "HD" one (whatever that means). The Cooper disco in 265/70/17 lists a diameter of 31.6", and there is maybe 1/16" of clearance between it and my hitch. Like I said earlier, though, the stock 265/65/17 spare that was there before also barely fit there, especially after mounting my hitch, which requred me to drop the spare to get to the frame.

BTW, I did not need to lay down for the pics...I discovered the reverse camera-thingiemobob on my wicked smaaht phone a long time ago...that layin' down on the ground thing is for kids!

 

[AzScorpion]

The ford stock hitch should have no issues accommodating a full 32" spare. My Curt hitch is not the low profile one but the "HD" one (whatever that means). The Cooper disco in 265/70/17 lists a diameter of 31.6", and there is maybe 1/16" of clearance between it and my hitch. Like I said earlier, though, the stock 265/65/17 spare that was there before also barely fit there, especially after mounting my hitch, which requred me to drop the spare to get to the frame.

BTW, I did not need to lay down for the pics...I discovered the reverse camera-thingiemobob on my wicked smaaht phone a long time ago...that layin' down on the ground thing is for kids!

Michel, I have the same size tires as you (31.6) but they're Nitto's. The spare fits and is close like yours and I mounted mine with the valve stem facing down so I could check the air pressure. Yeah, I'm not going out there and getting on the ground either. Ya'll just have to take my word on it. lol ?

 

[Michel Jeanneau]

I had mine like that for a while and I find that the steel wheel tends to trap a lot of dirt/sand/salt in that position. So what I tend to do now is drop the spare when I rotate tires and use it in lieu of a jack; giving me a chance to look the thing over, check pressure, etc. With only a couple of gas tanks since the new tires, I am still trying to figure out what tire pressure to run my tires at (currently 37 psi). I learned my lesson on spares the hard way. New England winters are hard on steel, and if one doesn't keep the spare clean and dirt free, well....my previous Ranger's spare got to the point that it had pitted so badly that it wouldn't hold any air! what you get for not even looking at it for 160k miles and 7 years (I used it only once after I put a sharp stone right between tread and sidewall while 4 wheeling around moosehead lake way back when). Luckily, one could find steel rims no problem back in 2006!

 

[Michel Jeanneau]

Gary, don't bother with a stock alloy wheel unless you plan to do a 5-tire rotation. The steel wheel does just fine as a spare. And yes, there is room forward for the tire to go, you just need to give it a nudge as you winch it past the hitch

 

[garyrox]

Thanks Michel
Gary

 

[AzScorpion]

I had mine like that for a while and I find that the steel wheel tends to trap a lot of dirt/sand/salt in that position. So what I tend to do now is drop the spare when I rotate tires and use it in lieu of a jack; giving me a chance to look the thing over, check pressure, etc. With only a couple of gas tanks since the new tires, I am still trying to figure out what tire pressure to run my tires at (currently 37 psi). I learned my lesson on spares the hard way. New England winters are hard on steel, and if one doesn't keep the spare clean and dirt free, well....my previous Ranger's spare got to the point that it had pitted so badly that it wouldn't hold any air! what you get for not even looking at it for 160k miles and 7 years (I used it only once after I put a sharp stone right between tread and sidewall while 4 wheeling around moosehead lake way back when). Luckily, one could find steel rims no problem back in 2006!

I know all about New England winters, I lived in MA for just over 50 years. We rarely get rain here so I don't have to worry about any of that now. As far as air pressure goes I found running mine at 32 psi cold works best for me. You could also do a chalk test which will give you the best results for what pressure to run.

 

[Michel Jeanneau]

I recall when picking up my truck from the stealership, they had my stock hankooks at something like 42 psi!....waaay over inflated. Ended up running those at 34 psi

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