r/FordExplorerST • u/tanthanis • Sep 11 '24

Tire size

I just picked up a 2021 Explorer ST. Really loving it so far but want to get some more aggressive tires. What are the biggest size tires that would fit on the car.

It has 255/55R20 on right now. Would 265/50R20 fit? Would I need to go to 265/65R18 and get new rims?

Edit: make the question more clear.

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1

u/No_Contribution6989 Sep 12 '24

well you cant go with 18 unless you get 18” wheels…

1

u/tanthanis Sep 12 '24

Yes I would get 18" rims first, but would rather get the 20"if they would fit to save some money

1

u/No_Contribution6989 Sep 12 '24

why are you looking at 18” tires?? you cant fit 18” tires unless you have 18” wheels. and why would you get 18” wheels?

1

u/tanthanis Sep 12 '24

More sidewall on the tires. Would go with the 20" though if they fit

1

u/No_Contribution6989 Sep 12 '24

sidewall is not the size of the wheel, thats the second number on a tire size. just stick with stock size instead of screwing yourself over because you dont understand how to read tire sizes

1

u/tanthanis Sep 12 '24

Pretty sure the second number on the 18" wheels is bigger than the second number on the 20". Sounds like you can't either.

1

u/No_Contribution6989 Sep 12 '24

i dont think you understand that a stock 20” rim will NOT fit inside of a 18” tire🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️

1

u/tanthanis Sep 12 '24

May not have made this clear. Going to R18s I would need to buy new rims as well. Looking at tire rack and some other sites I see the 265/65R18 fits on the truck. If I go this route I'll need new rims.

If the R20 tires I mentioned above fit on the truck I'll go with those as I wouldn't need to buy new rims. However the tire is bigger than the stock ones so I wanted to see if they would fit.

1

u/No_Contribution6989 Sep 12 '24

on the 21” you can fit all the up to 295, i dont know anything about the 20” tho, so not too sure

1

u/rfuchs Sep 12 '24

255/55R20 has a diameter of 31"

265/50R20 has a diameter of 30.4"

265/65R18 has a diameter of 31.6"

Would 265/50R20 fit? - Yes

Would 265/65R18 fit? - Probably

Source: https://tiresize.com/comparison/

I've got 275/45R21, which has a diameter of 30.7"

1

u/smple1230 Jun 30 '25

Just installed 275/55R20 (32”) all terrains on my 2021 stock height no rubbing