At Bronco Off-Roadeo, during ground school, trail guides teach that you only need two things and if you have them, you’ll be able to drive any trail and any type of terrain. Those two things are traction and clearance. There are several things you can do to successfully help with these two items, but one of the easiest upgrades you can make is tires.
This is an introductory article on tires and recommended tire sizes and types for the Bronco Sport. I’d love to hear about your build, and please post photos of your tires/wheels in the comment section at the end of this article.
What is on my Bronco Sport from the factory?
Depending on your trim package and available options, you might have anything from a Continental street tire to the Falken Wildpeak all terrains in sizes that vary from 225/65/R17, 235/65R17, and 225/60/R18. Now, what do those numbers even mean?
That first number, the 225 or 235 is the width of the tire in millimeters. Yes, crazy, metric and so easy to figure out, correct?
The second number, 60 or 65 is called the profile or aspect ratio. The tire’s sidewall is 60 percent or 65 percent of its width.
The third number is the size of the wheel –– and it’s not in metric, go figure. In this case, we’re looking at a 17” or 18” inch wheel, and the letter R on the tire stands for radial, as compared to a bias ply. Sometimes you’ll also see a P or an LT in front of the numbers, which signify passenger or light truck tires.
When Bronco owners tell you they have 35” tires or 33” tires, how do you answer them? What is your tire size? One of the easiest ways to convert this data to something that makes better sense is to simply use an online tire calculator.
If you plug in the above data, you’ll get the following information:
- 225/65/R17 = 28.5”
- 235/65/R17 = 29”
- 225/60/R18 = 28.6”
So, you can see that there isn’t really much of a difference in the overall size of the tires on any of the trim packages.
What is the maximum size you can get to in the Bronco Sport without causing any tire rub?
This question is a little tricky to answer because part of the answer depends on how you drive your Sport. I searched the forums and found a very nice answer from Meanderthal in Colorado who states:
“For an 18" wheel the biggest tire you can comfortably get is the 245/60/18 (29.5"). This same tire size can be had in other wheel sizes:
- 245/55/19
- 245/65/17
- 245/70/16
The interference/rub that happens on the Bronco Sport is that the tire will hit the pinch weld at the back side of the wheel well when the suspension is compressed and the steering wheel is turned. Anything larger than a 29.5" (go to tiresize.com for information) will most likely cause a rub at the extremes.
Some people have cut the pinch weld to get more clearance, but this is a very dangerous idea for a unibody vehicle. They are basically applying old "body on frame" logic to a unibody. The unibody is the frame and cutting it could have unforeseen consequences.
If you are willing to say that you will never compress the suspension and turn the steering wheel at the same time, then you can put a bigger tire on but not very much bigger.”
What is the takeaway from this? If you have the 225s on your vehicle, and increase to the 245s, you’re increasing your ride height by half an inch. But there are other reasons to upgrade a tire and that includes the tread depth and the strength of the sidewall.
If you look at the difference between a highway tire and an all-terrain tire, you will see that the tread is much deeper (18/32 compared to 11/32) and at the same time, you often get a stronger sidewall, for example, 6 ply as compared to 2 or 3 ply.
Trade-offs
If you upgrade to a larger, more aggressive all-terrain tire, you are likely to see a change in the fuel economy of your Sport. Certainly, it’ll continue to be much better than our Bronco friends but just as larger tires on the Bronco impact the fuel economy, bigger tires do the same on the Sport.
The other consideration is road noise. Depending on the brand of tire you select, you may hear more road noise when compared with your highway tires. So, if you are going to off-road your Sport or are looking for a more aggressive stance, upgrading may be right for you.
What brand of tire should I consider?
You’ll likely get lots of answers in this category, and I hate to steer people into one brand when there are so many great tires out there. Personally, I have had great luck with the Falken Wildpeaks that came as an option on the Badlands Sport. I’m taking them out again on the Rebelle Rally this year. The Rebelle throws a lot of terrain at the tires, including large rocks, and the Falkens have suited me well. Recently on the Bronco Nation Sport Meet-Ups, we have seen the BFGoodrich KO2 tires that give the Badlands a rugged stance.
Whatever brand or type of tire you feel right for your Bronco Sport, do your research first, and have a great time enjoying your Sport in the wild!
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