Upgraded to 255/65/17 KO3 tires on the Bronco Sport 🐎

[compass crusher]

Always felt like the 245s were too narrow — I’d slide off rocks too easily 🪨. Terrain matters, but for a soft off-roader, the extra width and grip really help .


The tire size alone gave me about 0.26” of added ground clearance .
Paired that with a 1.5” lift using lifted struts and springs — giving me a total clearance gain of about 1.76” overall.
Minor rubbing at full lock , but nothing crazy. Might heat-mold or trim the liners before snow/mud season .

 

[jkernitzki]

Always felt like the 245s were too narrow — I’d slide off rocks too easily 🪨. Terrain matters, but for a soft off-roader, the extra width and grip really help .


The tire size alone gave me about 0.26” of added ground clearance .
Paired that with a 1.5” lift using lifted struts and springs ⬆ — giving me a total clearance gain of about 1.76” overall.
Minor rubbing at full lock , but nothing crazy. Might heat-mold or trim the liners before snow/mud season .

Although it seems counterintuitive, narrower tires outperform wider ones off road when aired down correctly.

 

[Jake25]

Minor rubbing at full lock

 

[compass crusher]

Although it seems counterintuitive, narrower tires outperform wider ones off road when aired down correctly.

Great point — properly aired down narrow tires can absolutely shine off-road. But the real trade-off, especially on a soft off-roader like the Bronco Sport, is you lose precious clearance when you air down. And with these rigs already having limited clearance, that half inch or so really matters on the trail.


For me, the 245s just didn’t give enough contact or confidence on minor rock crawling, I was sliding off lines that were slick or wet . The jump to 255s, paired with the lift, gave me a better footprint, more grip, and still preserved clearance even aired down.


Appreciate the discussion though — totally agree it depends on the trail, driving style, and how your rig is set up

 

[compass crusher]

Haha fair! I knew that was coming.

But seriously — it’s super minor and only at full lock. The trade-off for wider tires, better grip, and added clearance was worth it for me. I’ll probably heat-mold or trim the liners eventually, but for now it’s totally manageable.


Gotta make a few sacrifices for the look and performance sometimes, right?

 

[rugedraw]

Gotta make a few sacrifices for the look and performance sometimes, right?

A lil rub never hurt nobody. Looks great!

 

[compass crusher]

A lil rub never hurt nobody. Looks great!

Right?! A little rub just adds character Appreciate it, man—she's coming together one trail at a time! 🛞

 

[Brent@ANParts]

Looks really good! Appears a lot more suited for some trail driving now.

 

[compass crusher]

Looks really good! Appears a lot more suited for some trail driving now.

Thank you, buddy! It's been fun and an experience getting her ready.

 

[jkernitzki]

Couple of vids worth watching:

Tire Pressure:

Tire Size:

 

[Garth]

Im thinking of 235/75 I have no rocks to climb

 

[RSH]

Always felt like the 245s were too narrow — I’d slide off rocks too easily 🪨. Terrain matters, but for a soft off-roader, the extra width and grip really help .


The tire size alone gave me about 0.26” of added ground clearance .
Paired that with a 1.5” lift using lifted struts and springs ⬆ — giving me a total clearance gain of about 1.76” overall.
Minor rubbing at full lock , but nothing crazy. Might heat-mold or trim the liners before snow/mud season .

Just sitting there the 255 looks like it's already rubbing.
I have 245/65/17's on my Badlands and they kiss the the front wheel well liners at full lock with the suspension compressed, I would imagine 255's would really rub enough to tear up the liners and even cause contact with the pinch weld which could potentially damage the tire. You may need to make a modification soon than later if you do much off roading.

 

[cprcubed]

Im thinking of 235/75 I have no rocks to climb

I'm going to guess that a 235/75 will be too tall and rub on the pinch weld. Cheers!

 

[Bill G]

So far I’ve not had any problems with 235/70 AT's on stock offset wheels, and stock BL suspension, rubbing. They’re 30” tall, which seems about the limit without modifications. I imagine that if you try real hard you can find the “limits”.

 

[Bluebaru]

So far I’ve not had any problems with 235/70 AT's on stock offset wheels, and stock BL suspension, rubbing. They’re 30” tall, which seems about the limit without modifications. I imagine that if you try real hard you can find the “limits”.

Diameter and tread width and wheel offset will all make a difference, in wether or not a tire will rub. A 30" tire, like your Firestone AT2's, has a fairly narrow tread, even for that somewhat rare size and the AT2's did real good in www.tyrereviews.com testing of moderate Off Road tires a couple of years ago, tying for first, if I remember right and the Tire Rack rates them as an, off road all terain tire and not just an on road, allterrain tire.

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