The '96 has 31's on it now and as cool as it looks with the tires sticking WAY out I just don't dig the fact that it gets dirty so damn fast.  Also not hot on the 2" or so of backspacing, that can't be good for wheel bearings.  Then there's the all season tires... 

So I'm in the market for new tires and wheels and so far I'm debating aluminum vs steel 15x8's and tire size.  Wheel choice irregardless I'd like to know which would be a better tire size to choose?  It has 31's now and will be getting 5.12 gears pretty soon.  My debate is if I should go 31's or 32's.  The new rims will have a more conventional backspacing (somewhere between 3-4" for sure) but with the 6" Calmini lift system I'm sure I could clear either tire.  It's my DD and I'd like to see good gas mileage but at the same time since the prices don't seem that different, if it can pull 32's with the 5.12's it'd be that much better. 

Opinions, thoughts?

When you boil that whole big thing down, it reduces to what, which size tire you should get, 31 or 32?

Go for the taller one if you actually wheel the rig because you will like the extra clearance... I would actually say go for a 33" and trim to fit, but that's just my preference. After wheeling both 31" and 33" swampers, I'm sticking to the 33"s for sure! Much better ground clearance!

Well, this thing is actually my DD and my main concern is driveability and gas mileage.  The Ranger is my main toy.  I was originally looking for a stocker but this thing fell into my lap rather unexpectedly for a nice price.  I like 32's and sorta have a line on a set but don't want to loose DD function over offroad form.  Lord knows I don't get to go out enough as it is anymore.

One tire size isn't going to kill the daily drivability of it.  Since you have to add the 5.12's, I'm assuming it's an auto. It would run just fine with the 5.12's and the auto with either tire size and gas mileage wont be much different either.