So I have a 2003 Chevy Tracker with the stock 15"x5.5" steel wheels.  I (like everyone else) want better traction on road and off, and want to fit bigger, better tires.

If I can avoid a lift kit for now, I'd like to (just too much $$ for this month).  So I figured I'll try to put tires as big as possible on.  I've posted and read many many threads about how big a tire can be fit onto a stock 2003 tracker/GV, and its been very informative.  I understand that when I go too big without a lift I'll either rub body work or frame or both.  But my question today is a little different.

If you look at the tire sizes below, you will see the tire that I have and the tire I want to run.

205/75R15 (Rim Width Range: 5 - 7.5 in)            
225/75R15 (Rim Width Range: 6 - 8 in)  

All the manufacturers recommend a rim between 6-8 inches in width to run a 225/75-15....but my stock steelies are only 5.5" wide.  

So what will happen?  Will it explode?  WIll it pop the bead?  I understand it isn;t manufacturer recommended, but neither is a lot of shit we do to our trucks.  Can I safely mount the larger tire size on the stock rim?  Most importantly has anyone personally tried this and succeeded or failed.

Let me know.

Anything can be coerced to explode under the right conditions.
And pigs CAN fly - it's just a question of adequate thrust, and guidance.

And yes, you can fit those tires on your stock rims.
But answer me this.

You have 15 inch rims on your 2003 Tracker?

Hey just thought you would like to know I'm running 235/75/15 wildcat all season's on my sammy with the stock rims 15x5.5 inches wide, and I run about 25 psi on trails and 35 on the street when I bother to air up, so far hasn't pulled the bead yet, but I'm afraid to lower the psi below 25 the sidewall bulge makes me nervous.

I ran a 30x9.50 on my stock 15x5.5 rim. No problems at all, cept a touch of frame rub.

IF it will make you feel better, I have the same rims as you, had the same Unyroyal Tigerslicks as you, and I decided to go to 215-75-15 Cooper Discoverer AT's.  They fit just fine, and your tire is just one size up from mine.  IT also helped correct the speedo, it's just slightly off from the factory.  If you look at the Fzctory ZR-2 package they came with 215's.  They fill up the wheel well a little better.  
Although I think that 225's will look even better.  But for me and what I do, 215's are just fine.  and the Coopers made a HUGE diffrence in the snow, in fact, for times that I NEEDED 4WD in the snow, like getting out of my hilly driveway, I can do it now in 2WD.  

                                HTH, Dave

You have 15 inch rims on your 2003 Tracker?

Yes we do    Chevy must have put smaller brakes or something on these trucks becasue the stock rims are 15x5.5 or 15x6 if you upgrade to the LT or ZR2 package.

Yes we do    Chevy must have put smaller brakes or something on these trucks becasue the stock rims are 15x5.5 or 15x6 if you upgrade to the LT or ZR2 package.

Dang, I wish I had 15 inch rims on my wife's GV - there isn't much variety in 16 inch tires, and they're all pricey!

I ran a 30x9.50 on my stock 15x5.5 rim. No problems at all, cept a touch of frame rub.

Are you talking about running these with no lift on your 91 tracker or do you have a one with the newer (99+) body style?

I have an 02 4dr V6 and I'm hoping to get my dad's 30x9.5 when he lifts his jeep and puts on 33s, and I'm wondering what I will have to do to fit them nicely.

I thought I had hear somewhere that having a smaller rim (width) with bigger tires actually helped to keep the bead on better when aired down?  But the smaller rims cause your footprint and tire bulge/roll to be worse on the street.  Is this not correct?

My tracker has 15" rims.  It bugged me that the GV (which I could have bought) may have signifigantly better brakes (obviously a bigger disc), but I gots what I gots and there aint no changin now.

I noticed the ChevyTracker ZR2 has 15x6" wheels.  The tires are 215's but the aspect ratio is a 70 rather than a 75.  This means the 215/70-15 is almost exactly the same height as the 205/75-15.

I like the idea of a lift.  I don't do that much off roading, but it would certainly come in handy when I do.  I just don't want to lift the truck to fit the tires and find out my on-road handling just went in the fucking toilet.  I drive my wife and son around in this vehicle.  So I'm trying to find a middle ground.  I figured a taller tire, with better traction than the piece of shit uniroyal tigerslick (very funny trackinstile) with a stiffer sidewall (like those pirelli scorpions I hear about) might be a good combination of traction, ever so slight lift, off road-ability, and on road stability.

Or just say fuck it, pay calmini or rocky road the big bucks, get a set of US wheel 15x7" steel wheels and go for a 30 tire.  I just think there's something to be said for a low centre of gravity in a multipurpose vehicle.

Oh yeah.  And I saw this picture of a Lamborghini LM002...



...and I thought here's a hummeresque vehicle with huge tires, adequate ground clearance, and its not lifted to the heavans.  

    Glad you like the Tigerslick comment. Although, I think someone else around this board came up with it first, but I've been using it since '03.  Man those tires were horrible.  I literally had to use 4WD to get up my driveway even if there was an inch of snow on the ground, now, only if theres a foot .  I may be wrong, but I thought that the stock ZR2 had Goodyear 215/75/15 on them, not 70's.  But I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm right.  (Jeez, am I rambling here or what).  Since mine is a daily driver too, and it was our main family vehicle until we picked up my wifes XL-7 two weeks ago (BTW, she really likes it, wishes we got one sooner, as the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20).  I needed something good, a little more agressive, and that's why I got the Cooper Discovers.  And I'm really happy with them.  They fill out the wheel well just a tad more than the Unyroyals did, and for now, I  can't afford to lift it with baby number three due to come into this world by the 21st of this month, so I'm happy with what I got.  

    And, about the brakes, they're right ours is smaller than on the GV and XL-7's.   Oh well, I'm still doing good with mine, it's got 55,000 miles on the originals so far and they're only about half worn, so, they're not all that bad either.  Have fun,     Dave  

CONGRATULATIONS ON BABY #3   !!

As for me its just me, princess, and baby boy #1.  You know, the money for the lift is an issue, but not really.  Whether I have the money in my pocket is not the problem.  Its whether I can justify to myself (and my wife) spending CDN$1500 - $2000 on a lift + wheels + tires.  I'm still running these uniroyals, but their time has come.  I'm gonna paint those 15's (ht 5-spoke design really doesn't look bad at all) and fit a set of 225/75-15 all terrain tires and call it a day (for now).

I noticed the ChevyTracker ZR2 has 15x6" wheels.  The tires are 215's but the aspect ratio is a 70 rather than a 75.  This means the 215/70-15 is almost exactly the same height as the 205/75-15.

That's interesting, my 02 ZR2 came with 215/75 tires.  They seem to work fine, but then again I've never run  it with anything smaller.

My vote is to go for the lift  .  A 2" lift isn't going to raise the CG too much and the larger tires will offset it right .  If you use it mainly on road and want to keep the handly good you could just install the OME kit from RRO.  From what I hear that should handle better than stock, on the street.  You could probably even not use the coil spacers and keep the lift at 1" if that is enough for the tires you get.

Keep us updated on what you end up getting and how the tires fit.  I plan to get my list/tires in the next 5-6 months.

Thanks for the congrats, I'm getting kind of nervous.  The oldest two are 8 and 6, so, we're kind of starting from scratch.  

   Believe it or not I like the steelies better than the LT rims.  (Hopefully no offense here).  And believe you me, I know exactly what you mean by justifying a major purchase like that.  Once you have kids you always think of your family first, which is a good thing.  I had an old Trooper II before my Tracker and I thought of redoing the whole thing, and my boss asked me,"will it o any farther???  Will it run any longer???   So, I didn't do much to it, which in the end, he was right, within a year the frame completely rotted out in the rear cross member and a couple of holes rotted through near the front wheels.   Looking back, I'm glad I listened to him.  But anyways, back to coming up with a good reason for that 2" lift, ummm, do you have a lot of flood waters near your house?  That would be good to use for a reason.  Have fun,  Dave