Tires: changing out tires, factory wheels, gas mileage

Question
I bought a Ford Ranger XLT a couple years ago that had modifications done to it and came with 245/60/15 M+S radials. I cant find the manufacturers name anywhere on them, why is that? We want to change the tires out to something more excessible and still use the wheels. What size can we go to that wont be a problem driving under wet conditions or mainly highway driving? Also, would this improve the gas milage? The tires cause the truck to be driving slower than the actual speedometer reading from highway check points by maybe 5 miles per hour difference. I think original tires were xxx/75/15.

Answer
Hi Rosanna!

To answer your question properly, I need a little more information. But assuming that you still have the factory wheels on there, the correct size that came on it would be a 235/75/15. Which is still a very common size with a wide range of options. If you do not have the factory wheels on there, I will need to know the width of the rims to give you the best fitment for the wheels that you have. As far as not finding a name on the side of the tire, someone probably put a very low quality tire on the wheels. There are only a handful of tire manufacturers out there and they make everything from the top of the line (which they will proudly put their name on them) to a very cheap made plain old black rubber tire (which because of the lack of quality they don't want their name on it). I hope that answers your question. As far as gas mileage and speedometer and traction, by going to a 235/75/15 from a 245/60/15 you probably will lose some gas mileage, but only very, very slightly and you probably won't even notice it honestly. The reason is a 235/75/15 is slightly taller than a 245/60/15 and will take more power to turn a larger tire. And the same will also go for your speedometer....the reason your speedometer is off is because the gear ratio for the speedometer is made for a tire spinning so many revolutions per mile and the samller tire will have more revolutions per mile therefore it is going to turn the gear faster increasing what the gauge says. The traction part is mainly controlled by what type of tire...a higher quality name brand tire( Goodyear, Bridgestone/Firestone, Michelin )is going to get you better traction and ride quality than a tire that is cheaper and doesn't have a name on it. If you have any other questions please let me know!!!!

Good Luck!
Andrew ;)