New Tires! New Tires!

I picked up a set of new tires and rims for Car 23.  The old ones had some serious dry rot and the lug holes in the rims were getting a bit big.

I decided to give the Hankook Dynapro ATM a try.  They aren't the fanciest or the most aggressive off road tires but they seem to do the trick.  I'm getting more concerned about the paved parts of the course.  The Fj40 loves the dirt but doesn't really like going fast on a funky and grooved  paved surfaces (which is all the paved roads in Baja).  The Hankooks seem to be the best of both worlds.

The rims on the other hand were a challenge.  Fj40s need a really shallow  back spacing (3.75") or the tie rod ends rub on the rims.  Some people use spacers but that just seems like a bad idea, creating a weak spot where you really don't want one.  The guys at Big John's Performance tracked down a set of ProComp? rims that did the trick and were reasonably priced.

Now I've got some testing to do.  The tracking of the Hankooks is great (so far) but I haven't gotten it out to the dirt....I'lll keep you posted.