SPORTSTER New Rims & Tires

Scott-Drolet · Post by **Scott-Drolet** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:37 am

I'm running out of time to get the Sportster ready for Mammoth!
I got the new rims and tires on today, which helped transform the buggy to a more vintage look. It had 31x10.5x15 rears and 195/75SR14 fronts on chrome-spoked chevy patterned rims. The combination of tire size, rim offset, and wheel adapters pushed the tires pretty far out (4" to 5") past the fenders, plus the engine lugged quite a lot due to the height and sheer mass of those rear monsters (this car doesn't have reduction gears like the Burro). I had some stock German rims widened to 6" and 8", while the spare is a 4.5" stocker. New rear tires are 30x9.5x15" Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ and fronts are E78x15 Mickey Thompson Mini Mags. The rear tires fit the wheel wells perfectly, while the fronts stick out only a couple of inches. I lost about an inch and a half of ground clearance, but the car now runs through the gears with the revs hitting right where they should. Big, big difference. The only problem: after going through the three week hassle of getting the wheels widened and powdercoated, the tire place I use, America's Tire, somehow managed to bend the lip of one of the 8" wide wheels in two places. The wheel is usable, however, and they took full responsibility. The store manager even offered to take it back to Pico Wheel for me to get it fixed. Here's some before and after photos of the wheels:

Before:

Front Tire extended about 4" past fender:

Rear Tire extended about 5" past fender.

After:

It's coming along! Seats are next, and UPS willing, I'm hoping to have the fiberglass seats out (and the new suspension seats in) by Wednesday of this coming week.

Ed-Chenal · Post by **Ed-Chenal** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:56 am

Good solution....

louisb · Post by **louisb** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:56 pm

Looking really good. Wish those Minimags were street legal.

--louis

Scott-Drolet · Post by **Scott-Drolet** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:03 pm

Hey Louis, You're right, they are not D.O.T. approved. Hydroplanning could be an issue with the aggressive tread pattern, and I doubt the sales volume would justify getting them certified. They're 4 ply, B load rated, and strong as heck. I've run them for years without an issue . . . and without ever getting a flat. Of course, mixing bias ply and radial tires is not recommended either.

Ed-Chenal · Post by **Ed-Chenal** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:43 pm

Scott Drolet wrote:Hey Louis, You're right, they are not D.O.T. approved. Hydro-planning could be an issue with the aggressive tread pattern, and I doubt the sales volume would justify getting them certified. They're 4 ply, B load rated, and strong as heck. I've run them for years without an issue . . . and without ever getting a flat. Of course, mixing bias ply and radial tires is not recommended either.

You can mix bias ply tires and radials as long as you have the radials on the rear and the bias on the front. Years ago, when the transition was made from bias to radial on LA County's fleet of vehicles, I discovered that having radials on the front and bias on the rear caused a tremendous amount of over-steer on a vehicle.

Scott-Drolet · Post by **Scott-Drolet** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 5:43 pm

Good to know Ed, I wondered why they shouldn't be mixed. I've never had an issue on other cars set up with these.

jsturtlebuggy · Post by **jsturtlebuggy** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 7:21 am

I have mixed radial with belted and bais ply tires for years on buggies. Sometimes with radials in front and sometimes with the radials in the rear. Right now on the Manxter the rears are BFG radials and 4 full ply nylon BFGs on the front.

There is no problem with. It handles great, tracks true. I ran it up to over 80MPH on the Freeway and feels great.

Yes I heard all kinds of stories of people that losed control with mixing tires on street cars.

I think a buggy does not way enough to have the problem you would see in a heavier car.

Some of the Mini Mags were DOT legal. Jimbo had one of each on the front of his buggy.

I use the Sand Blasters for years (the same thing as a mini mag) and they work great. They are a soft rubber compound so they do not last as long as other tires.

MyBlueBuggy · Post by **MyBlueBuggy** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:10 pm

Scott,

It was great seeing you and your Sportster in Mammoth. You did a great job in getting it ready for the weekend.

Scott-Drolet · Post by **Scott-Drolet** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 3:50 pm

Thanks Tom, It was great meeting you as well. I like the two tone effect of your buggy, it really looks clean.

Louis: It turns out these last three Mini Mags I bought ARE street legal and carry DOT approval. I looked at another buggy on the Mammoth run, and as somebody else here said (Joseph?), it had one DOT approved, and one not approved, Mini Mag . . . .Go Figure!

Scott

louisb · Post by **louisb** » Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:23 am

Cool. Maybe I will order a set for the Manx if I ever step up to 15" rims in the front.

--louis

manxvair · Post by **manxvair** » Sun Sep 26, 2010 4:56 pm

I also checked out the new mini mags on sandmanx's car and they are also DOT approved, suprised me. I'm about ready to replace my gates commandos and thinking about the mini mags.

Scott-Drolet · Post by **Scott-Drolet** » Sun Oct 03, 2010 12:12 am

Hey Mike, Yeah, these Mini mags are the same tread pattern as the old Sandblaster Jrs.
You won't be disappointed.

Scott