Tires. We all need em - Heres the Thread for em .

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holland_patrick
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Re: Offroad tires for Baja?

Post by holland_patrick »

astralbear wrote:I just bought a 2006 baja sport a week ago and was wanting to put more aggressive offroad tires on it. How big can you really go with the tires before there is a clearance problem? I was thinking about some 215/70R16 BF Goodrich's. What are some of the offroad tires you guys are running?

you can try it but there is very little room front to back.. hight wise your ok...
BooBoo
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Replacement Tires

Post by BooBoo »

What tires have you put on your ScoobyTruck?

My 2006 oem tires are Bridgestone Potenza's that are just about worn out (did all Bajas have Potenzas?), but I'll most likely replace them with something else. I'm looking for BEST wet traction and some driving in light snow conditions. Can anyone give me some specific recommendations?

Thanks!
YBajaSteve
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Re: Replacement Tires

Post by YBajaSteve »

Well first off, welcome to S coobyTruck. You'll find alot of good info if you do some searches. This topic of tires had been brought up all over the place, and there is actually an active thread on the Nasioc.com Baja thread right now that I would suggest checking out!

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=82

N2Subies
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BooBoo
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Re: Replacement Tires

Post by BooBoo »

Thanks!, NewToSubies,

Actually I have done some searches and haven't found much relevant information that is both current and appropriate. I'm hoping that a few ScoobyTruck drivers can can answer the "what, why, and how much" for me. Your included link showed a great looking Baja, but I couldn't make out the brand of tires. At any rate, he did report that after mounting the new tires, he now has some minor rubbing, and I really don't want any rubbing, minor or otherwise.

I've also checked out tire specs and reviews on Tire Rack and even Consumer Reports. Found some good information. For example, the Sumitomo HTR+ which Tire Rack sells for $65.00 has a better wet traction rating than the Dunlop Sport 4000 A/S which sells for $135.00. Likewise, the user reviews from customers buying the tires show many more positives on the Sumitomo than the Dunlop. But most of them are from drivers of Toyota vans or Ford Mustangs. Somewhat helpful, but I'd like some more real experiences from Baja owners or at least from owners of AWD vehicles.

Both of the discussions on this forum and the ones I found on NASIOC had a lot of good information. There was one poster who was considering purchasing Continental Conti Extreme Contacts, one of the better reviewed tires. I had Conti's on a rear-wheel drive Mercedes at one time. They were OK tires and a good value. But at minimum recommended tire pressure they felt really "mushy" and squealed way too much. At maximum pressure, the ride suffered considerably and the rear end had a tendency to slide around. Nothing in between worked either. Another poster has great things to say about Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds, but he doesn't go into any specifics.

Have any ScoobyTruck owners replaced your tires with the aforementioned Conti's? What about Goodyear Eagle GT's, Pirelli P6's, or Kumho Ecsta ASX's?

Anyway, I'm looking for all-season ultra high performance tires with excellent handling, good wet traction, good resistance to hydroplaning, good traction in light snow, and better-than-average tread life. Oh! Almost forgot! They must cost less than $150, and must not have the word "Michelin" anywhere on them.
YBajaSteve
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Re: Replacement Tires

Post by YBajaSteve »

Most of the guys on here go for a more aggressive tire, like the thread a ways down on the Anything Baja page. I personally think the General Grabber AT2's, like the guy with the lifted baja on the Nasioc thread I linked, are a great all around performing tire, and they really help the look of our Baja's. Some of us want that off road, "truck" thing going on. The guy on that posted link is the first one to try 70's and that why he has rubbing, while most of us would go with the 215/60 or 65 if they make it, to avoid the rubbing. But it would be great to have some folks who arent going for the off road look, tell us what kind of tires they've had great success with. All i know is when my tires come due, in the next 2 months or so, Im going with the General Grabber AT2's.
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Buck Rogers
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Re: Replacement Tires

Post by Buck Rogers »

BooBoo wrote:What tires have you put on your ScoobyTruck?

My 2006 oem tires are Bridgestone Potenza's that are just about worn out (did all Bajas have Potenzas?), but I'll most likely replace them with something else. I'm looking for BEST wet traction and some driving in light snow conditions. Can anyone give me some specific recommendations?

Thanks!
If you like the truckish look and your Baja isn't an 03, you should have no problem running the General Grabbers AT2 in a 215/65 16. I say this because the Bajas got a minor body and spring lift in 04 and 05. I paid about $109.50 each mounted balanced and disposal fees and tax included. This was for the 215/70 16s.

Buck
speedymatt
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Re: Replacement Tires

Post by speedymatt »

Buck Rogers wrote: If you like the truckish look and your Baja isn't an 03, you should have no problem running the General Grabbers AT2 in a 215/65 16. I say this because the Bajas got a minor body and spring lift in 04 and 05. I paid about $109.50 each mounted balanced and disposal fees and tax included. This was for the 215/70 16s.

Buck
from all the threads i've read the 215/65's work just fine on all bajas 03-06. the problem with the 215/70's is it is almost 1.3" taller than a stock 225/60-16. in comparasion the 215/65's are only 0.4" over. it may seem small but inch is the difference between rubbing and not.
BooBoo
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Re: Replacement Tires

Post by BooBoo »

Yes, the AT2's definitely make the Baja look great. And the price is OK.

How do the ride and handle?
YBajaSteve
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These wheels, would they fit?

Post by YBajaSteve »

Ok so, Im trying to make my Baja more Trucky, and I love the Black steel look like this
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but not the tires of course we would need something way smaller. Would our brakes and such get in the way??? is there some sort of Rim that could do it? Why hasnt it been done on our "trucks" ??

our some like these??
Image
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YBajaSteve
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Re: These wheels, would they fit?

Post by YBajaSteve »

my question is, really, would a rim like that fit. a steel truck rim. it looks like they dont have as much clearance for the brakes and stuff so i could see that being the problem. any ideas anyone?
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Hawk296
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Re: These wheels, would they fit?

Post by Hawk296 »

if you can find one in the right size, then yes.
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Flowmastered87GL
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Tire chains, will they fit?

Post by Flowmastered87GL »

So... Portland got dumped on with snow (not much depth, but it all froze to ice)

Needless to say chains are required in the metro area.

All I am running on is my stock RE92's with 41,000 miles.

Has anyone run tire chains on their bajas? (or outbacks) I would likely throw a set on the front if they fit.

Not sure how much strut clearance I have to play with though.

I would hope to use real chains if possible and not the cables. But if need be cables would have to do :(

Ugh the tire store is going to be insane in the morning [smilie=boggl3y3dummy-ani.gif]
2005 Baja Sport, 51k ("NU BRAT")
2004 Freightliner Columbia Day Cab 504k
canuck37
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Re: Tire chains, will they fit?

Post by canuck37 »

Book says no chains - period. I asked dealers and they said same - voids warrantee and can damage the front end. I go back and forth from Calif. to BC a lot and have managed to get by without chains over the years. If you get a way to do it that will a) work properly and b) not screw up the car, a lot of us would like to know about it. This has been an issue for the years I have been on the forum and nobody has come up with something that does both yet.........hope springs eternal...
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Flowmastered87GL
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Re: Tire chains, will they fit?

Post by Flowmastered87GL »

Ok, I was too lazy to walk out in the uninsulated garage and get the manual barefoot in shorts.

Plan B is this: http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/pts/956835622.html
2005 Baja Sport, 51k ("NU BRAT")
2004 Freightliner Columbia Day Cab 504k
bulwnkl
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Re: Tire chains, will they fit?

Post by bulwnkl »

Good option BUT: If more than ~50% of the original tread depth is worn off, Blizzaks are just a mediocre winter tire. The super-special, super-sticky ice-tire rubber compound is only the initial ~50% of the tread. So be careful that you're not paying for something you're not getting. Not that it's a bad price even at that.
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