New Boots for the RRC

The 235/70 BFG ATs were worn almost to their legal limits, and since silly season is approaching, replacements were due – I didn’t fancy wet or snowy roads with little tread remaining.  I also didn’t fancy £120 a corner, so I have had the tyres which were on the LSE rims bought for the 109.  They’re Hankook ATs, 205/85.  Happily, they were in near new condition; the vendor told me he had run them less than 6000 miles since fitting them to his LSE which he was then breaking for spares.  Their condition suggests this was much the case, but since they were attached to the wheels I wanted, they were for all intents and purposes free.

I had tried selling them on, but nobody was interested, so for the last few years they have just been getting in the way in my garage.  Since they’re the standard size for RRCs, I just had them fitted.  They don’t look as good as the wider BFGs, and they lack the rim protector lip of the old tyres, so I will go back to the well proven previous choice when they wear out, but for now I’m glad to have a decent brand of new tyres with a good mud and snow rating for the winter at minimal cost (£15 each for fitting and balancing) and to have them out of my garage.  The slightly narrower tread will be better for grip on wet or snowy roads as they exert greater pressure onto the surface and cut through contamination better.  Their diameter is also quite a lot larger than the worn BFGs, to the tune of approximately 1.5″.  One inch of that is probably due to the worn tread of the old tyres, but the different profile does make them slightly taller, which combined with the narrower profile and slightly more road biased tread, shouldhelp a little with fuel economy.  they certainly seem to handle well and have lightened the steering while making the vehicle less prone to wandering.