Getting ready for my annual November Mass inspection. Last year I used my original 30? MTRs on the original Wrangler sport aluminum wheels as my ?inspection tires?. Passed no problem with the RE 4.5? lift. So, it should be no problem again, right?
Took off my 33? tires and wheel spacers. Got the 30? inspection tires on and started backing out of my garage. Heard a nasty grinding, so I stopped fast and turned the engine off. Heard a tire leaking really fast, and wondered, ?why was it leaking?... it was ok when I just now filled them?? and ?why would a flat tire make such a grinding noise??.
Well, turns out, the ORO steering system, which was installed this summer, was crushed against the aluminum rims and when backing my heap out of the garage, the steering bracket was acting like a lathe on the rim. Well ?. in the hardened steel versus aluminum competition, the steel wins, so the rims were ?lathed? and one rim cracked, thus leaking the air.
Duuuhhh. ?and I wondered why the front lug nuts tightened up a bit spongy. I thought it was just the rust on the rim getting squeezed. No! It was the steering bracket squeezing into my rims. Didn?t even give it a thought to check the fit?... backspacing differences ?? spacers/ no spacers?.different steering system?..just an idiot moment.
Now my inspection rims are toast, so I?ll try the inspection with my 32? Cooper STTs, which I was planning on running in the winter after inspection.
Hope the inspection goes better than the preparation!

