35" x 13.5" Mickey Thompson Baja Claws

These tires are my second set of Claws, one size larger than my previous 33" meats.  Claws have gained a spot in the top five off-road tires (With Interco's TSL & Boggers, Goodyear's MTR's, BF Goodrich MT T/A's).  They work well in most off-road conditions and are acceptable on highway conditions.  In the mud, they have good self cleaning abilities, the soft rubber makes them grip well on rocks (especially down to 8PSI) and they all round are a very capable off-road tire.  For some reason all Mickey Thompson tires seem to be undersized compared to there rated size, however in my situation it's OK since I don't think I'd have enough space for a true 35" tire.  I know from my previous set they can take a beating.  I like the look and I am able to get a good price, so when time came to jump to the next size I thought I'd stick with the Claws!  Mounting tire this big on aluminum wheel with a bias tire can be tricky to balance (especially static balanced), the tire guy I used took his time and actually re-mounted two of them to reduce the amounts of weights required, the end result was a quality mount.

Update May 2001 - I can now say, after having used Claws for many months now, driving with my second set & driving a couple long distance drives (not to mention Toronto to Virginia & back) that I am very please with these tires.  The treads are wearing well for a bias mud tire, although I do rotate them with every oil change.  They work great on the type of trails I do, & when aired down to 8 - 10 PSI they grip amazing.  A word of caution.... when driving long distances on  highways at high speeds, the Claws get hot (you can even smell the burning rubber), they are prone to losing some CHUNKS of rubber when there in this soft pliable state, don't over-do-it!  They are rather loud too at high speed, me & my girlfriend have a "no talking" policy while driving over 110 KM/ hour :)

15" x 8" Mickey Thompson Challenger Wheels

One of my biggest debates throughout the whole process of getting my Jeep lifted was.. What size wheels do I use on a 12.5" wide tire that is able to be mounted on a wheel 8-10" wide?  Again I made my decision based on the experience of fellow Jeepers who had already made that decision & were able to steer me in the right direction.

The advantages of the 8" wide rim were:  Less chance of damaging my wheel while off-roading, as it is better protected, less chance of loosing my bead while off-roading with lowered tire pressure & it's Cheaper!!  That was good enough for me.  I am extremely happy with my choice the combination of tire & wheel look amazing!

Cost:  $ 110.00 ea (USD) plus $124.00 shipping (USD).  Again the amazing price was compliments of my Grandfather's relations with Mickey Thompson.

Installation:  I had a local company Tire World mount & balance the tires.  I had to pay $15.00 ea (CAN).  Although they were able to balance the tire's on the rims, the amount of weights they used seems ridiculous.  I will have to watch to make sure I don't loose any weights.

Rancho 5000 Steering Stabilizer 

The stock steering dampener worked, however with the 33" Claws I noticed that when I was traveling fast on roads & I hit bumps, the tires would take over, wanting to follow the groove or my steering wheel would jolt into the bump.  Don't get me wrong it wasn't a safety issue or anything like that, it was just not like stock.  For the small price of a new steering dampener I figured I couldn't go wrong... at worst it would remain the same, at best it would be better.  Since my shocks were Old Man Emu (yellow), I wanted a matching dampener!!  OME to my dismay does not make steering dampeners for TJ's.  Oh well, I decided to go with the trusted ever popular stock replacement.... Rancho steering dampeners.  To solve my little aesthetic problem I ust bought a can of yellow pant & gave it three coats before I installed it!!  It's now a fake OME dampener (I like to think of it as a prototype OME!)

Installation:  Straight forward, although those jam bolts are always difficult to get out.  A little tip I got, do yourself a favour and don't hammer the end of the bolt after you remove the nut (the intuitive thing to do), rather hammer the side of the housing it is mounted too, the nut will just fall out!!!  I promise (same goes for the bolts in the tie rod!! next upgrade).  I decided not to install the rubber boot that comes with the dampener, it would probably just fill up with mud, and since the shock is self cleaning I figured why bother!!

Rubicon Express Heavy Duty Tie-Rod 

Lets face it, the first thing that's going to hit an unseen rock in your path is your tie-rod.  Do to the tight front end space in a TJ, the tie-rod is mounted in front of the Dana 30 axle housing, in a very vulnerable spot.  Although I have never damaged my stock tie-rod, it looks pretty flimsy & it is.  When I bough my lift I figured what's an extra $134.00, at that point it's irrelevant!!  SO I said throw one in.  As my luck would prevail I did not receive my new RE tie-rod until 2 months after I had already installed my lift :-(  Apparently the rods were available, but RE was out of tie-rod end & was having problems getting supply.  I really wanted to install it before I went to Camp Jeep 2000, but no luck.  The day I got home guess what UPS tried to deliver while I was away....  Needless to say I did get it & it is much more impressive than the stock unit, it's pretty, heavy duty & it looks to be well made.

Installation:  20 minutes, like the steering stabilizer, the trick to the bolts is hammering the side of the bolt housings rather than the actual bolt.  They came out relatively easy.  I measured the stock unit adjusted the ends of the new rod to match the length & installed the new tie-rod, no problems.