I seen many post on the topic of X-tra wide wheels. Coming back home to the islands after 4+ years in the service I was like WTF to seeing tires being streatched. But works so freakin well it surprised me.
To help share with you why allot of trucks in Hawaii run those 14+ wide rims:
1. It started with the ol'school sand drags era. With stretching the tires the side walls become more useful on our super soft sand without having to air down to float. That's why boggers and other aggressive side tread tires are used.
3. With all these "outsiders" bombarding our islands, our greedy $tate government pushes to build more communities on our trails and loan allot of land to the military. Many prime trails require a permit to 4-wheel on government property. Allot of planning and hoops to go through. Since we can't just spur of the moment go trail riding (using 15x10 wheels & tall tire combo) the beach is easy access for friends and the whole family to meet.
4. Also the high lift is to clear the tires when turning. Since it's wider, when make sharp turns it does not tuck in the fender well.
If you are wondering if these wheels are unsafe, well they are not. With the congestion on our highways we barely need to be going 60-mph with our trucks. I have not heard of any failure in bearings, tie rods, etc. Like any mod, it's on the driver to know the limits to his ride. Though my brother in-law had 40 groundhogs on 15x10 slapped on his 91' Z71 and his tie-rod snapped at 45 mph. I think that is a weakness in Chevy trucks myself.
If you want to see how expensive it is to have a auto hobby of any type, use my zip code (96707) and make a fake order to Summit or a similar dealer and see what you total comes out. Then you see why it is a big deal to show off these rims.
If your want to see the more traditional 4x4's in Hawaii go see
www.4X4boyz.com
Like some of you reader's who love tipping cows, we too don't understand. I guess what I'm saying is us 4-wheelers here make the best of what land we have left. For you that live in a place that has an easier access to trails and cheaper parts I don't expect you to understand what goes on here.
Be happy you don't have the crap we go through and do what we do BEST...ROLL ONE, LITE ONE...THEN SAY "FUKKIT AT LEAST IT'S PARADISE".
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