Got 'em!

I just this moment got back from a long weekend road trip to Pullman,
Washington, where in addition to meeting a bunch of friends for much
golf, one friend in particular had agreed to act as my shipping
destination for my new wheels and tires.

Toyo T1R 195/50s mounted on 949Racing.com's 6ULs in 15"x7.5"...

....and I love them already.

After mounting them up‹with Blox forged aluminum lug nuts (they're so
light that you think they're plastic!), and torquing them with my brand
new MotoMaster torque wrench, I took them on a shake down cruise to make
sure that the wheels were properly seated and lug nuts were still
properly torqued. Then on the way back from that end of the journey, I
pushed them a little...


....boy have I got to get used to having sticky tires again! Despite
trying to find the limit of adhesion under braking, I couldn't force
myself to brake hard enough get a wheel to lock up even for an instant,
and there was no corner I could find to go around at an appropriate
street speed where the tires even felt mildly pressed. At first, I was
so far from the limits that the car felt... ...docile, but the truth is
that it was simply so much more capable that my normal driving made it
feel that way.

The next day was largely taken up with golf and while I tried to find a
little run to make out into the farm country to give the new shoes a
better workout, I didn't know the area well enough to really find the
right road. But we did get a little rain after the golf and I was
finally able to produce a little wheel lock.

Then on Sunday, I asked the wife of the husband and wife team who were
putting on this golf event for us where I might be able to have some
fun, and she pointed me to Wawawai Road east of Wawawai-Pullman Road
(look it up on Google Maps; fun!), and I had my first bit of fun.

So to all who help me with recommendations: thank you!

Here's a few quick picks that I took:

<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100289>

I'll get the car washed and try and take a few more beautiful shots in
the next few days.

Next: suspension!

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
<http://gallery.me.com/alangbaker/100008/DSCF0162/web.jpg>