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Off-road racing is brutally hard on every part of a race vehicle, including the tires. It’s not uncommon to see one, two, three, or even more flat tires one vehicle during a long desert race. Ultra4 and King of the Hammers is a little different than the standard Baja style race in that there is quite a bit more rock crawling involved.
Nonetheless, King of the Hammers is also brutally hard on tires. The recent rule changes regarding the tire inflation system on Ultra4 [2] vehicles has put many race teams in a scramble to find a good solution by the next season of racing.
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Inside the liner are 15 multi-cells which allow air to pass through meaning the whole system works without any wheel modifications.
Erik Miller of Miller Motorsports [5] and The Tire Ball Company [6] decided to team up and find a good solution to this rule change. The system they developed uses an inner liner validated in conjunction with Hoosier Racing Tire Corporation [7] which consists of lightweight carcass designed to dissipate heat and maintain its integrity while off-road racing.
“The new tire liner system from TireBalls gives you the best of both worlds with a redundant run flat setup,” said Erik Miller after months of testing the new system. “It does this all while reducing weight from the old system and adhering to the new rules in Ultra 4 Racing.”
One of the cool things about this system is how it allows the tire’s contact patch to change by lowering or raising the tire pressure. With King of the Hammers only a few months away, we will have to wait and see what the response is at the event. Stay tuned for more updates!