well boys, another day in paradise, and almost another blown tire. driving it today i started getting a minor vibration from the front end, which felt like a tire out of balance. all tires were intact with no sign of having lost any weights, so i swapped out the fronts for 2 of the 16.5s that i got from oddfordjunkie after the meet, and sure enough, the vibe went away.
so i'll be taking the pair of nearly worn out rubbers i pulled off back to the tire shop where i got them, and have them check the balance and for any damage, probably gonna condemn one of them - but it sure beats having it blow out like mine usually do.

i'm thinking about going to the 16.5s all around until they're worn out, but i don't have a spare in that height, and with a locking diff in the rear, i can't mismatch tires on the rear... so i think i might just run the 16.5s which measure 29" tall up front, and keep the 16s that measure 31" out back. keeps the speedo honest and keeps me with a spare that matches the tires on the drive axle.

i'm just damn lucky i didn't blow it up this time around