# Sticky  Best (tough) trail tire?



## mjn

Ok... just back from 5 days of riding in BFE Idaho.

A couple of observations;
1.) These stock Dunlops aren't much. They drift great on gravel roads, but not much in the traction dept.
2.) They must not be too thick, as I ran a stick thru one of my rear tires, could've been a rock, but I think it was a stick. Either way, I'm not impressed.

So..
I already knew I was going to upgrade the skinz.. probably go with a 26" on aftermarket 12's.
I am seriously considering the Terracross and one other... (slips my mind right now) But I want to make sure that whatever tires I get have some good strong belts in them... I hate fixing a flat on a trail ride..

What do the dedicated mountain/trail riders recommend?


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## Hulk

Pittbull growlers are amazing tires.


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## Waddaman

Stock tires on quads are garbage, and the brutes dunlops are on the top of that pile of garbage lol.

If you are seriously concerned about flats, you could go with an 8 ply tire but they seem to be heavier. Remember the dunlops you have are 2 ply, almost all aftermarket are 6 ply, and there are some 8. Honestly I would say you would be fine with a 6 ply unless your going into really bad situations for tires often. 

With that being said if you do go with 6, you have pretty much any option you want in tires as they are the biggest available. As far as helping you pick that tire, wed need more information on what you regularly drive, if you hit the odd mud hole and need a somewhat aggressive trail tire or not.

Teracross tires seem to have been doing well from what ive been reading and heard so it might be just what your looking for. But if you do rock crawling and stuff something like a big horn might be better.


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## NMKawierider

GBC Grim Reapers. 8-ply radial, superier in every way to all others I ever ran. TerraCross are also a great tire.. a 6-ply but a bit more bi-directional. Don't trust the Dunlops into the wilderness...they are just a 2-ply and will leave you walking...Oh...you just found that out...


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## mjn

Ya know... I looked all over that stinkin tire for a ply rating & couldn't find it.. 2-ply??? Holy crap.. no wonder! LOL!

The Big Horn was the other tire I was looking at..

I use this machine daily at my home; just basic pasture & some dirt, snow in the winter.
I also use it at my place up north out of Sandpoint.. lots of sticks/rocks/mud/snow/dirt. 
I won't be lifting it, and don't want giant tires.. no need for 'em as unlike many of you, I use it as an ATV, not a submarine..:biggrin:
I do plan on going up one size, and I'll probably go with aftermarket wheels, but'll stick with the 12".

so; dirt, gravel roads, broken rocky stuff, muddy sections, ..... basic trail riding stuff..

I just looked at the Pit Bull Growlers, but they are directional.. I think more of a multi-directional tire would be better..

What's funny, is I've owned my 02 Rancher since new, and have had great luck with the OE Goodyears... so much so that I've stuck with them. 8100 miles & I'm on my third set of rears and my second set of fronts.. only two flats in 10 years. Same trails, same usage..


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## Waddaman

hmm you want to do just about everything with them don't you? lol. I would say grim reapers or big horn as stated before(Not a fan of ITP tires in general). Unless you want something with a little more bite like a zilla, they would help with the mud and snow but would be worse for rocks.

If it were me tho, Id go with a 27". Just gives you a little bit more ground clearance without making to up high and unstable. In saying that as well tho, take in mind most tires don't measure true to so size. so if you got 26"s that may measure 25", or it may even measure 27". What ever tire you pick, make sure you research it runs short or tall.


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## mjn

Waddaman said:


> hmm you want to do just about everything with them don't you? lol. I would say grim reapers or big horn as stated before(Not a fan of ITP tires in general). Unless you want something with a little more bite like a zilla, they would help with the mud and snow but would be worse for rocks.
> 
> If it were me tho, Id go with a 27". Just gives you a little bit more ground clearance without making to up high and unstable. In saying that as well tho, take in mind most tires don't measure true to so size. so if you got 26"s that may measure 25", or it may even measure 27". What ever tire you pick, make sure you research it runs short or tall.


Understood.. I'm shying away from the taller stuff for two reasons;
1.) I'm addicted to the power.. and I know the larger tire I spoon on, the more it affects that.. heck.. going from a 2 ply to a 6 ply by itself is going to add some resistance..
2.) I like how stable it is in corners (read; sliding on gravel roads) now.. I don't want to make it more apt to high side my fat butt off..

I like the looks of the Zilla, but I really think that'd be overkill for my application.. the T-cross, Reaper, or the Big Horn look to be some of the best choices..


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## Waddaman

remember with aftermarket wheels your going to be wider, so your going to gain some stability from that too.

As far as power loss, 26-27 isn't going to make a big difference, talking 2-3 pounds for each tire on average. You can compare the weights here: MudInMyBlood Forums Tire Weight Chart

If your wanting an absolute stock feeling with even more stability though id choose the grim reapers.


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## Johnnypantz

A buddy has 28" bighorns on his popo, great tires on the trails, and even hold their on in mild mud.


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## eagleeye76

My 589s seem to be a good agressive all around tire. They are exceptional in the snow and mud for what I do. Im a trail rider 90% and plow the yard in winter.


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## jlgil73

I just did about a years worth of research and went with the 25.5 pitbull growlers on aftermarket 12" rims. I googled every thing imaginable on every tire in the trail category. Looked at many different sites, looked at in depth reviews on Jacobs atv and other sites. And that is what I decided was my best choice. Good luck, it's a tough decision.

BTW, while the treads blocks are arranged in a directional manner, the tread blocks themselves have many different biting edges and shapes.


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## JD GREEN

I have big horns on my brute i really like em. I ride in sand, mud, trails and also a fair amount of snow. They climb rocks well and do really awsome in the snow. I really have been fairly impressed in the mud but i know they aren't as good as some in the mud.


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## Coolwizard

I've got Big Horns on my '10 Brute and Big Horn 2.0's on my 08. Both have been excellent and suited my needs well ....the only downside is that they never wear out! ...lol


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## DogRunner2

I just picked up a set of Kenda Bearclaw HTR's about a month ago and I like them. 8 ply radial,run true to size,pretty aggressive for a trail tire and they ride smooth on hard pack.


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## levi8219

I had bighorns on my old quad. I enjoyed them alot!


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## JLOWERY

I'd go with the MOTO MTC's they'll out perform and outlast the Big Horn 2 to 1 not too mention they just look good.

KAWI RULES


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## dman66

Kenda Bounty Hunters here and love them - they wear good too,but are directional.I've rode on these tires flat,and off the bead, two times now,over rocky terrain,filled them back up,and they still keep kicking butt.Although I would like to try the Bighorn 2 or Grim Reapor tires.These are 14" x 8" wheels, 9" x 26" front and 11" x 26" rear.


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## 08GreenBrute

my vote is for Big Horns, if they can run on my RZR XP and not get flats there tough will all the added weight of the SxS imho


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## wideawakejake

moto MTC ! pretty deep, but close spaced tread pattern. they have nice side lugs too. very simmular to the Big Horns. i would recomend them for trail riding. another super tough long lasting tire is the Highlifter MST. a little more aggresive, but they ride better than you would think and they wont let you down. 



+
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## goose750

*,*

Radial outlaws hands down !


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## Col_Sanders

goose750 said:


> Radial outlaws hands down !


 
From what he has said, I dont think those are the tires for him. They are just too heavy and possibly too agressive.

Bighorns are great all around tires. I'm going to pick up a set of 28s for my 900 soon. The 26s were too small for my taste and just didnt look right. A lot of the guys on the RZR Forum swear by the Pitbulls, even over the bighorns, but they are heavy. Also from what I have read, the Moto MTCs are also good all terrain tires but they are also heavy. I picked up a 28x10x14 Moto MTC and I swear it weighed more than my 26x12x12 Bighorn Mounted on a wheel. 

BTW For such a small tire like a 26 I'd stick with a 12" rim.


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## joshwyle

my brother-n-law has the bighorns and he is very happy with them. they do run big


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## Bigperm

I just installed a set of 26" Dirt Commanders and they didn't seem to rob too much power even with an 8 ply rating


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## j_one85

have you checked out the Sun-F tires? they have a tire similar to the maxxis Bighorn, I have some on my Can-am Maverick, a 12 ply run-flat option, GPS Offroad Products sells them, they even got them tested and approved by the U.S. Military.


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## The Big Bad Wolf

I'd love to hear more on the sun F, weight ,sizes and , how they wear. I was thinking grim reapers next but I'm intrigued by the run flat. I must have 15 holes in my mudlites, I keep seeing little green goo seeping out of them. That stuff works great, they they havent gone flat w all the holes since I put a bottle in. nkawierider's review on the reapers had me pricing them out. In the end of my long search it was down to bighorns or reapers.


"it's a trick!! Get an axe!! 


.


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## Col_Sanders

IIRC the Dominators are made by Sun F. There was a thread on here where someone bought Dominators from Super ATV and they said Sun F on the sidewalls


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## Lsu524

look just gowith the bighorns. i can assure you that you wont be disappointed. i know they are a top notch trail tire and i also know they arent bad in the snow at all.


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## Col_Sanders

I ended up with 30" Bighorns on my 900


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## gpinjason

I just put 28" Moto MTC's on my Ranger. They have nice deep lugs that clean out and perform well in the mud, but they ride nice and smooth on the hard pack. Not sure how tough they are, only got about 20 miles on them, but they held up pretty well on my first ride with the heavy Ranger.


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## The Big Bad Wolf

I looked up sun tire military runflats here is their 12 ply sizes and weights
25x8x12 29 lbs
25x10x12 35 lbs
26x9x12 31 lbs
26x9x14 35 lbs
27x9x14 37 lbs
They didn't give me the 6 ply info yet


"it's a trick!! Get an axe!! 


.


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## mjn

In Costco the other day with my better half & saw they have Grim Reapers for sale.

Greenball Grim Reaper ATV Tire

400 bucks gets you a pair of 25X8's and a pair of 25X10's. (12") Not sure if that is better than the combo's available out there.. I'm gonna go with the ITP SS212's as well I think...

Tire-wise, it's going to be either these or Bighorns. I've seen that Grim Reapers run a little big, so sticking with the 25" should still be fine. I dunno.. maybe I'll go with 26'... we'll see.

anyway.. fyi.


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## 2010Bruterider

mjn said:


> In Costco the other day with my better half & saw they have Grim Reapers for sale.
> 
> Greenball Grim Reaper ATV Tire
> 
> 400 bucks gets you a pair of 25X8's and a pair of 25X10's. (12") Not sure if that is better than the combo's available out there.. I'm gonna go with the ITP SS212's as well I think...
> 
> anyway.. fyi.


I had a set of these in 27" for 14" wheels and I loved them. Super all terrain tire. Good in the mud and excellent everywhere else. And 8 ply radials mean they will last. You can't go wrong with the reapers.


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