I am going to put aftermarket tires on my sportsman 800. Probably mud lites, due to the light weight. I have the factory pxt's on now, but want to go either 27' or 28' and probably a body lift. What is the widest tire that I can put on the front without rubbing, and without adding expensive spacers?

 

Expensive isn’t the reason to stay away from wheel spacers, they put a lot more stress on your drive train and suspension.

10” tires will fit on the front but they come too close to the outer tie rod ends. If (when) the tire picks up mud it trashes the tie rod end boot because there’s so little room. That ruins the tie rod end in a hurry. 9 wide works just fine as long as you’re on aftermarket wheels (1” more offset to the outside). You won’t like 28s on there if you enjoy speed and handling (I assume you do by your choice of machine). The increased sidewall flex and higher center of gravity make for a lethal combination when cornering fast, you really have to slow down. Turning those 28s robs a lot of acceleration too, as much or more than running a heavier tire. Braking suffers too. I had 28” Mud Lites on mine for about 350 miles and took ‘em off.

In my opinion (everybody has one) the best tire you can mount on that machine for all around great performance is the XTR radial in 27”.

 

you dont need to lift the sportsman unless you want to, the wheel well is large enough to accomidate the tire and still have most of the travel