got a 2006 arctic cat 400 auto ( first atv),not quite happy with stock tires
i live in michigan and ride in 6"-12" snow , 12" max. mud & trails ( woods/ flat land)
what would you guys suggest.as i have nothing to compare better traction to
this being my first atv.should i stay with the stock size or go to 26",same size
on front and rear ? thanks for your advice

 

i wasnt happy with my stock tires either and i put on a set of stock size dirt devils and it made a huge improvement. these tires arent pure mud tires but they seem to work well in all the conditions ive rode in. and the other advantage is they are lighter than a pure mud tire so there isnt any power loss. just my opinion but these tires are worth a look.

 

Can anyone tell me where this theory that heavier tire causes a power loss. A larger diameter tire will, as it changes the overall final gear ratio. But heavier, it just doesn't computer. Some data please, dyno test, top speed test, acceleration tests, anything as this is sounding like the old wives tale stuff.

 

common sense says that a heavier tire is harder to turn. try rolling a tire up a hill. it is going to take more energy to get the heavier tire up then the lighter stock tire, your atv must also exert this when driving. when i put on my mudlites i noticed acceleration and top speed difference. actually a bigger tire would make you go faster wouldn't it?!? one revolution of a 28 inch tire takes you farther then one revolution of a 25 inch and the quads final gear is still spinning the same?? so how come the loss of speed? same thing with studding a snowmobile, it technically isn't taking any horsepower away from the sled but rotating the added weight of the studs will trim some speed off of it. simple law of rotating mass. only thing that makes sense to losing acceleration and top speed would be the added weight. now if a 28 inch tire would weigh less then a stock 25 inch tire you would be on to something. but also to be figured in are the lugs on a mud tire which penetrate the ground and hold you up a little bit, same as with sleds again, a shorter lugged track will have a little higher top speed on snow then a bigger lugged track. that is my opinion. it would be neat to see some dyno tests though! maybe a test with only a rim on, then the stock tire, then the mud tire. anyone have a dyno?

 

Common sense does not answer all the question, and will lead you astray in something this complex. Physics states that once you have the heavier tire in motion it will be tend to remain in motion, be harder to slow down. Otherwise in mud it will keep spinning easier. As to a bigger tire making you go faster, not unless you have enough horsepower to obtain more top speed (not likely with a 25 hp 400 engine). I will wager that the manufactures do a lot of research to come up with the correct final drive ratio and tire size. I will also wager that you don't have the knowledge or the money to improve their stock setup. I have never heard of anyone with a stock engine claim faster with bigger tires with a quad, infact it is the major complaint when biggers tires are installed. Most cars and trucks have extra horsepower available to go faster with bigger tires, most quads don't. When you make the tire larger in diameter you lower the available torque (torque is the stuff that makes you accelerate) therefore decreasing acceleration. The overall diameter is all that counts when figuring this stuff.

 

yes, but doesn't a heavier tire take more torque to turn?

 

steveg05 if the most extreme conditions you ride in is snow then i would suggest you look into a set of radial tires, as they are said to excell in the snow due to the increased surface area. ITP ATRs and ITP mudlightXTRs are two i would suggest, and both are light tires so you wont lose as much power.
LOL bear j/p.

 

I just put a set of maxxis bighorns(25x8-25x10) on my 400. they are much better in the mud and ride very well.
You do want the same size tire front and back height wize but go with a skinnier tire in the front it will make turning easier. I have been told by many that if you go larger than 25' you will loose a lot of low end power.

 

No, not more torque because torque doesn't work that way. The available torque will just take longer to do it. But the difference of a pound or so isn't gonna be noticable. You can pick up that much weight in mud on your wheels and tires. Can you tell the difference then? The only way I know is to look for the mud on the wheels and tires or a bad shimmy in the bars. Rule of thumb, Torque and gear ratio control acceleration; Horsepower at a given RPM determines top speed.

 

took the cat out this afternoon and played in the snow and mud. the 400 came stock with badland radials
i ran it in low range boy what a difference , my dealer told me that most of the time to use 2wh drive, so using it in 4wh hi
i thought that would be good enough. but maybe it wasnt the tires after all . it seems like a totaly different machine.
thanks for all your input, i think i'll stick with these for a while(only got 85 miles so far).