i am thinking about running 26x12" gators on the back of my polaris xpedition, with 26x9" bi claws on the front.

the reason is this: i want to go no wider than 9" on the front to prevent clearance problems. this pretty much limits me to bi claws, titan 589's and mudrunners. the claws are close to the same money, but look like more traction to me.

also, i need another pair of itp silver steel wheels, so why not have rockymountain atv just throw a pair of gators on them? they are a lot less money than-say tri claws, and should get a lot of traction.


i am hoping to have no serious problems with this setup....i just want some good traction for snow/mud. will there enough height difference to affect the 4 wheel drive system?

any comments appreciated,

xpedition2
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Check with Thor. He seems to be quite knowledgable on the subject of different tire size/ gear ratios etc.

 

Xpedition2-
I'm running the 27" magnum 'Claws on my 'Cat and absolutely love them. If the 26" are like the 27's, they will be "true to size", if not a hair taller. My 27" 'Claws actually measure between 27 1/4-27 1/2" at recommended psi. I don't know about the Gators actual heigth. Some tires run easily a half inch lower than claimed heigth at recommended pressure, while others are closer to an inch smaller. You can always compensate for the difference by regulating air pressure. More pressure will give a "taller" tire, while less will make it shorter. If they're close enough, you shouldn't have much of a problem, and by adjusting the air pressure, your ride shouldn't suffer either from running too high of pressure's. I don't know for sure how much difference is "too much" for altering gear ratio's front to back and causing binding, but my guess is that if you can keep it within a 1/2", you'll be fine.

Best of Luck,

Mike

 

Xpedition2,

Very interested in how you made out with your tire matching problem. I also have an Xpedition and am ready to put aftermarket tires on it. Have seen the Mudbugs and Gators in action and like both. Problem is, I haven't seen them on a Polaris yet. I have recently read in this forum about an SP700 having problems with his 27x10" gators "rubbing" in the front. He is going to use spacers and I don't want to go that route.

The only way I would put different manufacturer tires on the front vs. the back is if they matched in height like you mentioned. If they don't match you start playing around with that 20% slip required to get the front wheels to engage in 4WD. Not somethins I want to mess with.

I like the combination you came up with. Let us know what you ended up doing