Hi everyone,
I am a die hard Arctic Cat fan having owned 6 High performance sleds since '91 and am about to purchase a new AC 4 Wheeler.
I'm going to get the wheeler with the winch kit and I want a more aggressive tire, so I have a few questions for you all.
My dealer will exchange the stock tires and are recommending the Titan 495AT 26X10.5-12 front and rear.
I'm leaning more toward the Titan 589AT. What tire size would you recommend (front/rear) and can they fit on stock rims or would I need to buy a wider rim?
I'm suprised I dont see many threads about clutch adjustments, do you lose much of the performance characteristics of the wheeler with the larger tire?
How about the ride. Do you get much vibration or hard steering from the larger/aggressive/big lug tire?
One last thing, Is ITP and Titan the same manufacture? What is the differance between the ITP 589MS and the Titan 589MT
Thanks in advance for your responce

 

i'll try a couple of your questions. your size and tread of tires depend on what terrain you ride on mostly. the more aggressive the tire, your more than likely to lose a little handling on harder surfaces. as long as the tires are for 12" rims, any atv tire will fit on the stock rims. the height of the tire, in my humble opinion, is where you lose power. going from 25's to 28's will rob the machine of some hp on the ground. itp's parent company is carlisle and i think titan is also a carlisle company. the titans have grooved treads, the itp 589's are smooth, both are outstanding mud tires. the grooves on the titan are designed to reduce suction on the tires (ever walked through a mud hole and lose your shoe). the ac 500 will pull the most aggresive mud tires out there whatever the size. let us know what terrain you ride in for suggestions on tread type.

 

I'll do many types of terrain, some hard pack roads, trails running through the woods, off road/off trail, Pete bogs/swamps, a little beach sand, and snow/ice.
I am aware I will lose some trail manners with the deeper lug and I am willing to do that to a point. I'm looking for a tire that will wear well and not beat up me and the machine running on hard pack, but still handle the mud and the muck.
On a snowmobile we can put on a deep lug or longer track which will take more power to turn, we can get back some of the lost HP by adjusting the clutches. I have never seen the clutches on an ATV, and dont know how much adjustment they have in them so I would want to put on the tallest tire I could with the least amount of power loss <u>(the best bang for the buck).
The stock rims I believe are 12X7, is that what most of you are using with your 27" & 28" tires? A 27" tire on a narrow rim will actually be taller that a 27" tire on a wider rim.
Thanks

Dang computers, I got it to underline and now I cant make it stop.

 

I can only speak for the gators... only aftermarket ive ever had. over 4500kms on these (2600miles or so) and are 85%. they are 27s. if you stuck with 26x10x12 on all 4s. it wiuld be like nite and day from the stocks. trail would still be ok with 26s i would think.

 

The 26x10.5-12 came stock on some 99 500's, a friend of mine has them, they are great tires. I think the 495 would last longer than the 589s because the lug is wider. I have seen them on the web for around $45. The stock rims should be just fine. You will lose a little power with the larger/heavier tire. It will also steer harder. I would suggest getting the fender flares also, the stock tires are only half covered, with wider ones your gonna get really dirty. Go buy it and ride it!

 

i have gators on my cat also, and there 28x10x12s front and 28x12x12s out back and they work awsome on any terrane.i run with 3psi in the tires and on the hard pack roads it rides very well, in the mud they work excelant and in the snow just as good.the only thing i would do again is go to a 27 or 26 inch tall tire. the only reason i would go to a shorter tire is because of the loss in power. i could put on a super trap muffler and a filter and jet kit to get some of that back, but i find that the muffler is way to loud for me.but i am thinking of getting the filter and jet kit for it. PS. check out the mud lites, with those you could go with the bigest and widest tire and not loose hardly any power, and i hear they are a sweet tire.and they cost less then the gators. also the kenda bear claw is a sweet tire. i dont know about the titans but the itp 589s are a good tire they get excalent traction on any terrane.PSS. if you go with the 26" or taller you get the deep lug and thats what you want for mud and snow, and with the tire pressure around 3psi it will ride good on the hard stuff too.gators are a 6ply tire, mud lites are 4ply but have a 6ply raiting, the bear claw is a 6ply tire and the itp 589s are a 6ply tire also.good luck with your tire shoping,check out all the name brands and pick your tire carfuly because you cant take them back once you've mounted them.

 

I have a set of mudlites on my 03 500i manual. 26x10 on the front, 26x12 on the back. I can tell you they are really, really nice and the biggest upgrade I think you can make for your bike. I would assume they are similar to other mud tires in the gooey stuff but they also ride nice. Good on hardpark, easy steering. I know becasue you can ride them on the streets here and even on pavement they are nice. Pretty versetile also, I ride alot of rock here and they really perform well. I have only tried mine out once in the mud/muskeg but I was speechless to be honest, they were that good.

With 26 I hardly noticed any power loss.

 

Don't get those 495's. They came stock on my 99 AC500 (the only year they used that as a stock tire) and they steer like total crap. Too wide for the fronts. I had the 99 with those 495's and my uncle had a 98 AC454 with the 489's and it was night and day on steering. Same steering geometry on both bikes, but his was a ton better. Shoot, mine steered twice as good with the 27x9.75 Bi-Claws on there to be truthful.

Go for the 589's. There is a reason he's wanting to swap out those tires.

As far as the ITP thing goes, I think Titan must have sold them the design or something. Its Titan's actual design, but made by ITP. Kind of like when ITP got the Spider Trac from Gateway or Dick Cepek or whoever used to make it.

 

best tire for you would prolly be the mud lites i have only heard good things about them......id go with them