06 400 fis 585 miles and no probs. with the stock carlisles nice tire! the stock wheels just suck,though stock wheels are so bent up dont know how the tire can still stay on but they do and dont leak.next seat is going to be carlisle act tires so i can put some real thugery on the ground,and some 112 itp wheels in 25s.

 

I switched from the factory steel rims to ITP series 5 rock crusher rims. Still Carlisle Badland tires and run 5 psi and absolutely no problems. Cabellas.com has a great little air compressor made by "Slime" that is a good investment (39.95). Cold weather affects air pressure in all tires and it only takes a minute to spot check the pressure and add a pound on the trail when you need it. Carlisle is a decent factory tire and no need to spend more money on rubber until the tread wears out. Then I would recommend the mudlite xtr's.

06 Arctic Cat 500fis auto
Itp series 5 rims
2.5 Warn winch
60" EAgle plow

 

I run the stock tires on my 400fis and have had no problems getting places where others with aftermarket tires can go.

I had some issues with the handling so I messed around with the spring settings and tire pressures (over the past 2 years)

The following settings work very well for me.

Front tires 9 lbs, rear tires 6 lbs. My stock tires on the back are 25x11x12, you probably have 25x10x12, so you may want to stay around 5 lbs

Front preload on springs set to lowest (softest) setting.

Rear preload on springs set on 2 or 3 (softest) setting, I run mostly with middle setting because of the 11 wide tires - need to get the rear a little loose.

What was happening is that the front was plowing and then the inside rear tire would lift off the ground - almost like doing a nose-dive over the outside front tire. At first I set the front springs stiffer but that did not help.

The culprit ended up being the 4 ply tires on the front that were roling under, because the side walls were too soft. So it was either 6 ply tires, tubes or more air, guess what, more air was the cheapest way to go and it solved the handling problem.

With the front springs set low, it lets the front really set down good and hold going into the turns. The rear with a little stiffer spring preload becomes light and will get a little loose, just enough to let the machine do a decent turn at faster speeds, before the rears hook up good.

I can frequently exit corners so hard that the inside front is off the ground - not bad for a utility vehicle (especially one with FIS - and no sway bar on the back) - makes it a little more fun to ride when you can do a little sport riding...

I don't think your tires are bad, there are no really bad tires. No tire will do everything well. But every tire will do something better than the others. Everything is a trade off including tires. Some will be better on dry ground, some better on wet rocks some better in mud, etc.....

98% of my riding is on designated trails (Maine Law) so my stock tires do me just fine. I am the type of rider that if I can go around a difficult area (such as a deep mud hole) then I will and will only go through it if I have too. My type of riding it more destination oriented. I will frequently plan a ride and put on between 70 and 100 miles during that ride. I am lucky so far in that I have not broken anything on my 03 yet..., except for the rear foot break housing - so I only have the hydralic braking to the rear and front but no manual rear... never replaced it cause I don't need it...

Good luck and happy 4wheeling....

 

I just bought a set of Itp series 5b rims with the new Terracross 25" tires all around. A buddy has been running them on his 800 Outlander as well as his 800 Renegade. He has run the 589's, the XTR's, Bighorns and everything in between and swears that the Terracross handles better that any of the others. With my 500 Cat he assures me that this is the way to go for the trails I ride. Similar to him I do alot of rocky stuff, climb some hills that others would shy away from and enjoy a good mud bath once in awhile. I was getting ready to get the sway bar but with the amount of rocks I do I did not want to give up any articulation. I do have not have any clay in my area so the very deep tread on these tires is not an issue. The 25" are actually only 1/2" less in height than the 26" bighorns due to the thick tread. He does not get any hang ups or the quad wanting to follow a rut due to the side lugs. This was important to me as we all know our Cats can be a little tipsy on the stock tires.

Putting them to the test next weekend (9th-11th) on a weekend of camping a riding and will get back to you on how they handled. Price for rims and tires out the door was $600. Now I just have to figure out how to keep my wife from checking the bank balance for a couple weeks or so. As the saying goes, it's easier to say "I'm sorry" than to ask permission. With a 650lb machine, having good 6 ply tires and rims was a "no brainer" for me

06 500i auto
2500 Warn Winch
ITP Series 5b Rims
ITP 25" Terracross Tires
60" Eagle Snow Plow

 

i have a 2002 500 26in kenda good or bad ?