Hey guys, I was just about to buy new 27" tires for my cat and this salesman told me I would notice a significant power loss in my machine. I have a 01'500 auto. I know alot of you guys have larger tires on your stock rims and I never hear you complain about power loss. I was going to get the Dirt Devils, which he said it didn't matter what tire I bought, if it was 27" in size it would make a big difference. I'm not a huge mudder, more all around riding with a little mud. What do you guys think? Should I just go back with stock sizes?

waco4whlr

2001 AC 500 auto
Hunters Edition
2000 lb warn winch
Highlifter Headlight
Camo cover and bags

 

Hi!,

I have 28x12.5x12 Outlaws all arownd on my 1999 and my son has 27x9.75x12 bi-claws up frount and 27x12x12 tri-claws in back and the only power mod I have is a K&N filter. The power loss is VARY minimal at best. I notice a small power loss on my top end speed when incontering a incline. But at low end speeds in high range the 500 pulls the big tires with no problem and when in low range there's no stoping the cat.

 

My openion if you dont mud a lot, i would go with the smaller tires, The big tires sure puts a lot of stress on all the parts plus it will cut down on your power a little, But the cat can pull them with no problem.

 

Who is the salesman?? I recomend you call High Lifter, they will tell you it straight up and actually be right about it.

You will notice a power dropage, but not a significant one. It will barely be noticeable except for in rather deep and thick mud.

About it not mattering what tire you get, that shows EXACTLY how ignorrant he is. You run 27x10x12 Mud Bugs all around then slap on 27x12x12 Tri-claws all around and you tell me you can't notice a difference in power between them and I'll recomend you sell your bike. Different tires are alot smaller than they state. Some, like Tri-Claws, are actually taller than they state. Then a lot weight different weights, which effects power.

So give High Lifter a Call at 1-800-699-0947 and tell them what you need. They will give you the right info and sell you the right thing.

 

Waco-
I agree with Boner on that one-any real serious questions or concerns, give High Lifter a call. I was really impressed by their customer service, and overall knowledge of atv's in general, as well as EVERYTHING they sell or market. At the time, I spoke with James, who was a huge help. They'll hang on the phone with you till you are either blue in the face, or your ear falls off-one of the two, and the best part is-they really seem to enjoy it! I think you'll find that if you do give them a call, the guys really enjoy their job, and, that makes them really good at what they do. I did buy my 'Claws from them, and would again. Not only was customer service excellent, but the shipping was great too-they arrived a day earlier than originally thought, though that was probably just a "slip" on UPS's part! heh heh heh.

Anyway, don't be affraid to give them a call-they really know their stuff, and really seem like they care about YOU and YOUR MACHINE, rather than just trying to make a sale, like most other companies.

Best of Luck,

Mike

 

These two guys are right. You will notice a small loss in acceleration power on the top end. Thats about it. It will still pull up to the rev limiter easily as well. As far as losing power in the mud, the 500 will turn 27" tires fine.

Basically, if the reason you are having afterthoughts about 27" tires is strictly concerning a power loss, then forget about it. Its not going to be a factor. The authors of this post and the last 2 all have "true to size" 27" Claws on 500's and any power loss is minimal and not a factor.

 

The larger the diameter, the more power loss you'll feel. BONER says it also matters how much they weigh and I agree. I bought 26" Titan 589's. They are a very heavy tire and I did notice a slight decrease in power, even when not in mud. I think one of the reasons some people say that they don't notice a power decrease is that they buy a 4-wheeler stock, ride it twice with the stock rubber on it, then switch to large after market tires. After a few weeks, they don't remember how the bike handled before getting the bigger tires. Many people never switch back and forth. When you do that often enough, after a few switches you can tell the difference. When I put my stock tires on, the bike has a sportier feel. It's lower and the tires turn a lot faster on take off. I have a 2001 AC auto too and it will turn any tire you put on it, but you will loose a slight amount of power in mud. After putting on my 26" tires, I notice that sometimes in deep mud I pin the throttle. If I did that with the stock tires on, the bike would go way too fast.

 

Thank You Men! I got an opinion from all the experts! j/k. No, but really thanks for all the advice. I never really figured that it would so serious like he said. Yankeeautocat: Do you have any pictures on the web? I 'll give Highlifter a call, when I did call them they were a big help on some other things. Cowboy: Do you have some new pics of your poor cat or for that matter yourself after the accident?

 

I had my AC for 2 years on stock tires before I put on 27". I think I noticed the power loss distinctively twice. Once, I was going up a hill in 4rth, and felt the need to shift to 3rd. The other is just on higher speed acceleration. You do lose power, not really power, but response rather. He is right about the diameter. Its more important than the weight I think.

 

I had between 300-400 miles on my 'Cat before swapping to the larger 'Claws. Why did I do this? I NEEDED more ground clearance, along with better traction for towing logs and other large items I pull every day I'm out on the 'Cat. My machines are for work more than play, hell, I probably abuse them far worse than what they were intended for-but then again, they are tough, they have always fulfilled my needs when duty calls. Yes, tire diameter is the most influential problem for noticing a "power loss". The reason is the gearing, plain and simple. Just like in pickup's, running 3.07 ratio front and rear for highway use, then adding a 6" lift and a set of 38"s underneath. Still think you're gonna be able to peel those things out on the pavement??? Yeah, right! Not unless you pull those 3.07's, swap in a set of 3.73, or 4.10's. It's all about gearing-from the tranny, through the t-case, and finally to the drive components in the differential-all gears. Too small a gear, such as for highway use, is designed primarily for that reason only-good mid to high end useage for highway speeds, save gas, go faster. Unless you do A LOT of off-road driving, or towing, you don't need lower gears (numerically higher). These lower gears offer much slower speeds, yet have the ability to tow, or crawl a lot better than the higher gears, thus giving the effect of "more power". And yes, weight does effect it too, just not near as much as tire heigth.

As for the tire swapping bit and not rememberring what the stock feels like, that's where I'm fortunate-I have two 'Cats-mine in the current condition it's in, and my Dads, which is bone stock-except for the cr8e plug. I've said before, I did notice a SLIGHT drop in power (or it takes more power to get going) while going uphill in high range. In low range, you can't tell a damn thing. I frequently jump between both machines for different purposes (sometimes rigging logs up to mine, then hopping on Dad's to check on something or get lunch, make sure my path is cleared before bringing down the big stuff, etc.) It's the same here as I've said before. On some of the steeper hills that I can take in high range on Dad's 'Cat, I'll drop to low range on my 'Cat. Low range to low range-no difference. As for towing, keep in mind that I'm running the huge 27" 'Claws, over 100+ lbs. on the front rack with nearly 200 lbs. on the rear rack, plus my 220 lbs. butt, along with rear kimpex bumper at whatever it weighs, now you're looking at a 500cc machine carrying close to 1170 lbs., if not more-and THEN being asked to tow loads of logs! (dry weight 650lbs. + me, gear, etc.) You want to know who tows better? I do. Why? Ground Clearance and traction, hands down. Hooking up the same log and dragging with either 'Cat, you can't tell a difference in actual pulling power-they'll both move the thing pretty easily. Add in loose, slippery or otherwise imperfect ground, my 'Claws are far superior to the 489's, so I am able to pull easier. Ground clearance is the other issue at hand-I can crawl over all the things that will "hang up" Dad's stock 'Cat while under load.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to clarify a few things in "real world" useage. I think some of the guys are too new to remember back when I was looking for new tires myself-though I know Andy and Boner do. I "hemmed and hawed" for what Andy-a couple months??? Man, I think I bugged about everybody on this thing about tire weights, sizes, etc., REALLY WORRYING about how the "power loss" would effect my 'Cat. Hell, Tree Farmer, TxDoc, Trailboss-some of the good old boys even helped me out with that one. With all that, my ONLY regret was that I didn't listen to them all sooner, I would have saved myself a hell of a lot of worrying and doubt, of which was definately NOT needed.

YankeeCat-
Are you still looking at trading the 'Cat for the new 660 Grizzly??? I was just curious-your last statment about the "I notice that sometimes in deep mud I pin the throttle. If I did that with the stock tires on, the bike would go way too fast." Man, if the 'Cat goes too fast, I'm betting that Grizz will REALLY be too fast! I know you were concerned about the auto belt getting wet, but what else about the machine has you itching to trade? My guess is the front diff. lock???? Anyway, if you do get it, I'm interested to hear your opinions, what you think about it. I'm assuming Andy hasn't received his yet??? Should be soon though???

Best of luck guys,

Mike