I have the 250 4x4 and was wondering why they used a shorter tire on the front than the back. I had always heard that on a 4x4, you had to keep the front and rear tires the same height or you would mess up the gears. Do they have the 250 and 300's geared in a way to not have a problem ? The 400 and 500's have the same height on front and rear.

 

I would assume that the gear ratio has been changed to compensate for the different size tires on the 250 & 300 vs. the 400 & 500. I think the general concensus is to run the same ratio as the stock setup.

 

he is exactly right
the gear ratio is set up for smaller in the front
if you go up an inch in the back, then go up in the front to

 

I would say the reason for the different size is to lighten the steering. Apparently that was the idea behind going from a 10" wide setup on the 2001 500s to a 8" front, 11" rear (10" on ACT models) setup in 2002. Although in this case, the diameter of the tire is the same, generally the smaller the wheel, the lighter the steering.