I have 22 inch sand star rears, that have taken me up everything at LS-utah, and am pretty happy with them. I have not run different paddles, so I cant compare to a straight blade.

I was looking around rocky mountain, and noticed I can get some sand fronts for only 110-115 mounted on douglas .160s! Are front tires worth it? I have stock 2003 (ohtsu) fronts, and did notice that sometimes when trying to turn the pig just pushes and mostly goes straight, but dont know how much of a difference there really is.
I would like to get sand star fronts, but @ 165, dont really think the 50 dollar upgrade is worth it (we only dune a couple times a year)

GBC dune trackers are 111.99 for 22x8x10 (according to site they are 11.3 lbs according to GBC website)
Kenda Dune runner fronts are 117.99 for 22x8x10 (no weight found on the website)

I know these two brands are not the greatest, but I dont think I would have a problem since they are just fronts. I considered going .190 (what I run on all my rears) but thought maybe since these are dune only tires, and I dont get more than a few feet of air I should be ok. It is 15.00 to upgrade to .190's so let me know what your input on that is as well.

I am also installing a oil pressure gauge- inline temp gauge (ESR) - ct radiator shrouds - along with some new aluminum drivetrain parts. I am trying to make this trip as pleasant and worthwhile as possible, but obviously dont want to waste money.

I could also take this 100 and purchase some 22 inch 8 paddle haulers and sell my stars. From what ive read, it might not be all that much of a difference between the two, and the haulers would make the front end push even more due to more forward traction.

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks
Mike

 

Hey Mike, Well I have both the rear tires you are talking about. If you are just duning stick with the sand stars they work real good. They do turn better than the haulers. If you are going to race than the Haulers make at least a 2 quad difference up the hill. As far as fronts go I would get the front dune tires on the .160's No need for the .190 in the sand. I have jumped with the .0125 without a problem. The DS will handle better with the Front tires. If you can spend another $165 and get the ASR top A-arms. Those help you turn a lot better in all conditions.

 

I have 21" dune trackers and I want to get the 23" AMS fronts....they are the only ones making a 23". The Reason I want the taller 23" tire is because I am running 22" rears. You want your fronts to be taller than your rears....always. If you dont, you will notice when going down steep dunes the bike will hook left or right really harsh sometimes. My hope is that the 23" fronts will help correct this. They have 3 fronts in sand to choose from. They are on Rocky Mountain also.

Also, I really like the steering of the dune trackers. Just the right ballance of blade grab. Just not the right height at a 21" and they dont offer it in 23".

 

I went with Sand Star's in both front and rear. I have the dual ribbed in front. I got tired of the OEM tires always plowing when I needed to turn. Personally I found no difference in 22" fronts or 23" fronts other then when going down a steep hill you tend to nose dive a bit less but not that noticeable.

 

Seeing as how a set of front sand tires and rims only run about $150-$175, I think they are worth every penny. For me the difference in going from the stock tires to the dual ribbed Sand Star fronts was night and day. I will never use the front stockers again in the sand.

 

Alright, thanks for the input guys. I figured they would help, because I was having a really hard time keeping up with my yfz buddies carving tight areas, because the front end would push so bad. Sounds like it is definitely worth the money then. I did see the AMS, and also the maxxis fronts, but since both are around 150, I just dont see it being worth the extra 40.

Does anyone know a place cheaper than rocky mountain to get the sand stars? If the difference wasnt 50 between the kenda/gbc and the sand stars, I would probably get them.

Do the ASR uppers make that much of a noticeable difference? I have noticed my bike gets hard to steer in the long sweepers up in wisconsin (ill shove my big 220 lb butt across the seat and try to turn, but sometimes it just keeps wanting to go straight lol)

 

I have what you might call mohawks in the front. They are the ones with the single rib. Turning at the top of the bowls they are great. Drag racing and just cruising around they are not worth the money i payed. It seems if you are not turning, the front end gets super squrely. My opinion 2 thumbs down. The double rib might be better.

 

I have the 22' Sand Star fronts on mine and I have to agree they are worth every penny over stock, spend the extra dough you won't regret it[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I had basically decided that for 115, I should probably just go with the kenda single ribs. We dont hit up the dunes that often (this will be our only trip to the real dunes for this year, and we might go to silver lake once or twice) So I just dont know if the extra 50 bucks is worth it...

 

When you have a ATV that is as nice as the DS why not spend the little extra to get the nicest stuff you can. I have learned over the years to buy the best the first time so you don't have to go back and buy it again when you aren't happy with it.