does anyone have any experience with these tires. how deep are the lugs on the 26" tire. how good do they go compared to other mud tires. any info would be greatly appricitated

94 kingquad

 

does anyone know?

 

Spider Tracs are a moribund old design that has recently been resurrected for reasons that are difficult to fathom at best. Their performance is EASILY beaten by any of the latest generation of high-performance mud tires.

Dirt Wheels last reviewed the Spider Trac in the April 1997 "Tire Buyer's Guide" on page 56. Here is what they had to say:

"DICK CEPEK SPIDER TRAC: A dated design mud tire with shorter and narrower lugs than most of its "strictly mud" competitors. Side knobbies provide added traction in hardpack terrain conditions, but hinder mud-cleaning abilities in the deep goo."

If you have an atavistic streak and want to ride on a 1980s state-of-the-art mud tire, the Spider Trac is a good choice. Otherwise spend your money on a set of Goodyear Mudrunners and bring your King Quad into the 21st Century. The Mudrunners will leave the Spider Tracs for dead.

Army Man

 

That is a good point, but the Spider Tracs aren't exactly a mud tire. Maybe they were at one time, but now in the age of 1"+ lugs, they are merely a trail and all around tire. They compete mainly with Sur Traks and Bear Claws as good aftermarket trail tire replacements.

I have Bi/Tri Claws in 27" on my AC500. They are a great mud tire. If I were to buy a regular 25" trail tire to complement them and mount on my stock rims, it would most certainly be Spider Tracs. They are a very good trail tire, and according to this summers tire article in dirtwheels, they are actually true to size. Meaning that a 25" tire actually measures 25 inches. Most are a half to an inch lower than the actual measurements.

 

thanks, i kinda thought spider tracks were a litte more aggressive than you said.

 

Thomas,

You specifically posted a query in regard to the Spider Tracs ability as a mud tire:

You said, “how good do they go compared to other mud tires?”

Andy Bassham noted that in today’s market the Spider Trac competes not as mud tire, but as an all-around tire going head-to-head with the Maxxis Sure-Trac and the Kenda Bearclaw. Either of which is a better all-around tire than the Spider Trac in my opinion.

Like the Cheng Shin C828 tire, (the old “Wooly Booger” mud tire of the early 1980s repackaged under a new name), the Spider Trac is a design whose time has come and gone. In both cases, the design costs, manufacturing start-up costs, and molds for these tires, have long since been amortized. The current manufacturer can price them attractively, and still make a bundle of money. That’s why they’re still with us. That plus a catchy name.

Since you specifically asked about the Spider Tracs ability as a MUD tire, I stand 100% behind my initial comments. If you’re actually looking for an all-around tire, that’s one thing, but if you’re truly looking for a mud tire, save your money for something better. Any of today’s new crop of high-performance mud tires, or all-around tires with an emphasis on mud performance, will absolutely blow the Spider Trac away.

Why waste your money on a has-been? If you really want a superior mud tire with killer all-around performance, look no further than the Goodyear Mudrunner. It WILL leave the Spider Trac for dead in ANY contest of ability.

Let me put it another way, buying the Spider Tracs to go mudding, is like buying an 8 Mhz 286 with a 1200 baud modem to go ‘Net surfing. Both were state-of-the-art… in the early 1980s.

Army Man

 

Let me ask a slightly different question.
The Goodyear Mudrunners do not come in the size that I want/need for my Recon, whereas the Spider Tracks do. I would think that anything larger then a 24 inch tire would be too big for the Recon without serious modification to the Recon. Now I am not sold on the Spider Tracks they are just one of the choices that I do have. I am looking for a tire that has great traction in mud and sandy conditions. These types of riding areas seem to call for different types of tires, but switching tires all the time does seem impractical. So my question to you would be if you had a Recon what tires would you get for it and why? The types of conditions you would ride in would encompass almost all types with a great deal of mud and sand. The stock tires are 22x10x9 and new rims are not an option at this time. I would also not wish to sacrifice any ground clearance so anything less then 22 inch would be unacceptible(like the Mud Sharks).

--Begin attempt at dry humor here--
Also I might add that the example you gave about using an 80's modem to surf todays internet isn't quite up to your normal standard. I'm not sure but I don't think mud has made the same advances which would require new technology that electronic communications have, but maybe some areas of the country have 'new and improved' mud :-)
--End dry humor attempt--

I think the Spider Tracks were 'reborn' due to improvments in manufacturing and materials. You are correct they are not a top 'mud' tire anymore, that is why the are no longer marketed as such.

 

Armyman
Thank you very much for the information. I have yet to hear anything bad about the Sur Traxs. The only reason I am considering other tires then them are the fact that they are only a 2 ply tire. This does worry me a bit. So far my Recon has been lucky and only has 3 plugs in one tire from what appeared to be the same incident. But the OEM tires on the Beartracker have more plugs in them then I can remember. I am looking more for strength then light weight. Thats why I am also considering the 4ply ITP Blackwaters. There is a bit of a price jump to get those. I wonder if they would be worth it?

 

Ursus,

My 1200 baud modem analogy was not up to my usual standard!?!?!? Alas and alack! And I spent at least 30 seconds trying to come up that one, too. I obviously need to hire new writers. And you've apparently been spending way too much time reading my stuff. Remember the old anti-drug ad with the fried egg? "This is your brain after reading an Army Man post"… or something like that.

Anyway, on to serious business…

I strongly suggested the Mudrunners to Thomas because he has a very heavy (Suzuki King Quad is 650 pounds+ when gassed and ready to ride) 4x4. In your case, where you have a Honda 4x2 Recon 250, things are a little different.

I have no experience at all with the Recon, nyet, nada, zip. But (here it comes) I have a friend who has a Kawasaki 4x2 Lakota 300. Not exactly apples and apples, but close enough. I have ridden my buddy's Lakota a number of times under different conditions, both before and after he replaced the OEM tires.

Our group went riding about a month ago. It wasn't supposed to rain that day, but it did. It sprinkled off and on all afternoon. By the time we got to the killer hillclimb, the ground was soaked and we were soaked. The hill was also completely covered with freshly fallen leaves. Needless to say it was extremely slippery.

Two of our guys on Polaris SP500s climbed the hill successfully, though they did slip, slide, and spin their way to the top. I was third to climb the hill. My Mudrunner equipped Bayou 400 4x4 churned its way to the top of the hill without incident. I also was able to maintain a straighter line up the hill than either SP500. My Bayou doesn't weigh as much, and the Mudrunners provide better traction than SP500's stock Titans.

There were three 2WD quads in our group: A brand new 2001 Lakota Sport, my buddy's '95 Lakota, and a friend's early '90s Warrior. My buddy was the first 2WD to attempt the hill. He did more of the same slip, slide, and spin routine as the SP500s did, and he finally made the hill. The Lakota Sport rider also made the hill doing the slip, slide, and spin routine. The Warrior, with more power than either Lakota and a manual clutch to help control wheel spin, ultimately made the hill, but only because two other riders helped push him up the hill.

The Lakota Sport, equipped with OEM tires, was brand new, in fact this was the first time the kid had had it out. My Buddy's Lakota was equipped with a brand new set of Maxxis 22x8x10 Pro fronts and 22x11x10 Sur-Trak rears. The Warrior had OEM front tires and Cheng Shin Wooly Copy rears. (The Wooly Copy is an "improved" Wooly Booger). Of the three 2WD quads to attempt the hill, my buddy's Sur-Trak equipped Lakota had the easiest time of it. BTW, when my buddy put the Sur-Traks on his Lakota, he took off a set of Wooly Copies.

I have seen the Sur-Traks in action for several months now. I am truly surprised at how well they do in the typically very muddy conditions that we usually ride in. If I were the owner of a middleweight 2WD utility/sport quad, like the Lakota or the Recon, I would have to give serious consideration to the Maxxis Sur-Traks when looking for a good all-around tire, that also does well in the mud, to replace the OEM tires the quad came with.

For size 22x11x10, Rocky Mountain ATV has the Sur-Traks for $45 and the Wooly Copies for $42. I couldn't find a price on the Spider Tracs. But for a mere $3 per tire difference, I'd have to go with the Sur-Traks.

Army Man

 

I have blackwater tires on my warrior and they are pretty good tires, i wouldn;t say the best for mud though cause they can get caked up in mooshy clay but i think any tire will do that in clay. The blackwaters are very durable tires and give great tration on dry dirt and great traction in deep mud. I got mine from Chaparral for like 60 bucks a piece. Sounds like a great deal to me. I love the tires but they are heavy for a warrior since it is a sport quad and its better lighter.