I am kinda a newbie to mudding and utility ATVs and have a couple of questions about mud tires and wheels for the Prairie 650 that I just purchased:

1) Do most people buy new aftermarket wheels when installing the mud tires?

2) Other than appearance, are there any advantages to buying aftermarket wheels?

3) If I want to use the original wheels, which tires will fit, provide the best ride, and also provide much better mud performance?

Thank you for any help that you can provide.

 

Welcome atvibes.

Many people do buy aftermarket rims, mainly because you can get lighter and stronger (c series) than the stock ones. At the same time, many others do not. I did not after asking nyroc (who you will quickly learn is a very knowledgeable and friendly person) and learned that the stock wheels will bend easier in an accident which will protect you from bending/breaking anything more serious or expensive such as the hub or a driveshaft. Look out there and see what there is, after all, most of being an ATV'er is doing your own thing because that is what you wanna do.

 

atvibes, almost all tires fir the 650 on stoc rims. The widest ones (28" dia 12" wide outlaws) hit the tank unless you use ITP wheels.

The stock wheels do bend easily. A rollover will do it almost every time. A really hard jump landing or running into a log might do it too.

The stock wheels are relatively cheap too.

ITP C series are the best looking wheels, but they make the front tires wider than the rear. I hate that. I don't like what it does to my steering and makes my quad the widest one in the bunch and sometimes I don't make it through the tight spots. I sold my ITP wheels and got douglass wheels.

Douglas wheels are extremely strong and just as cheap as stock wheels. They have approxiamately the same spacing as stock. This is why I prefer them. The stock spacing actually helped my 28" front tires rub less with douglas rims than ITP.


[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]You must replace the stock tire immediately. It is a fact that everyone like whatever tire they get better than the stock ones.
My favorites are:
Bearclaw - All around riding
Mudlite- Muddier, all around riding
ITP ATR-Mostly dry riding. Mike penland recommends the Maxxis Bighorn.
Mudrunner-Muddier riding.
Mudzilla-Muddiest riding.

There are other tires that are probably just as good, and other that might fit in between these.

Goodyear and maxxis tires are higher quality and overpriced.
Sometimes ITP tires suffer from manufacturing problems.
Bearclaws are probably the hardest to mount.

Dunlops are not even good for flower planters.

 

nyroc & conman, thanks for the valuable advise. I have one question though for nyroc. It sounds like the Douglass wheels wheels are the best choice for fit (similar to the stock wheels, especially in the front) but do they keep the 28" tires from rubbing on the tank?

 

I have ran both 28x9.5(fr) 28x12.5(rr) Outlaws and Vampire EDL's (28x10) on my 650. EDL's will fit stock rims with nothing rubbing, as long as you keep the pressure below 15 psi. I also ran the Outlaws on stock rims, but you have to have spacers for the rear.

I see no reason to buy aftermarket rims. The stockers are the lightest to be found (5.5 fr, 6.5 rr) and if you are mudding, you probably aren't gonna be jumping[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

nyroc,
How much wider did the C-series rims make the front end. I will be mounting ATR's on them. I have 27 inch 589's on stock rims now.