Since I own two sets of 27" ITP tires, I emailed them about the wobble and light feeling above 35 mph.....

this is what I wrote them:

"I have two sets of tires for my 2005 Polaris 700 EFI Sportsman. I have a set of 27” Mud Lites and 27” 589s, both mounted on ITP Type 5C wheels. I had both sets spin balanced because they wobbled bad above 35 mph. Both sets still wobble bad above 35 mph.

The stock 26” Carlisle PXTs ride perfectly, but I wanted more ground clearance for the terrain here in New Mexico. I wanted to know if this is what I should expect from the ITP tires. The make my machine unstable above 35 mph and I feel it is unsafe to ride with them like this. Any help in this matter would be appreciated. I have talked with other people and they said they have similar issues. Please let me know if this is what I should expect from these tires".

Not that I really feel unsafe because the wobble doesn't get worse, its just annoying and makes the front end feel light. Here is their response:

"David, yes the any after market tires will ride and shake a little more that the stock tires you had on you atv both have a lot bigger tread than you stock tires just make sure you dont ride any offroad tire on the road and that you have right air pressure in the tires that would be about 6-7 psi in the tires.
Thanks ITP"

So anyways, here is my question.....how should I respond to this. I've heard people having problems with every make of tire out there when they get 25" and above. Most Utility ATV's come with 25" tires now, Polaris running 26's. I feel that even though they are 27" and have large lugs, they still should track pretty true. His statement that " both have a lot bigger tread than your stock tires" isn't true....the Carlisle PXT's have almost the same depth tread as the both of these....the difference is that the Carlisles are narrower in the front.....

I have heard of some people getting good tracking tires, but neither of my sets do. So....I'm at this point, I don't like the wobble, I was thinking of designing a steering stabilizer for the front end of the polaris, which I think may cure the problem, but it is a mask of the problem, not a fix....the fix is to get good balanced tires. Since these tires spin like crap on the spin balancer....I'm thinking of getting something else. I like the 12+ inches of ground clearance, so would like to stick with 27's....just not much choice out there. I'm looking for a good all around tire combination, that aren't heavy as hell.....

I was thinking of writing back to the person from ITP (Ron Hill) that sent me the response and telling him that the tires spin terrible on the spin balancer, are out of round and it doesn't seem acceptable to me when other manufacturers will work with their end-users to fix the problem. I was reading about people that have Maxxis Bighorns and they swapped out their tires until they got some that spun true and rode nice.....

Thoughts?????

dave

 

anyone????

 

Out of round tires are defective. I would assume from your description that they are out of round.

 

They spin like hell on the spin balancer, all of them, some worse than others....I emailed them back, I'll see what they say. I told him that if I have to switch to another tire than that is what I'll do, that the wobble is hard on the arms....

dave

 

I would think that any true "mud" tire would handle worse at higher speeds but maybe not as bad as your explaining. These tires are designed more for low speed operation but should still be fairly round and in balance, especially the Mudlite. I believe this may have been mentioned in some of the large mud tire tests in the magazines.
Sounds like loose tolerances and quality standards if that's the reps response. He should also learn to write properly if that was a direct quote or (cut and paste).
Carlisle has been good to me and will work with you, as for ITP I don't know. I think the new Carlisle PXT radials are the best out and maybe they will come out with larger sizes to fit your needs.
For the amount of money you've spent they (ITP) should give you some sort of satisfaction.

 

I agree that the larger tires with large lugs would be harder to balance, but shouldn't be like they are. The Carlisle PXTs do ride great....wish they made them alittle larger...alittler wider on the front...

 

My 27" Gators were really bad about the wobble when I first had them put on. Took them back to the tire shop an had them balanced it look an unreal amount of weight to get them better. I had weights around the inside plus stick on weights ever where. It's not as bad as it was but they still have the wobble you are talking about. I just bought a set of 26" mudlites I hope they are better.

 

Hi Dave...

Please read this and remember, I'm on your side......

I'm afraid what you are experiencing is basically just the nature of the beast. Your mudlites and 589's, are by title and definition, MUD tires. Designed and maufactured to be used primarily in a soft, wet gooy enviroment. The deep lug tread and large voids between them, will literally act like paddles to pull and claw your way through the slop. BUT.... On the flip side of the coin, once these tires leave the slop, those same lugs and voids that you counted on to get you through the mud hole, will start pulling and clawing on any surface they come in contact with inducing a "wobble". No if's, and's or but's.

In the case of your 589's, this will not only be evident in a vertical plane but also the horizontal as well. If you look at your 700 from the front when it's wearing the 589's, you'll see the tread of the 589's actually have a left-right-left-right pattern to them. Coupled with the large open areas between the lugs.... You just found your wobble.

The other fact that needs to be brought up is the designed purpose for the tire itself is NOT speed. It's traction. Using the 589 as an example. The 589 is NOT a trail tire. Plain and simple. It was never designed to blast down a fire road at 45+, crossed up in the corners. The faster you go, the more obvious the short comings of the 589's (as a trail tire) will become. These tires are NOT speed rated, thus they give no guarrentee that the will run completely true on all surfaces. Balancing "may" help, but will not be a "cure-all". I have tried to balance deep lug tires such as these from 27" (ATV) all the way up to 44" (02 Jeep Rock Monster). Can it be done? SURE... but do you really want to be carrying around all the extra lead? Personally I've had some Interco tires that took more than 17 POUNDS of lead to balance! Steering dampers are as well only a band-aid. They will reduce the wobble, but never eliminate it. The only advice I can give you is to play with the way and location you mount the tire to the wheel. Through trial and error, you may be able to find a combination where the wobble cancels itself out.

Dave, I can only guess what conditions you encounter where you ride. I've never been there. BUT.... In my travels with the IJDM Rock Crawlers, I've got a pretty good idea. If you want traction, you're all set. The 589's and Mudlites are the ticket. If you want a smooth, wobble free ride, I'm afraid you'll need a different tire. As soon as someone makes a smooth riding, deep lug, high traction tire... I'll have the second set of 27's. I'll save the first set for you.

 

Dan I agree with you in most part....but the side to side lugs are the same on my stock tires....Centrifugal Force and Speed will compensate for most of the pattern of the tread. I've read where some people got their 26 and 27" tires to balance and rode wobble free. The problem I've had with these is that they spin like hell on the spin balancer....If you put them on a lathe and could cut any unproportionate parts off, I think you would trim probably 1/2" from one side of the tire in order to get them to balance...thats where my problem is....I think it is related more to poor manufacturing than it is with anything else.....ATV tires don't get the attention to detail as a road tire would.....

Good points though, thanks for the inputs..

 

Hi Dave...

Thanks for understanding where I was coming from... I partially agree with your thoughts on the manufacturing aspect. It's not necessarily "poor" per say, but more purpose driven. High traction tires, such as the 589, don't need to be "perfect". On the steep and in the deep, where these tires really shine, your speed is limited by the terrain. So when going slow, this wobble can't really be felt. Even with a severe wobble, slow speeds and limited traction will allow it and your ride will be basically wobble free. All the wobble being consumed by the terrain. That's what happened with that set of Interco tires. On hard pack trails, the steering wheel would almost get ripped from your hands. Get'em into the mud, or crawling on some rocks, they turned into a completely different animal. The terrain being the damper.

With the four sets of 589's I have, the 28's were by far the best. They went on the wheels slicker than whale snot on an iceberg. Not a wobble, all the way to top end. These are mounted on the monster 700 (carb version) Of the (8) 27" tires, (6) are good with (2) being marginal. They do wobble, but nothing that I feel I can't live with. The 26's haven't really had a good work out but from what I've seen and felt so far, they seem okay. Only one has a slight (liveable) tweek.

Does ITP need a bit more quality control on setting their tire molds? Yeah, maybe. At least that's my opinion. I'd love to say ALL my ITP tires ran true. But for now.... It just ain't so.

HEY ITP!!! ARE YA LISTENING? SOME END USERS, YOU KNOW... THE PEOPLE THAT BUY AND PROMOTE YOUR PRODUCTS, HAVE A PROBLEM!!! CAN YOU HELP ?