has anybody tried bigger than stock tires on a 06 polaris sportsman which is 26s? the dealer said that anything bigger would shorten the life of ball joints and axels.thought about going with mudlites so i could save on weight and that would help on the stress on these things.

 

Its turning a larger radius tire that wears them down faster

 

That's right. A taller tire does not effect axle angle. If you go wider than the joints take additional stress.

 

Go big or go home. I've got 25's on a quad built for 22's lol

The only people on stock tires where i'm at are stuck in the mud. Pulled out another Hawkeye on 23's last week, he was stuck where i had been driving all over with no problem.



Yeah baby

http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/803/1039/39235.jpg

 

scramblerking,

It is true that if you go bigger it will wear joints and axles prematurely. But 26 is not that much bigger than stock. If you go with something like 28's then you are going to break. Just by going to a bigger tire you are adding unsprung weight. Just because you dont go wider does not mean you wont wear out joints quicker. The taller the tire the more sidewall flex you will have. This is the unsprung weight that causes the wear.It is the unsprung weight that wears the ball joints and tie rods. If you want to go with 26' tires I would highly recommend the Interco swamp lites. I had ITP Mudlite xl's on my rincon. I got a chance to try a set of swamp lites and they are an awsome tire. Much lighter than the mudlites, not as agressive but still work great. Everyone that I have talked to that has or had them has had nothing bad to say about them. Most that I have talked to about the mudlites say they are too heavy and tend to dig too much,.. No floatation. I agree. Thats why I switched. Now with the swamplites my rinny wheelies much better, smoother ride and the they work awsome in the mud. I have been building mud trucks for about 15yrs now and without a doubt if you go bigger get ready to beef up the suspension and drive train. If you like your power stay with 25" tires. If you just want a bigger tire for looks go with 26's. If you actually want to gain some ground clearance that makes a difference then 27 or 28's. Just going up 1 size makes no difference in the real world of mud. Going up 1 size only gives you 1/2 inch gain in clearance. If you want to keep your power then stay with 25 or 26 and put a small lift like 2" on and you will gain some good ground clearance. Anything bigger you will break.

 

I just installed 28' swamp lights on my 05 sportsman . I don't know how much weight I added. I ordered them on alum. wheels . Mabe this will offset the steel wheel weight.

 

i have a 06 700efi and it has 26s on it stock. so u are saying mudlites are heavy i thought they were the lightest tire on the market. and a lift kit does not hurt the ball joints or the axels i thought the angle on the axels would be different when u add a lift kit. i have bear klaws on my 04 scrambler and work great. just was trying 2 save weight with the mudlights.

 

Twomanytoys, i have the swamplites and agree with everything you said, except one. I think they are a more agressive tire than mudlites, and i say that in a good way. The mudlites dont have the angled lugs, or the "tear up the lawn" traction as the swamplites have, imo. On another note, i would highly reccomend these tires to anyone. Look at my pics for a good look at them. They are excellent in mud, snow, hardpack, and rough terrain, and they are durable and dont wear fast

 

A 28' tire is very heavy no matter what brand. The aluminum wheels help but that doesnot off set the unsprung weight that much.

V2rider,

You may be right because my yard has all kinds of tracks now. Before the switch my yard was fine. The only thing that I can say that the mudlites were more agressive was in the mud. The mudlites would dig straight down and burry me. The swamp lites still dig but they keep me moving. They float more.

 

Let me refraise this. The MUD lite XL's are heavy. Not the regular a/t's. The swamp lites are lighter than the mudlites. I weighed them and there was almost 3-4 lbs difference each. The front mudlite xl's were 2.5 lbs heavier than swamp lites and the rear were almost 4lbs. Yes a lift kit will put stress on the joints but depending on what kind of lift you get depends on the wear. There are lifts that drop the a arm and you can still keep the axle angle like stock or there are lifts that put spacers under the springs. The spacers put stress on the joints and puts the axle at bad angle. You should be ok with 26' tires. Just dont go with a tractor tread type tire. Try to stay light. Less rolling mass and less unsprung weight.