mud/trail tire shopping
 

Hi my name is rob, I just bought a 2015 sportsman 570 sp eps and has itp baja cross tires. I am looking for an upgrade not looking to spend a lot but Def need a good mud and trail tire. I have 14in rims.

dont know if they still make them or not but xtr's were a good mud/trail tire i ran on my 800. swamp lites were good for the trail but not as good in the mud.

Friend of mine with a new 450 HO raves about the Zillas that he switched to.

I've heard the Zillas are good too. They're basically the lightest mud tire you can get yet are still a 6 ply tire. They only weigh slightly more than most stock tires and are relatively inexpensive.

I've had the Interco Swamplites through some pretty good mud and water holes. Haven't got stuck with them yet. One of the best priced tires out there. I looked around quite a bit when my Outlander needed new tires. People I know with the Swamplites rave about them. We don't have muskeg like the folks up in Canada though.

What are the stock sizes? Are you looking for taller tires?

Kenda bearclaw Evo is a great compromise tire. Very tough, reasonably light, great value for the buck. The only downside is the tread depth could be higher, but then you are getting into true mud tire territory.

Stock size is probably 25", I'm assuming he wants to stay close to that, maybe go with a 26" tire to get slightly more ground clearance. With the Zillas, 26" and up get the bigger 1 1/8" lugs, 25" and down get smaller 7/8" lugs I believe.

ITP makes some good mud tires but 25" and 14" wheels limits what you can get. You can get 25" Mud Lite XLs with 1-1/8" lugs or Mud Lite XTR radials with the same lug size to fit 12" wheels but have to go to 27" or 28" on a 14" wheel. If it was mine I'd try to find something closer to stock size like 26".

Zillas or swamplites will be your least expensive and capable options. Search ebay and you will find deals on them. Zillas are the better of the two for mud but wear fast on hardpack.