Looking for new tires for my 00 500 Sportsman for mainly deep snow driving. I have looked at several sites by ITP, greenball and HighLIfter. Big question is, to put on this big rubber, I probably have to get new rims. Question is, what size designation is the rim on the Sportsman? I've seen those 27" monsters and they would be nice to get, but what kind of rim would I need? No need for racing here, so steel rims would be just fine. Anybody use Highlifter or a lift kit for their quad, and what are their comments. Thought I'd look at the Sno-traxx system, but haven't got 2000 bucks to spend on tracks. Rather stud, somehow with like a 1/4 inch roofing screw into a deep tread for traction. Hey, I bought a Polaris quad to use year round, and will with the 4 wheel drive, just need a little help with deep snow.

 

Go with the 26" Vampires on your stock rims. 12" wide in back, 9.5" wide in front. No lift required. You will be very, very happy. The same set-up I have. Works great in all conditions especially snow, sand, mud, loose dirt, etc. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the tip, just read the reviews on the bi-claws/tri-claws on a Sportsman 500 with a highlifter lift, and saw the mod I want to do. Still baffled about tire sizing vs rims. You say a 26" tire will fit on stock rims, so then would a 27" tire fit on stock rims as well? I remember when I used to know tire sizing from high school auto shop, was a little different but cars are cars and stuff.

 

I’m sorry PJ, but I’m going to have to disagree with you. While the Vamps were the best tires I’ve ever run in the mud, the were the absolute WORST tire I’ve run in the snow, and they weren’t all that great in loose sand; they liked to dig. Traction and steering control in snow was awful, almost to the point of dangerous. That was my experience.

I ran Kenda Bear Claws in the snow last year (25”) and am running Goodyear Mud Runners this year (26”). Both are good in the snow for traction and handling but I think the Bear Claws are a little better. They have more biting edges where the Mud Runners have a more open tread pattern for mud clean-out.

SWAC, you can put just about whatever you want on the rear on the stock wheel without a problem. You’ll have room for 27” tires back there without rubbing but I don’t know about 28”. Up front if you’re going to go with a tire wider than 8” you may need to use a wider wheel. From 9” wide on up the stock wheel is so narrow it makes the tire “bulge” enough that the inside of the right front will rub on the tie rod end. ITP makes a 1” wider wheel with a factory offset that cures this.

A friend of mine put the “monster” 27” Vamp kit on his SP, which was both tires and wheels. The wheel offset gave it a much wider track than stock. Handling suffered and I’m sure there was more mechanical stress to the bike going on because of it. He took the kit off and put on Mud Runners. If you’re in mud more than 60% of the time it’s fine but it wasn’t the hot setup for all-around riding.

Most of the tires I’ve run have been 25” (Vamps, Bear Claws, etc.) so I didn’t have any rubbing problems. But when I got the 26” Mud Runners they’d rub up front every time I hit a dip hard. ‘Course, having a winch up front and a full fuel pack strapped to the front rack didn’t help. Stiffer front springs from Polaris helped a little (improved handling too) but not enough to stop the rubbing. So I put High Lifter’s front lift kit on and was so happy with the results I bought their rear kit and installed that too. No more rubbing (the rears never did) and I have a full 13” of air between the bike and the ground without me on it.

If you want more specifics on this setup you can e-mail me personally if you’d like.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

Thanks floodrunner. Very helpful for me to learn that many options are available for me. Of course, bottom line is money of course. Where I live in Ontario, just north of International Falls Minn., There is very limited opportunity to see quad products so I rely on the net to see whats available. What all is involved with the High lifter kit? I'm sure that after hearing alot of good about it, I'm sure to get it. Send me an email at the following so I can yak to ya. Seems we have very similar machines and driving conditions. wisneski@voyageur.ca

 

Here are how tires are sized.

for example the new 28" Vamps. They are officially 28x10x12. 28 is the overall height, 10 is the tread width, and 12 is the size of the rim it mounts on.

For you to use you stock rims, which are 12" tall in the front and 10" tall in the back, you will need either a 26x10(or smaller)x12 or a 27x10(or smaller)x12 in the front. For the back a a 26x10(or wider)x10 or a 27x10(or wider)x10.

 

Why didn't the vamps work good in the snow? Do you think Titan 589 would be the same way? How durable and how much did the vamps wear? How where they on non mud like dirt, trails, grass, and woods?

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My guess is the Vamps did so poorly in snow because of their tendency to dig, with those deep 1.75” lugs. I was running 25x 13.5 on the rear and 25x9 on the front, and let me tell you, you really had to anticipate a turn way in advance. This was on a SP 500 and it didn’t matter if it was in 2 or 4 wheel, there was way too much “push” in the front end in snow. Where we ride the woods is dense so unless you like to pick bark out of your teeth I considered it dangerous. The stock tires far outperformed the Vamps in snow.

Tread wear on the Vamps was about average I’d say. The “sharp” edges on the lugs went away fairly quickly but in about a thousand miles they only lost about 1/16” of tread depth. Of course, they’re a mud tire, and if used mostly in mud the tread wear would be less. I used them as an all-around tire and except in snow, or on grassy side-hills where they would slide BAD, they were OK. They really shined in the mud though.

My only exposure to the Titan 589s is from reading about them in ATV Magazine. They seemed very impressed but I have no first-hand experience with them so I’m not qualified to comment.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River