Goodyear Mudrunners won the shootout in the tire test in the latest shootout. I would buy the Goodyear Mudrunner or the Titan 589 or ITP 589. The Mudrunner is the smoothest of the three on hardpacked terrain.

 

the titian M/S has duel stage lugs (like the 'laws, bugs..) and has mini webed bars between the lugs, they also have rim gaurd(the edge of the tire is flush-or comes out a little past the rim). the non M/S titains are basically the same (looks anyways) they both work great. the ITP's come in 28", but i think these would be outta the question if you don't want to lift. a guy i know had 27" blackwater XT's on his sp500 with rubbers on the front coils and they never rubed. (mabey if he hit a big hole though)

 

Rincon, I purchased my Goodyear Mudrunners from Rocky Mountian ATV and paid $72 each for the fronts and $92 for each rear. The sizes were 27x9x12 front and 27x12x12 rear. The $212 dollars you said they cost must be per set of tires.
It seems like there are some other pretty good mud and hard pack tires out there from the replys to this post but I still beleive that purchasing the Goodyears will make you happy for many miles from mud hole to mud hole.

 

I would vote for the Mudrunners/rear/ and Titan 489 front./25"/

I bought a set of 26" Mudrunners on Douglas rims for 540 dollars,I believe.Excellent mud tires..
I also bought 25" Spider Trac on C rims for a "dry" season from Ronnies.com. I paid 600 dollars total incl. shipping./good service,nice people/.I bougth 9,5" front/30lb/ and they are too heavy and wide for a technical narrow terrain. Great combo for casual trail riding./The rear Spider Trac are 12,5" 4 ply/37lb/and they are also very good, and good looking, tires./wide and good traction.....however they can't compete with the Mudrunners in the mud...!/
Joe
Grizz.660.

 

$212 is in cdn funds. the titains retail for that too, but we got them for $89 a piece! think about that, you'd pay about $61 with american money. the place is in diepe (New Brunswick canada) just outside of Moncton, theirs an airport right across the street from the shop (they sell AC now)

 

i use to have a set of 27" vampires then i got outlaws and to tell you the truth vampires do everything better

 

ya, not to mention the 28" EDL Vamps!

 

Its weird why everyone concerns themselves with getting the biggest tire possible. Look at it this way. Anything over stock is going to be awesome in the mud and the smaller tire you get the power you will have to get that all important wheel spin, without wheel spin big tires don't show their worth all that well. Wheel spin is like 2nd gear spinning that tire for all its worth. My next tires will be the Outlaw Radials that are as close to stock size as possible. Also buy aluminum rims not steel for your aftermarket tires, I have chrome steel ones and they are just dead weight and suck up power. The power and traction ratio is more important in mud than all out traction. Ground clearance is not a problem if you own a IRS machine or a lifted quad. I know with my 500i I don't have enough power to make wheel spin in the thicker mud and my tires start to gum up with mud so I use 1st gear to crawl though, it works most of the time but I now have to choose my path somewhat.

Mudding is all about power with good tires, not no power because you have to big of tires for your quad. I still stand behind the Radial Outlaws as the best tire for trail and mud, best of both worlds. Plus its going to be really good in the snow and rocks because of all the little grooves in the lugs.

 

bbertram,
good point with the tire size issue.
i'm not only looking for the excellent mudding capabilities along with a 'trail friendly' ride BUT the tire must fit without the need of a lift kit. i don't think going up one size eats up that much power on a Sportsman though. my SP500 used to spin my 26" Outlaws in the deep muck with ease!
i still haven't decided yet. it's a toss-up between 3.

anyone else with any good ideas please post soon.

thank you for all the suggestions so far,
your friend from out East,
-MT

 

what tires did you have on that 500i, my brothers 450 honda will spin 27" 589's in 2nd and sometimes 3rd gear, just hold it to the bar.

but i know what you mean, dads 300 honda has 12.5" bearclaws on the rear, and it won't spin 2nd gear in the mud, so all the tires do is clog up and become slicks!