I have seen many posts on this topic but NONE really seem to come to a GOOD CONCLUSION nor do they tell why it is a good tire, not much is ever explained on this topic.....

All u ever see is I have this tire or I have that tire and they work good in mud/hardpack or here and there!

Hopefully this will get a variety of posts because there HAS GOT TO BE ppl on here that have many different types/brands of tires for our Utility 4x4's.....

I see on FAR TOO many of the ads posted in magazines and on webpages that advertise a certain brand as being a mud specific tire that claims to be LIGHTWEIGHT!

So which tire really is the best Mud tire that still gives good ride quality, yet still allows for good handeling which would make it a good all around MUDDER/Trail Tire....

HighLifter.com seems to carry the best variety of tires that are used for this purpose....

Things to consider with a good mud/trail tire

-Cleaning ability
-Ply Rating - how hard is the carcass, is it thorn resistant(6Ply) also affects how fast it will wear!
-Weight - consider wear on your drivetrain and above all, over all performance loss due to added weight!
-Does it have a concentrated center line design that makes it the ultimate tire on hard surfaces as
well as mud
-How deep are the Lugs (tread height)....
-How soft are the Lugs (will it allow you to still powerslide) (Ride quality will be affected by this)

Just some things to consider, hopefully this will get some good replies, and i will get a good idea of what ppl think of there tire, why they purchased it and for what specific condition it will be used!

This may seem like im asking alot but i think that this post would help alot of people!
You can keep the replies simple, but what i really want to know is WHAT IS THE BEST ALL AROUND HIGH PERFORMANCE MUD TIRE...if there even is such a tire!!!

 

One tire to look at is the Kenda Bear Claw. It has an excelent wear life. Its a 4-ply tire and the tread is about 3/4 of an inch if i had to guess. They are not a pure mud tire however, they are more of an "everything" tire. they ride Very good, clean out decently, and will get you through alot of stuff but not everything that say a Mudzilla will. You said Highlifter has a good selection of tires, is there a particular one that you are looking for?

 

I need good smoother ride quality, and i have bearclaws on our foreman....they are great but u have to keep them spinning!
I am gettin the TwinPeaks within a few days here, and will only be using my stock tires for about a week....

I want a good 6Ply that cleans out good in the mud but still has a good centerline that will allow me to ride on hard surfaces without it suffering in the handeling dept...

If it has the nice centerline, and the treads dont wrap around any further then the bearclaws do then i will still be able to powerslide it pretty well.....

I ride all trails, and there are lots of ruts...some of the rutted sections turn into a good 2ft deep section of mud that u have to hit in 4wd 3rd gear floored on the 450Foreman

I imagine my TwinPeaks should just be able to walk right through it with a good tire setup!

-bLuRRRR27-

 

dirt devils xt's!! perfect the **** on the sides are for ruts and i can powerslide mine with my kodiak

 

Im thinking Mudlights...or 589M/S 26" on wutever i get......that will i will get maybe another inch of clearance over the 9.6 already!

My buddy just got a brute force, and i need to be able to make it through wutever that monster will, if u get wut i mean....

589's look awfully beasty....i wish i knew the weights on these tires.....

Im not postin this or gettin a sick tire just to feed my ego as someone else stated in another thread! ROFL!

any other help would be greatly appreciated!

-bLuRRRR27-

 

The Mud Lites are the best all around tire. get the 26" or bigger for the big lugs or 25" for the small lugs which deliver more of an all around performance. the 26"+ are more ideal for mud but are still an excellent hard pack and trail tire. get some aluminum wheels to go along with them to keep the weight down, no matter what tire you get. My C-Series wheels are holding up very well and Im pretty sure that my mudlites and c-series wheels are lighter than my stock tires and wheels.

 

Here are some tire weights from the ITP Website.
Mudlites have a good centerline, smooth on the road, good in the mud. 6 ply

25x8-12
ITP Mud Lite AT 15.1 lbs.
Dirt Devil 18.2 lbs.
Gator 19.9 lbs.
Swamper 20.1 lbs.
Mud Bug 19.7 lbs

25x10-12
ITP Mud Lite AT 19.5 lbs
Dirt Devil 24.0 lbs
Gator 26.4 lbs
Swamper 20.1 lbs.
Mud Bug 20.5 lbs

26X9-12
ITP 589 M/S 28.45 lbs

26x12-12
ITP Mud Lite XL26.7 lbs 5.5 pound lighter than 589's
589's 32.20 lbs
Dirt Devil 29.1 lbs.
Gator 30.4 lbs
Bear Claw 27.8 lbs
Mud Bug 29.0 lbs.
Outlaw 34.9 lbs
Vampire 31.1 lbs.
Mudzilla 36.30 lbs
Outlaw 36.90 lbs.

 

If you are going to ride in alot of mud like we do then ground clearance is going to be a BIG deal on the twin peaks. I ride with alot of Polaris'es ( however you put it ) and they are pushin around 17 inches of clearance to my 13. Needless to say i get stuck alot more than they do. My solution was to run a very aggressive tire like the Mudzilla's that I have on there now. Yeah they ride like crap but so far its been able to help my handicapp ( straight axle ) quite a bit. I am not sayind that you cant make the Twin Peaks go through alot but the IRS on the Brute Force is going to give him such a large margin for mud compared to us. For good traction and still a fair ride look at maybe a 28" Dirt Devil XT or maybe a Maxxis MudBug. The 589's Dont seem to do good down here where we ride at and the Mudlites tread wears a little fast.

 

anyone know anything about the Titan 589

Im leaning tward ronnies package deal for 525-595 for the Chrome Wheels and Mudlight Tires!

-bLuRRRR27-

 

OK i'm kinda a tire freak so keep this in mind, I would have adifferent set every other week if I could afford it. I have run all of these for atleast 300miles each on hard pack, loose rock, BIG rocks, mud and snow. I bought Gators because they were 6ply, agressive for the mud and snow. They are very durable, good int the snow and the mud. They also are heavy and ride rough especially at slow speeds. I then bought ATR's, I wanted to try the new radials, these ride very smooth, don't slip on the rocks and fload rather well in the snow. They are not a durable as the gators and don't hold a candl to them in the mud. My latest purchase was a set of Mud Lites. They ride almost as well as the ATR's, work very well in the mud seem to be holding up very goo whitch really suprised me and I think they will do an excellent job in the snow(check back in about 2 months). out of theses tire I would definatly buy the ATR's and the Mud Lites again. The Gators are too agressive for most of my riding, I wish I was in the mud enough to put them to good use. I don't know from personal experience but have heard the 589's ride as rough or worse than the gators.

All of theses were in the 25" shallow tread verson, all are 6ply