I want to get the mudlites on the type 5 rims. I was looking at the 26" or the 27". I keep reading everyone saying the 27 are to big. on itp's web page with four 26" tires and rims they are around 137 lbs. and the 27's are around 141 lbs. is it the size of the tire that will change the gearing or is it all weight? Any help on this?

 

IMO- I would stick with the 26's.

 

my dad put 27 inch 589's on his 450 foreman and they work out awesome. i know his 2000 foreman always seemed to over rev when you were wide open and would only do like 50 mph. we put them 27's on there and it is actually faster on top end now cause it doesn't over rev and it has plenty of power to pull them. i would say go with the 27's.

 

i would go with 26" ,get the xl's ....mean as$ tread!! i hardly ever use 4x4 on my wolvy with them....took some power away but it goes through some nasty stuff with ease.

 

I say stock 25". Why does everyone want to get bigget tires? Only thing gained by going to 26" is 1/2" ground clearance. But you lose power, stability, puts off your speedo/odometer, and puts more wear/tear on your machine. Can it run 26 or 27..sure...but what are you gaining? I'm not complaining but I really don't see a benifit other then the mentality everyone seems to have that bigger is better. I guess maybe it looks cooler with bigger tires too. Just wondering why everyone wants bigger and no-one suggest staying stock as the way to go. I only have a 450 too and can use all the power and lower center of gravity the 25" provide.

I use to like the Mudlites but I think I will go with the 25" Holeshot ATR when I get some new tires. Sure If I wanted more agressive then the Mudlite XTR's would fit the bill. I'm a radial tire fan now. So many benfits gained by going radial.

 

An excellent question that I too would like to have an answer too. It was my understanding that oversizing your ATV's tires put more strain on the ATV's components and caused premature wear. My cousin's husband did that to his 2003 SP500HO and he burned out 3 rear ends before he figured out why.

 

Ive run 27" Blackwaters on my Forman 450 for the last 5 years and I'll be replacing them soon with another set of something of the same size.

27's fit on stock rims and stock suspension with no clearance issues at any time.

The only repairs I can attribute to the larger tires was having to replace both front wheel bearings. I imagine that these would have to be replaced at some point anyway as the ATV is 7 years old now with quite a few KM's. other then that I have made ZERO other reparirs to this machine, just proper maintenance with oil and differential fluid changes.

As for stability, 6 ply vs stock 2 ply, and wider tread width vs stock only made the ATV more stable in corners at speed, not less. Higher sidewall has also prevented pinch flats that were common with my stock tires.

The 1" gained in ground clearance often makes the difference on a rutted mud trail, or a rocky one. The Forman 450 is very low and every inch counts!!!

As for the speedo, ATV speedos are very varied in accuracy anyway (exponentially worse the faster you go) so that's not a big deal. If indeed it is, a GPS is a far more accurate way of measuring speed.

I agree with the taller height helping the overgeared issue at the top of 5th gear too!!!

In 1st gear, the Forman 450 has more then enough grunt to turn the 27's in any situation I've placed them , including some of the worst peat bogs in north america!!!

 

I think you might find if checked against a GPS that most speedo's say your going faster than you really are.
My Rancher came with 24's and the speedo ran faster then my GPS.........I put 25's on it and the speedo is dead on with my GPS now
Same goes for my Grizz....with 25's the speedo read faster then the GPS.....now with 26's on my grizz the speedo is dead on with my GPS on it too.

 

well if you asked my dad he would never put the stock tires back on or smaller then 27's on his foreman and we know it is faster now cause mymom has an 03 foreman with ES and hers was always about 1 mph faster then dad's 00 foreman S then after he put those tires on he is about 2 mph faster. in the spring of the year when the cows are calfing and the frost is going out he used to get stuck all the time now with these tires on he idles through where he used to get stuck. i personally think the 27 inch 6 ply tire is a match made in heaven for the 450 foreman. and yes that 1 inch makes a big difference. same with my dad to i just ordered front wheel bearings for his and well he has only had these tires on for about 300 miles and the machine has 2200 on it so i would think that these front wheel bearings would have went out anyways.

 

i have 28" outlaws with the hl lift on my 03 foreman es and it does just fine..............