i own a 1998 fourtrax foreman 400 4x4 and i ride hard packed trails alot and i mean alot, i occasionally go mudding in behind my house but ive never gone into the really heavy stuff. ive had the quad for 5 years and its still got the stock tires on it i was wondering if anyone had an oppinion or a suggestion for around a 25-27 inch tire to put on my foreman 400. ive been looking at itp blackwater XTs or goodyear muddrunner but i am open to any tire you might have in mind. thanx

 

Stay with stock sizes but go with a more aggressive tread.Bigger tires will put more strain on your drivetrain and rob power.As for your tire selection between the 2 go with mudrunners.But look at Gators,589s and Mudlites.

 

thanks for ur input but are those good for really hard packed trails and if i go up an inch more do you think if will stress the drive train and rob power too much cuz ground clearance on it is pretty low for a 4x4 and i wanted a couple more inches

 

The mud lite is supposed to be lighter but has decent tread 34/32 on XT which is the 26". about 28-29 # apiece will not take as much power away with less rotating mass. Found decent price at www.traxms.com. Shane seemed to be pretty good to deal with will price match. Thinking of 27 mudlites with c series rims on my sportsman 500 from here.

 

Your 4 wheeler was designed by the factory to keep all the components at the right height and angles when you change this it put undue stress on all the components.

 

I increased my tire size on my rancher one inch to 25" on my rancher and one inch to 26" on my rubicon.I never saw any problems with handling or steering and reliability of the machines was unchanged.I saw a slight power loss with the rancher but never noticed it with the rubicon due to the larger engine.I had mudrunners on the rancher and gators on the rubicon and both have great traction in all conditions and steer well.The gators are slightly rougher riding at under 5mph and quite smooth at faster speeds but the mudrunners feel as smooth as stock at any speed.

 

go with the 589m/s

 

I put Blackwater XT's on my forman 450, and noticed no loss in power or reliability over the past 4 years. These are a great all round tire, great in mud and good ride and handling on hardpack. The extra height helped with top speed because of hte change in final drive ratio, and the added ground clearance was greatly appreciated. Stay away from lift kits if you can, my tires fit without one with zero rubbing. On your 400 you'll have to change rims. Most tall tires only come for 12" rims, your 400 should have 11" rims. You can go aftermarket or get a set of 12" rims off a Forman 450 or a rubicon.

 

Don't count the stock Goodyear Rawhides out that come on the new 400's stock. They are an excellent tire. They are only 2 ply, but my buddies that have them on their 400's go everywhere the rest with Bearclaws and Mudlites go. Although the 6 ply is nicer to have for puncture resistance reasons.

 

Whatever tire you get I recomment you stick with the stock size. Less strain on the drive train and much less strain on you! Bigger tires can really make the steering stiffer, and riding less fun. When I upgraded the tires on my Foreman I went to 589 MS, stock sizes. Great traction and steering is as easy as stock.