Hey all,

So I recently bought my first ATV, a 1988 Terrapro. The front tires are completely dry rotted, so I need to replace. I am curious how important stock tire size is to an ATV. All I am familiar with is Garden tractor tires, for example one of mine came stock with 23x10.5-12s, so basically I could jam any 12 inch rim tire on there that I could squeeze under the wheel well (I was running 26x12-12s at one point), and my only concern was throwing off mower deck/rear attachment geometry, other than that didnt matter.

So with an ATV, how important is it to stay close to stock? How important is the stock front to rear size ratio (mine arent the same size, 2wd quad)?

Any advice is appreciated, Since it will just be a work quad for me I won't be investing in new tires, just waiting on a good used deal on craigslist.

 

I would get tires that fit good because if their too tight/loose they could slip off the rim.

 

"slip off the rim"
That's the funniest thing I've ever heard.

If you have a 2wd, tire size don't matter.

 

I say that out of personal experience. I was riding a 2002 Polaris scrambler 2x4 and the tires were a little too tight fitting. we didn't have the right tires so we put on ones that were a little to small. I went around a sharp turn and the tire popped off my rim and I flipped the quad.

 

If you had a 8" tire on a 8" wheel (and so on) you simply blew the bead. Maybe not enough air, maybe it wasn't seated correct, whatever.
But say going from a 22" tall tire to a 18" tall tire (or visa/versa) won't cause a bead to pop.
Heck, if you don't have beadlock rims and you don't pop a bead now and then, you aren't riding hard enough.


In this case, the only thing to mention with changing the tire/chassis height is that if the topic starter's terrapro has impliments with it, some adjustments may have to be made depending on the impliment.

 

OK, maybe im wrong, im no expert but I have had bad experience with tires coming off in the past. Its happened three times because I ride aggressively. I don't think the bead popped because it was seated correctly and we filled it to the right PSI Im not 100% sure what happened but it seamed like the tire just slipped off.

 

You're right it really doesn't matter just as long as the rim size is the same. Of course if you change the rear it will change your gear ratio, a larger tire will be the same as taller gearing, giving more top-end speed but less low-end grunt, exactly the opposite of what you want for a work machine. But if you don't go too big it shouldn't be a problem. A lot of quads came with 25" tires, so they should be easy to find used and should work OK for you.

 

I guess you are riding it hard.
You need some beadlocks.

FYI: when I don't run beadlocks, When I mount the tires I clean and then coat the bageezus out of the tire and rim with dish soap. Once it dries, it's like glue.
That may help.

 

I use soapy water to help them slip on easier but that's it. Im ready to just ride all rims and see how that works. lol. Or maybe just all tires. I don't know, im just gonna have to save my money so I have a tire fund whenever this happens.

 

So this is a "work" quad, It is the ATV with PTO, and I have a brush hog and finish mower with it so definitely looking to work it and play. My tire sizes are as follows:

Front 22x8x10 Rear 24x11x9

What would everyone suggest as acceptable ranges? All I know is that I can use any tire that is proper to the rim, but as others have said I didnt previously know, the taller tires than stock in the rear almost act as taller gears, so there is that. Should I be trying to keep a 2 inch difference front to rear like stock? What's the purpose there? Not sure if this matters, but even though its a 2WD, the rear does have a locking differential