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BIGGER, Better Tires
By Don McNeilly//Photos by Don McNeilly & Troy Merrifield
Discount Tire Direct now offers all new 14" and 15" tires for your UTV
If you are looking at replacing your OEM tires or just upgrading to a more
performance tire, take a peek at what Discount Tire Direct now offers.
The first is their exclusive 14” Trailfinder All Terrain tire that boasts a true inner
and outer rim guard. If you do a lot of riding, then you will appreciate this
feature which helps protect your custom wheels from getting the outside edges
gnarled up. The Trailfinders offer a deep lug pattern with aggressive shoulder
blocks that should help provide better edge bite. These 6-ply, directional tires
incorporate a chevron pattern in the center of the tire that helps provide a
smooth ride and improved traction.
Next is a set of 15” Vision Trailfinder VPR tires also available through Discount
Tire Direct. These tires were mounted to a set of Vision 158 Buckshot wheels
that have a center cap replicating the end of a shell casing with smaller replicas
around the outer edge of the wheel. Cool! When we put the new 15” Buckshot
wheels with Vision tires on the Polaris Ranger, we were impressed with the
stylish and aggressive look. The Trailfinder VPRs are also a directional 6-ply tire
with a deep lug pattern, but with mild shoulder blocks.
What Now?
We wanted to test two new tires that are available through Discount Tire Direct.
We could have easily tested each of these tires and reported back to you their
performance, but since each tire/wheel is larger than the OEM equipped unit,
we thought a comparison between the 12” OEM tires against the aftermarket
14” and 15” tires was in order. We chose to test each tire on two stock Polaris
Rangers. The 15’s were chosen for the Ranger XP for more of the sport enthusiast,
and the 14’s were chosen for the Ranger HD for the sport enthusiast and
occasional work-minded individual.
For our test, we headed to a location in the rocky deserts north of Phoenix,
Arizona. The location we picked has a good mix of varying terrain to put the tires
through their paces. This area usually has mud as well, but due to the time of
year, mud was not present.
One of the first upgrades most people make to their new UTV is to upgrade
their tires and/or wheels. There are many factors that you should consider when
picking out the best tire for your particular situation. We tried to pick out the
most common situations for an aggressive rider to consider.
Here is a rundown of some of the tests we did.
1. One of the most fun tests was sand drag. We found an area in a dry creek bed
with a straightaway of about 75 yards long where we timed each tire. We made
several passes to make sure the times were accurate. We also did the test in
2-wheel drive as well as 4-wheel drive to see how well the tires would hook up.
The sand in the wash was very loose, to say the least; it was similar to walking on
a sandy beach.
2. Next we did a hill climb. The hill we picked was very steep with extremely soft,
loose dirt. This hill was slag from an old gold mine, which litters the area we were
riding in. For this test, we wanted to see if there was a difference in forward bite
with the larger tires.
3. After this, we came to my personal favorite part of the comparison, rock
crawling. We found a section again in the wash that had some large boulder
outcroppings. The first section you had to climb out of the wash up a large ledge
and gain enough traction to be able to make it up on top of the rock. This would
give us an idea of how much grip or traction the tires would have in dry and wet
conditions.
4. High-speed cornering. In this test, we wanted to compare the tires in highspeed
cornering. The area for this test was a hard left-hand corner with a granite
base. The granite base makes the turn somewhat slick, and the Rangers are not
typically a unit you would power slide a corner, but we wanted to check out the
traction nonetheless.
5. Lastly, appearance is another consideration when buying a tire. If a tire looks
great but doesn’t perform, it doesn’t make much sense to buy it. Tires and wheels
today are much more sophisticated than they were just 5 years ago, with all the
automotive technology trickling down to the UTV market.
Tire sizes
14” Discount Tire Direct Trailfinder All Terrain tires mounted on STI wheels.
Front: 26 x 9-14 6 ply rating radial, 7 PSI
Rear: 26 x 12 -14 6 ply rating radial, 7 PSI
15” Vision Trailfinder VPR tires mounted on Vision 158 Buckshot Wheels.
Front: 26 x 10-15 6 ply rating radial, 15 PSI
Rear: 26 x 12-15 6 ply rating radial, 15 PSI
OEM Polaris tires/wheels
Polaris Ranger HD w/Power Steering
Carlisle PXT Tires
Front: 26 x 9-12 4-ply rating, 12 PSI
Rear: 26 x 11-12 4-ply rating, 12 PSI
Polaris Ranger XP
Carlisle AT 489 tires
Front: 25 x 10 – 12 3 ply rating, 7 PSI
Rear: 25 x 11 -12 3 ply rating, 7 PSI
 
Let’s go to the testing grounds
We already went through the test area on our OEM tires and recorded our times and notes, so now it is time to see if the larger tire/wheel package will help or hinder our ride. For testing purposes, we are going to have 2 drivers. Each driver will make 2 runs each, one in 2-wheel drive and one in 4-wheel drive.
 
Sand
In our first test, we were at the sand wash with a stopwatch to see if the traction was any better in a drag race. Surprisingly, there was very little difference in the times posted, although the larger tires did seem to throw more sand at the launch. We did notice, however, that both the 14” and 15” Trailfinder tires did track better in the ruts. For the occasional duner, the 14” tires will fair much better than the 15” tire. Using a stopwatch to record the times, they varied a little based on driver reaction times at the start. Overall, the larger tires faired very well. We conducted this test mainly to see if the weight of the larger/heavier tires affects the overall speed performance of the vehicle. The bottom line is that more than likely if you drag raced against someone with the same tire and wheel combination but one was a 12” combo, a 14” combo, and a 15” combo, chances are the vehicle would place in that order, the 12” combo placing 1st. The lighter the rotating mass, the less power it takes to make them spin. This is crucial for those racing, but not so crucial for those of us out trail riding. As our test showed, there was not much difference in time, and we also could not feel a significant decrease in speed from one to another. Both tire and wheel packages are about 20% heavier per tire over the OEM. The OEM steel wheel/tire combo weighed in at 35 lbs, and the 15” Vision/Buckshot weighed in at 42lbs. The OEM cast aluminum weighed in at 33.8 lbs, and the Discount Tire Trailfinders/STI combo weighed in at 41.2 lbs for the rear tires.
Sand Drag Times
Hill Climb
Next up was the very steep, loose hill climb. In stock form, both of the Polaris Rangers dug in before reaching the top of the hill. The slag is so loose that it makes it hard to even walk up the hill. Again, to try to keep the conditions the same, we slowly throttled up the hill until the tires lost traction. The first tire to make the hill was the14” Discount Tire Direct (DTD) Trailfinder All Terrains. We all looked on in amazement as the stock tires only made it about ¾ of the way up the hill before digging in. Without a doubt, the larger 14” tire with a bigger footprint gave the Ranger much better traction. Next up the hill was the 15” Trailfinder VPR tire. Once again, we stood and watched the Ranger reach the top of the hill with no problem. Both of these tires with their low profile design give a much flatter surface, which results in better traction.
 
Now for the fun part -- Rock crawling.
We made our way over to a boulder section with some large, slick ledges for this section of the test. The OEM Carlisle AT 489’s had a hard time hooking up on the first ledge. They tended to wander as the rear end searched for traction. We did make it up the rock ledge, but we had to use more throttle than we should have, making it exciting at times. The Polaris PXT tires were slightly worse. The tires just could not find traction on the smooth boulders unless you used what I call the “Moab bump.” Both OEM tires made it up this ledge, but it took multiple attempts. In comparison to the OEM tires, the 14” DTD Trailfinder ATs were able to crawl up on the first attempt. The larger diameter tire and aggressive lugs gripped the rock ledge and, without spinning a wheel, resulted in a much safer climb. Even wet, they had good forward bite.
The Vision Trailfinder VPR tires were next and, once again, there was no loss of traction. In fact, the Trailfinder tires seemed to hold the grip slightly better on the off-camber part of the rocks dry or wet. We could have stayed here for a couple of hours and just played on the rocks climbing all the boulders with the very impressive ability of the Polaris Rangers equipped with the new tires.
 
High Speed-Cornering
Next, we went back to our high-speed cornering test. Our test consists of 3 parts; power sliding, traction, and controllability.
This category was very close. The stock tires preformed excellent in the test, with the Carlisle AT 489 slightly behind the Carlisle PXT only in the power sliding area of the test. We felt the Vision 15” tire and the OEM Carlisle PXT were equal in comparison. The 15” Visions gripped the hardpack, and we were able to rail the corner at any speed without a loss of control. The 14” Trailfinders lost traction and were the only set of tires that we could actually drift the heavy Ranger through the corner.
 
Thoughts:
For general trail riding, both tires were comfortable and did not suffer ride quality with the exception of the Vision Trailfinder VPR tire. This tire is rated for 15psi, but we found with the low profile sidewall that the ride performance was extremely stiff on the boulder-strewn trails of the desert. It was so noticeable that we stopped and lowered the tires to
10 lbs then again to 7psi to achieve a ride quality closer to the OEM ride quality. In contrast, the 14” DTD Trailfinder ATs were an improvement over the OEM ride quality, and we kept the air pressure at the recommended 7psi throughout the test. They tracked great in the sand, they were able to outclimb the OEM tires in both rocky and soft dirt situations. For the 15” Vision tire/wheel package on the Ranger, we noticed there were a few times when we were aggressively attacking some of the rocky, twisty trails and the tires rubbed on the front inside wheel well. This happened when we were making a sharp turn while the suspension compressed. Adjusting the Ranger’s shock preload and/or “motion ratio” helps decrease tire rubbing. On the 14” Discount Tire Trailfinders, rubbing was not an issue. One other advantage of the larger tires is they are less sensitive to wandering when you hit a rut. The wider footprint tracked better for us. If you are looking to upgrade your UTV with 14” or 15” tires and wheels and are wondering if it will sacrifice performance, the short answer is no. While some power may be lost in the speed department, it is minimal. You will gain better traction as an added benefit, as well as a little height and improve the overall looks and performance of your UTV.
Discount Tire Company is an authorized dealer for Vision Tire and Wheels. How sweet is that? You can now go to your local Discount Tire store and order your new tires and wheels where they will mount them and you are on your way. I personally have used Discount Tire for many years and been very satisfied. In fact, a couple of years ago I bought 22 tires in 1 year. You can also call and have your tires shipped for free in most US states by calling 866-895-8034. Hours M-F 8:00am - 9:00pm EST, Sat 9:00am - 6:00pm EST. You can find the nearest Discount Tire at: www.discounttiredirect.com
The chart below gives us a good idea of how the OEM tires stack up against larger, aftermarket tires. In nearly all the tests, the aftermarket tires excelled, leaving the question if you want to go up in size. Going up in size, you will need to not only purchase the tires, but oftentimes the wheels, as well. Some newer vehicles like the Arctic Cat Prowler has 14” wheels standard. When moving up from 12” to 14” or 15” tires, handling is increased due to the lack of side wall flex. 12” tires flex more and have a higher probability rate, while cornering, of pealing off the wheel with improper psi tire settings.
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