Tires that work good in the sand and dirt??

SGM4Life

Member
Oct 29, 2009
474
15
18
Valencia,Ca
Hey just wanted to see what tires people thought worked good in the sand and dirt? I ride the dunes maybe 3 times a year and go to the dirt more often since its closer to me. Thinking about itp ultracross, tensor regulators, efx motohammers, GBC mongrels? The list goes on and on. Feel free to insert your opinions, its much appreciated.
 

dkiewicz

Space Cadet - UTVUnderground's La Familia
Nov 28, 2009
1,582
58
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Hesperia Ca
I think the ITP BajaCross is a good all around tire. It's 8 ply so has some mass to it, but I loved them. There are so many to choose from it'll be 50,000 different opinions for this. I know the BigHorns also work well and are much lighter. Good luck! With so many choices out there, I know you can't go wrong...
 

Goodtimes

Well-Known Member
Jan 17, 2009
1,411
42
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Ramona
Tensors are a great tire in the dirt and Sand. Nice wide foot print for great traction and stability. With the highest load rating of any UTV tire at 1600lbs they will give you the best chance of getting home with out getting a flat as well
 

sconym

Member
Aug 30, 2012
76
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8
I've got about 400+ miles on my Arisun Aftershock XD's, desert trails and dunes at Dumont. Great traction in both environments, and a very strong tire. Highly recommended.
 

dkiewicz

Space Cadet - UTVUnderground's La Familia
Nov 28, 2009
1,582
58
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Hesperia Ca
The regulators are great, but in our opinion, the factory tires work the best as a dual sport tire. They will puncture easily in between the threads, that's the only downfall.
Agreed. That's why I went to the ITP Baja Cross. They are pretty much as agressive but with the 8 ply they are sturdy. As I noted the only drawback is their weight.

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SGM4Life

Member
Oct 29, 2009
474
15
18
Valencia,Ca
The stock big horns do pretty good out there now. I know you will want to keep the tire wheel combo as light as possible to for rotational mass. My dad put itp ultracross on his maverick turbo and says they don't work as well as the big horns.
 

NIKAL

Well-Known Member
May 13, 2012
970
310
63
Here is the thing, there is NO perfect tire! What you need to do is to list what is most important to you and find a tire in that range. Is best overall performance what your looking for? Maybe tire wear? A tire that will reduce load to the drive train? A tire better for rocks and stronger sidewalls, general hard pack dirt and higher speeds, sand washes? Everything is a trade off.

I too like the Bighorn style of tire for Plaster City / Superstition where we do most of our desert season riding. The reason is Superstition offers every type of terrain in one place, Hard pack, Sand Washes, Sand Dunes, Rock etc.. Superstition/Plaster City has it all and you will ride through it all in one ride! For a general purpose tire where I know I need to run 50% in sand dunes and 50% in hard pack flats on the same ride or weekend, the Bighorn style tread has been the best choice for me. A tire like the Bighorn, will be lighter, the tread design will scoop the sand better, yet still get me through the hard pack with no trouble. But the casing of the tire is more exposed to punctures, and you will not get the mileage out of a Bighorn style tire vs an AT style tire.

There was discussion in another thread awhile back where paddle tires came up, and guys like Bajaxp & Joey both mentioned how they prefer the Maxxis Bighorn tire in the sand dunes vs a paddle tire. Reason was they felt they could go everywhere the paddle tire went, maybe not as fast, but have better whipping & sliding ability, and with a greater reduction of drivetrain stress and saw little to no belt failures because of it.

The all terrain style tires have a tighter tread pattern and are going to give you more protection from punctures, but even aired down will not perform good in the sand. I have yet to be sold on the theory of the steel belted tire for a UTV. Maybe with these new bigger, faster, heavier UTV's coming out, it will make more sense. But even BFG moved away from the Steel Belted tire with the new KR2 for the class 10, 12 & 5 cars, as the lighter Nylon Belt tire has proven to be better for those applications. IMO a Steel Belted tire, will be more puncture resistant, but it comes at a price. Weight! The A/T tires are already heavier with the multiple ply's, and tighter tread patterns, then when you add steel belting, to me it just seems to be allot of unnecessary weight added to the drive-train.

When it came to running down in Baja I knew I wanted a tire more durable then the Bighorn, but did not want the weight of a full blown A/T light truck tire. What I found worked great for me was the GMZ Cutthroat. It looks very similar to the Yokohama Super Digger 3 tire, which I was very familiar with in racing. The Cutthroat has a rounded tread profile, and was also a nylon ply belted tire. I do wish the tread lugs were a bit tighter, but overall I was very happy with them, for the application.

So in the end if you are looking for shear performance and to reduce drive-train stress as much as possible then I would look at a lighter (Nylon Ply) tire for general desert usage. You will lose tire wear and are going to be more susceptible to sidewall damage, if you like pounding & sliding into rocks. If tire wear & the strongest sidewalls are at the top of your list, then you will most defiantly want a A/T tire. You might see a performance loss and more stress on parts as you are turning a heavier tire, and you will most defiantly see huge performance lost in soft loose sand & dirt. Again there is no perfect tire for all applications.
 
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desertwheeler

Extra Crispy
Oct 25, 2011
583
28
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36
Barstow
I haven't spent a lot of time in the sand but my kahuna's get the job done for me. I drive a heavy pig so I don't expect miracles tho lol.


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ROTAX

CannedHam - La Familia
Feb 21, 2011
4,566
185
63
I love my ITP Ultracross's but they aren't that great for sand. I like Big Horns for all around, lightweight grippy, floatty tire. But BH's puncture easy

Its best to just run on the rims without tires for the sand......just takes a lot of wheel spin to get going...... just saying....
 

ROTAX

CannedHam - La Familia
Feb 21, 2011
4,566
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what about the dirt commanders?? How are those holding up? Those seem like nice tires
 

valco

Member
Apr 30, 2009
59
6
8
I have had good luck with my GMZ Cutthroats, I will run them again when I wear these out.
 

CSG

xc racer - UTVUnderground Approved
Jul 13, 2009
205
20
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51
Sulphur, La
what about the dirt commanders?? How are those holding up? Those seem like nice tires
My DC's seem to be holding up well but they only have 1 one hour race and 8 hours of play on them. I like them though, seem about equal to Big Horns in the little sand I have been in and on the harder stuff as well. Mine are 1" shorter than the Big Horns they replaced and I have not been able to tell any loss of traction compared to the BH's.
 

desertwheeler

Extra Crispy
Oct 25, 2011
583
28
28
36
Barstow
If I was looking for tires now I would look hard at the motocrawlers and the arisun aftershock both look like they might be ok in sand.


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