GMZ KAHUNA - Real Use Report

Grampsride

Team Incognito
May 8, 2009
177
3
18
Imperial, Ca
Has anybody had any real experience with the new GMZ Kahuna tire? Looking to see what the over all experience is with them, and what terrains they have been used in. Thanks. Going to put 30-10-14 on xp41k.
 

warlock

Wanna Go Fast? - UTVUnderground Approved
Jan 23, 2009
1,041
170
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az
We have tried some , they are a good looking tire for the money . But there so out of Ballance it will destroy your front end and you can barely stand to hold on to the steering wheel. Lol.
We Had to Ballance them wit 17 to 19 Oz of weight per tire. That's crazy. For a few dollars more get the Kanati Mongrels or ITP. Do your self a favor and buy something else.
 

Nas88car

New Member
May 9, 2010
12
0
1
I have been real happy with my EFX Motoclaws. They are holding up pretty good to the Arizona desert. No out of balance problems encountered with the set I bought.
 

warlock

Wanna Go Fast? - UTVUnderground Approved
Jan 23, 2009
1,041
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My take on the GMZ Kahuna , they reminded me of the old truck mudder tires the TSL Super Swamper. LMFAO. Those tires were for mud only cause they were so far out of balance it was unbelievable but who cared if your in Deep mud. The GMZ BIG KAHUNA is not a purpose built tire for just mud, they will be run on streets and Fire Roads at speeds over 15 mph. at 25 mph they shake you pretty good. 65 mph Nasty shakes.:eek:
 

NIKAL

Well-Known Member
May 13, 2012
970
310
63
My take on the GMZ Kahuna , they reminded me of the old truck mudder tires the TSL Super Swamper. LMFAO. Those tires were for mud only cause they were so far out of balance it was unbelievable but who cared if your in Deep mud. The GMZ BIG KAHUNA is not a purpose built tire for just mud, they will be run on streets and Fire Roads at speeds over 15 mph. at 25 mph they shake you pretty good. 65 mph Nasty shakes.:eek:
Did you call GMZ regarding the tires being out of balance?
 

warlock

Wanna Go Fast? - UTVUnderground Approved
Jan 23, 2009
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Did you call GMZ regarding the tires being out of balance?
I talked to the Place I got them from and he told GMZ. If I had to guess GMZ probably has a ton of these thing laying around from the first batch made. The other sets they had in also required a ton of weight to. Im gonna need Carpal Tunnel Surgery after a 120mi ride with those turds.
Typical Chinese quality control. For a few bucks more get some Kanati Mongrels. They balanced out fine. or the ITP Ultracross spec R.
 

NIKAL

Well-Known Member
May 13, 2012
970
310
63
I talked to the Place I got them from and he told GMZ. If I had to guess GMZ probably has a ton of these thing laying around from the first batch made. The other sets they had in also required a ton of weight to. Im gonna need Carpal Tunnel Surgery after a 120mi ride with those turds.
Typical Chinese quality control. For a few bucks more get some Kanati Mongrels. They balanced out fine. or the ITP Ultracross spec R.
I wonder what the dealer said to GMZ & what GMZ said to the dealer? Did the dealer not offer to fix the problem for you? I know I have called GMZ directly regarding the Cutthrout tire, as I was asking about type of terrain & size. I spoke with Scott who is the owner. He seemed helpful and I got the impression they would stand behind thier product. I would suggest you call them directy and ask for Scott. Who knows maybe he is not aware of this issue on the new Kahuna tire? Maybe your dealer was not buying direct and only spoke to thier distributor. I would think GMZ would want to know and help you.

Also what type of wheel are these mounted on? If beadlock could they have been mounted wrong? I have seen where guys who don't know about beadlock wheels pinch the bead wrong under the ring, and I could see that putting the tire out of round.

Also the other brand you mentioned are all made overseas too! The Mongrel is made by GBC which is part of Greenball tire. Greenball does not own any factory's. They contract out to Asia just as all the others do. The big difference like you said is Quality Control of your product and which factory you deal with. There is Good China and then there is Crap China.
 

warlock

Wanna Go Fast? - UTVUnderground Approved
Jan 23, 2009
1,041
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I wonder what the dealer said to GMZ & what GMZ said to the dealer? Did the dealer not offer to fix the problem for you? I know I have called GMZ directly regarding the Cutthrout tire, as I was asking about type of terrain & size. I spoke with Scott who is the owner. He seemed helpful and I got the impression they would stand behind thier product. I would suggest you call them directy and ask for Scott. Who knows maybe he is not aware of this issue on the new Kahuna tire? Maybe your dealer was not buying direct and only spoke to thier distributor. I would think GMZ would want to know and help you.

Also what type of wheel are these mounted on? If beadlock could they have been mounted wrong? I have seen where guys who don't know about beadlock wheels pinch the bead wrong under the ring, and I could see that putting the tire out of round.

Also the other brand you mentioned are all made overseas too! The Mongrel is made by GBC which is part of Greenball tire. Greenball does not own any factory's. They contract out to Asia just as all the others do. The big difference like you said is Quality Control of your product and which factory you deal with. There is Good China and then there is Crap China.
Yep your right I did all of the above. mounted on GMZ wheels to. Tires are junk don't buy them yet. wait until Scott gets them Chinese boys straightened out. everything in the way of tires is almost always made in China. The GBC Balanced out good and they are Highway DOT approved. Im sure they will get another container load in and Maybe they will be OK but its going to take some time before that slow boat from china shows up. So unless they throw that load out somebody is going to get a bunch of Garbage BIG KAHUNA junk. LOL. Im done with them. Go with the ITP Ultracross Spec R or the Mongrels. maybe some Rocktanes. WHO REALLY KNOWS. LOL>
 

GMZ Race Products Inc

GMZ Race Products Inc
Jan 8, 2014
4
0
0
SoCal
www.gmzraceproducts.com
Yep your right I did all of the above. mounted on GMZ wheels to. Tires are junk don't buy them yet. So unless they throw that load out somebody is going to get a bunch of Garbage BIG KAHUNA junk.
First of all, thank you for chiming in. We do read public comments and have a genuine concern for those considering GMZ Race Products.

We have spoken with the dealer and have received their input and offered to replace the tires. In defense, the whole batch was not defected. We have ridden at high speeds with the Kahuna tires on various machines with different variables and are not able to duplicate the situation with other tires from this same production.

Also, we have our own quality assurance, on-site, monitoring our factories' quality control. We take pride and control in what we design and produce. We have already addressed this concern with our factory staff and is being monitored closely after only, one negative concern.

Our products are properly reviewed by industry leaders and industry publishers. We still invite all to be their own judge and jury and if you have any questions or concerns, contact us directly. Our Kahuna tires are great in quality, performance, and durability. We still believe the Kahuna tire is much better in its class. Our Kahuna tires have been DOT approved and we will continue to meet the needs of all.
 
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Grampsride

Team Incognito
May 8, 2009
177
3
18
Imperial, Ca
I have never balanced a tire on a rzr, but I do run bead locks and haven't thought it would work. Not saying I shouldn't have, just haven't. I think I am now more confused about these tires than I originally was. Has any one else had any experience with these tires?
 

GMZ Race Products Inc

GMZ Race Products Inc
Jan 8, 2014
4
0
0
SoCal
www.gmzraceproducts.com
Here are some quotes I pulled from a Google search... hope this helps.

I have been running these for about 500 miles now, before that I ran the mongrels for about 800 miles. Definitely like the Kahuna better than the mongrel, it is wider, taller, and has a ton more grip in the desert/dirt that I mostly ride in. These have been 500 hard miles on the dirt, sharp rocks, pavement, etc. Barely show any wear, front still look new. Obviously time will tell if they continue to impress me, but so far, thumbs up on them.
I love the look of the Kahunas, I have them on my xp4 1000. I only have about 50 miles on them rock crawling but they hooked up really well. Almost like a set of stickies, they hooked up better than my mongrels ever did on rocks.
Been running them extremely hard for the last 600+ (close to 700) miles. Zero issues, I run less air pressure, they stick better, they wear less, wider, taller, etc. If I had to buy all over again, I would pick the Kahunas over the mongrels every time.
I just got back from a 500 mile desert ride and love them. They hook up a lot better than my mongrels ever did, I was extremely impressed with them. Ran them at 15psi.
Here is a review from http://www.twowheelmania.com/2014/05/29/gmz-kahuna-tire-perfect-all-terrain/
 

Grampsride

Team Incognito
May 8, 2009
177
3
18
Imperial, Ca
Appreciate the research, guess I could have thought of that, sorry.

I would love to volunteer to run them for you and report back my personal findings, could take a few rides. Plan on putting a few more miles on for some night riding soon...
 

desertwheeler

Extra Crispy
Oct 25, 2011
583
28
28
36
Barstow
I like the looks of them. Saw them in person at ROTR and was impressed. I like my blackwaters but will be going to 30's when I wear them out. Curious how they are doing too.
 

s_melchi

New Member
Jul 26, 2014
1
0
0
50
So I am assuming that the guys with vibration problems had their wheels and tires professional balanced before install?

Because I have all my UTV tires professional balanced by an automotive tire store. With the speeds these UTV's are running now you have to.

Or did you still have problems after balancing them or couldn't the tire store get them balanced?

I am really close to pulling the trigger on the Kahunas. But I don't want a tire that I can't balance.
 

tatum

Hans Solo - 2009 UTV Baja 500 & 1000 Winner - UTVU
Feb 10, 2009
1,450
198
63
arizona
I see a lot of highway driving prerunning and racing in baja and have never had a vibration with non balanced tires. I saw 80 mph in the Wildcat prerunner with30 inch tires and it was fine.
 

Grampsride

Team Incognito
May 8, 2009
177
3
18
Imperial, Ca
I have been doing a lot of research on different tires of the same size. I have personally never balanced bead locks and never had an issue. That being said, many tires have issues on bead locks from what I have read and seen. Luck of the draw I guess? I have a buddy that just happens to be having issues right now with itp's and some bead locks not balancing. So I guess what I am saying is that it doesn't really matter which tire you get, you can still have issues, from my research. I like the tires just waiting for gmz to extend my sponsorship for a trial set.....hint hint....
 

warlock

Wanna Go Fast? - UTVUnderground Approved
Jan 23, 2009
1,041
170
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az
Every SXS should try and balance there tires . Vibrations are very hard on equipment and Vibrations also rob HP. When running around at 50 mph on fire rouads and such most people wont notice a little bit out of balance tire but when there that bad it can wear shit out and makes the steering wheel shake so bad you know your going to have problems.
 

Rzr Ryan

New Member
Jul 22, 2015
4
0
1
33
St George Utah
Hello everyone, I recently purchased a set of GMZ tires on GMZproducts,com for a great price but the second day out in St. George Utah we got a sidewall puncture. Luckily we got it plugged & it was good for the rest of the weekend.
 
Been Racing On GMZ Rims and Tires for the past 2 years. Before that we tested over 5 brands and every tire had its pros and cons. However when we used the GMZ they had the best overall performance and strength. I raced K.O.H and had one stage left before we got blocked by a broken car and timed out. I did not have one flat and I ran the Kahuna tire with no tire blocks. We Race lucas oil 1 a month with the 28'' Cut Throats and abuse the shit out of that tire finishing every race without a flat or out of balanced tires. The past 3 desert races UTV World Championships, Mint400, and Laughlin desert Classic we did not have one Tire failure. We did however have a rock get caught between the caliper and the rim puncturing a hole in the rim doing speeds of 70 MPH and we were using the Kahuna tire at all 3 events without any tire issues and we do not run tire blocks like a lot of other teams. Every Kahuna tire we have got from GMZ never had a balance issue or the car did not shake at excess speeds over 70+MPH. Possibly the Shaken is from car setup or a bent part causing it to wobble at higher speeds. If you would like you can email me utvwolfpack I will give you my opinion on every tire we tested with notes from each and every test day.
I can bet nobody in this thread drives more miles and puts tires to the test like my Team does every week and weekend of every month throughout the entire year. As far as the comment of being MADE IN CHINA not sure if you noticed but every tire on the market is made in CHINA. Most are all at the same Factory!!!!!!
On another note I would email GMZ and Talk to Scott I am sure he will make it right.
 

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