Unless you had a specific purpose for your ATV when you bought it, chances are you gave little thought to the tires that came with it. Older ATV’s that have been used for a while are more than likely going to need some new rubber in the near future.

Once you find yourself needing new tires, you’ll have to ask yourself what kind of ATV tires do you need. Not all ATV tires are created equal. Picking the wrong type of tires for the type of off-roading you do can leave you with less than ideal performance. Follow the advice below to be sure of getting the best possible tire for your ATV.

Choosing cheap ATV tires just because you don’t want to spend the money on a good brand can come back to bite you. There’s nothing wrong with saving a few bucks on ATV tires, so long as the quality is the same between the brands you’re considering. Buying a set of ATV tires just because they’re the cheapest can have negative consequences on your level of off road enjoyment. When buying used ATV tires it become more important to know what you’re looking at before laying out your money.

For many ATV owners, the set of tires that came with their ATV will perform well. It’s the hardcore off road rider that will see the most performance with high quality ATV rubber. Picking a cheap general purpose tire for your high speed desert riding will yield poor results as the tires fight to gain traction in loose sand. This is why it’s important to choose the right tire for your riding condition. Someone who goes off roading in Colorado mountains will have different needs than someone who spends their weekends in the Mojave desert!

Sand tires designed for ATVs do one thing and they do it well. They get a grip on loose sand. ATV sand tires are slick tires with rubber paddles on them. As the tire turns, these paddles grab and scoop the loose sand, giving the ATV super traction. However, these tires are poor choices for mud or general all terrain riding.

When looking to buy a used machine, it will more than likely come with a general use tire. General use ATV tires are geared more for the casual rider or those that ride over fairly hard soil types.

Mud tires for ATVs really catch the attention of most off roaders. These tires have very aggressive tread design and are made to dig out huge amounts of mud and throw them off the tire as it goes around. These tires just look like they could kick anything’s butt and still have some left over. High performance mud tires should be your choice if you ride in deep mud like is found in the Southern Swamps and Midwest bogs. Some even use these aggressive tires for rock climbing, but in my opinion there are better choices for this type of off roading than mud tires.

The little X shaped tread on a High Performance ATV tire is just what the doctored ordered for hard packed surfaces when you need to go fast. These tires generally are a little wider and have a lower profile than other types of ATV tires. You’ll usually see these tires on ATV racing machines. Also, seeing how they are high performance tires, many will come with a high performance price!

The right tire for your ATV isn’t hard to find with all the choices on the market today. All it requires is some thought about where you’ll be riding your ATV the most and what you want your tire to do. Then simply search for the manufacturer who has tires that match your requirements. Then you can decide if you want to buy new atv tires or used atv tires. Once you have them mounted on your machine, it’s now time to get it out on the trail and have some off road fun!

Related Articles