Testing By Thad Josey, Matt Pate And Rick Sosebee
When we started preparing ourselves for this issue, we brainstormed the different tests our readers would find beneficial for their use. One suggestion we all settled on was to test tires, but not your ordinary tires. Since this was going to be our mud special, we wanted to test the largest and most extreme-use mud tires that are currently available. Sure, there are plenty of companies that offer their version of "mud" tires, but only a handful offer a 32-inch tire built specifically to handle the most extreme conditions. With everyone in agreement, we got our hands on High Lifter's Outlaw, SuperATV's Terminator and Gorilla's Silverback, which all meet our criteria.
With the tires selected, I had to work on another important part of this shootout, which was to build a machine that would be capable of turning these gigantic earth-trenching tires. It should be no surprise to people who are familiar with lifted quads that these tires aren't the lightest things in the world and require some serious horsepower to turn them under extreme conditions. This is why I opted to modify our Polaris 850 XP specifically for this test. The 850 XP is one of the most powerful units available by Polaris and is also the preferred machine of many mud racers. To ensure that this machine would meet our needs for this test and that we had plenty of power to turn the rubber, I outfitted it with an HMF Swamp Series XL exhaust complete with snorkel, HMF EFI fuel programmer, Mud Industries full snorkel kit and EPI extreme clutch kit. To guarantee we had the proper clearance for our massive tires, I also outfitted the machine with a Gorilla Axle Stage I lift kit along with spring stiffeners and High Lifter one-inch wheel spacers. Our wheel of choice for this project would be the SuperATV.com 14-inch beadlock, which offers superior clamping of the tire bead and weighs in at 17.2 pounds.
With the machine built and tires ready to be tested, I picked up ATVR Editor Thad Josey and headed out to Southern Ridge ATV Trails in Dozier, Alabama, where we would meet with I-45 Racing's Matt Pate, who would assist with our testing. Southern Ridge ATV Trails offers sandy-bottom bogs, a full-race pit and Mudda Cross track as well as a vast trail system packed with plenty of mudholes. Our goal for the day was to find a tire that not only did well in the pit, but also for the average rider who would use them on the trail and in the deep slop found around the recreation area. Each tire would be measured for weight, height, tire circumference and lug depth at both the center and tallest point of the tire lugs. Now that we had our criteria set, it was time to sink the tires deep.