TIRE QUESTION

I,ve got a 09 450 Rhino,I found some 28 inch Swamp Lites and I was wondering if a 28 inch tire would be too much for the 450.Keep in mind that I don,t romp and stomp in the mud,only when I have too,which is,nt often.The stock tire,s just cake up with mud and are useless.Send a little advice my way,it will be appreciated...

I had a Rhino 450 with 26 GBC dirt tamers and thought that was a little to much. The tires really kill the power when your doing any hill climbing.

I,ve been looking at some other sites,and the biggest tire I,ve seen on a 450 is 27inch,although I don,t do a lot of hill climbing,it,s kinda flat here in Louisiana,but plenty of swampy red mud that really clogs your tires up.I,m not wanting to lose any power,or over load the Rhino with too big of a tire and end up snapping a axel or something.I may just go with a 26inch tire and be happy I got them

I think 28's aren't too big for the 450, but you are going to have spin swamp lites pretty good to get the mud out of them. Ever think about zillas? They are good in the mud and nice and light.

The bigger you go the more power you loose, the 450 is geared lower than a 660 but IMO a 28 is to big, if its mostly flat and ground clearance is not a major concern i would stick with 25's, then you can really spin them. But i would never go over 26 on a 450 myself.

buy a 700 you will have no problem with 27s,and on the 450 is way too big for 28s ,the biggest i would have is the 26''maybe if they are not as heavy as others

my buddy runs 27" XTR's on a 450 without problems

We run 27inch XTRs an 27inch BigHorns on our 450s there are 9 of us an never have a problem, We ride with one 700 an we go anywhere he can go,Hope that helps the gearing is the reason,

I am running 26inch grim reapers on my 450 and with my mods it turns them better than it did the stock tires before the mods.
I have a modified sheave, blue clutch spring, 12 gram weights in the clutch, jetted, cdi, and big gun exhaust. I would recommend the modified sheave, blue spring, and 12 gram weights before all others and before the bigger tires. My 450 will run 42 pretty easy with the 26s.
But I agree with gunrunner on this one unless you need the clearance I would do the other mods and stay with 25 inch tires. Most 25 inch aftermarket tires are taller than the stock 25 inch tires. My stock 25s only measured 24 1/4 where as my 26 inch grim reapers measured almost 26 1/2 tall.

I'm running 26" Original Bighorns that measure 26.5". They do fine, but I must admit I wonder how it would've done with 25" Bighorns instead. I wanted the extra width for floatation in the boggy stuff we have up here, and it seems to work OK. Will still spin them in mud -- I've yet to load them with mud that wouldn't self-clean...

Meanwhile I love the ride and toughness of the tires. I'm beating the heck out the bead on the ITP Delta wheels but the tires are holding up fine.

KentT wrote:

I'm running 26" Original Bighorns that measure 26.5". They do fine, but I must admit I wonder how it would've done with 25" Bighorns instead. I wanted the extra width for floatation in the boggy stuff we have up here, and it seems to work OK. Will still spin them in mud -- I've yet to load them with mud that wouldn't self-clean...

Meanwhile I love the ride and toughness of the tires. I'm beating the heck out the bead on the ITP Delta wheels but the tires are ho
lding up fine.

I dont understand why people use BigHorns in the mud anyway we were at Wind rock this past weekend there were 9 Rhino an a mixture of BigHorns an XTRs an we all got to noticing that the bighorns were in four wheel drive trying to get up muddy stuff while the XTRs were in two wheel drive an going the same places.

rhino nut wrote:

KentT wrote:

I'm running 26" Original Bighorns that measure 26.5". They do fine, but I must admit I wonder how it would've done with 25" Bighorns instead. I wanted the extra width for floatation in the boggy stuff we have up here, and it seems to work OK. Will still spin them in mud -- I've yet to load them with mud that wouldn't self-clean...

Meanwhile I love the ride and toughness of the tires. I'm beating the heck out the bead on the ITP Delta wheels but the tires are ho
lding up fine.

I dont understand why people use BigHorns in the mud anyway we were at Wind rock this past weekend there were 9 Rhino an a mixture of BigHorns an XTRs an we all got to noticing that the bighorns were in four wheel drive trying to get up muddy stuff while the XTRs were in two wheel drive an going the same places.

Bighorns are a good "all Terran tire" xtrs are better in mud but its hard to beat a big horn on dry rock. We watched Stacy climb a super steep rock hill in forward and then he backed up it! I run xtrs and love them but ive run bighorns on several machines too and both have there good points.

i agree with gunny,if it is muddy,the bighorns might need some help,but for dry rockcrawlin they are fine

rhino nut wrote:

KentT wrote:

I'm running 26" Original Bighorns that measure 26.5". They do fine, but I must admit I wonder how it would've done with 25" Bighorns instead. I wanted the extra width for floatation in the boggy stuff we have up here, and it seems to work OK. Will still spin them in mud -- I've yet to load them with mud that wouldn't self-clean...

Meanwhile I love the ride and toughness of the tires. I'm beating the heck out the bead on the ITP Delta wheels but the tires are ho
lding up fine.

I dont understand why people use BigHorns in the mud anyway we were at Wind rock this past weekend there were 9 Rhino an a mixture of BigHorns an XTRs an we all got to noticing that the bighorns were in four wheel drive trying to get up muddy stuff while the XTRs were in two wheel drive an going the same places.

You see, I don't play in the mud -- I just like to drive through it. Up here, almost all my trail riding is in 4WD High, at all times. We have a lot of beaver-pond bog, squish-when-you-step-on-it kinds of stuff that can look pretty firm but the next thing you know, you're dragging the floorpan. IMO, by the time you realize you needed to be in 4WD, it's almost too late. Luckily the Big Horns are non-directional so I can back out of almost anything that I get into... Try backing out of hole with your XTRs...

That boggy stuff is also often chock full of sticks and stones -- especially beaver ponds -- and those stones are often chunks of granite with sharp edges, and the sticks have pointed ends. I wanted the Big Horns for their "toughness" and they haven't let me down. I've beaten the crap out of the beads on my ITP Delta Steel wheels, with zero problems from the Big Horns.

Knock on wood, but I've only had to use my winch once for myself -- and that was when I was trying to climb up and out of a deep hole that had about a 3-foot, vertical bank. The mud was so deep I couldn't open the doors, and the Rhino was kinda floating on it, and I couldn't get enough momentum or bite to climb that vertical bank. I don't fault the BH's for that all..

I ride with guys with XTRs -- I'm happy with what I have... and I've pulled several folks with both Mud Lites and XTRs out. I have no complaints with the Rhino or its tires so far -- the 450 usually hauls the beer and the tools out onto the trail, and the casualties back to the trailhead...

You see we dont play in the mud either, only when we have to go through it, I dont know what kind of mud you all have where ever your from, But come to coal creek in Oliver springs Tenn. An I will bet good money those BigHorns wont be pulling these XTRs out of anything. Not to be smart or anything, have just seen it with my own two eyes to many times. The BigHorns pack full an look like a donut.

You see we dont play in the mud either, only when we have to go through it, I dont know what kind of mud you all have where ever your from, But come to coal creek in Oliver springs Tenn. An I will bet good money those BigHorns wont be pulling these XTRs out of anything. Not to be smart or anything, have just seen it with my own two eyes to many times. The BigHorns pack full an look like a donut. I have to agree with the BigHorns are better on rock, an the XTRs are better in the mud .

rhino nut wrote:

You see we dont play in the mud either, only when we have to go through it, I dont know what kind of mud you all have where ever your from, But come to coal creek in Oliver springs Tenn. An I will bet good money those BigHorns wont be pulling these XTRs out of anything. Not to be smart or anything, have just seen it with my own two eyes to many times. The BigHorns pack full an look like a donut. I have to agree with the BigHorns are better on rock, an the XTRs are better in the mud .

Here's some Windrock mud on it from when I rode there with my Grandson in June...

Bottom pic is where I parked across the road from the concession stand, beside the dumpster, near the Porta-Johns. Check out my Massachusetts and Vermont tags.

But, I don't want to get into a discussion about "Man Tars"... I like what I have, hope you do too...

I put 27' 589 on my 450 I noticed a little loss but not much . i wont go any bigger then them.

strummer wrote:

I put 27' 589 on my 450 I noticed a little loss but not much . i wont go any bigger then them.

Yeah, IMO 27" is the largest tire I would put on unless you start modding the engine for more power.

The 26" Bighorns I put on my 660 are supposed to be 26.7 " tall. I went with the 26/9/12 on all 4 wheels to keep the weight down and the power up. I cannot notice any drop in performance at all. Although i'm sure if it was put on a stop watch there would be some.

I got 27 XTR's and Bighorns too on the S...
I bought a whole new set of factory S wheels from polaris,
and mounted my 27 XTR's on them for the woods.
I still have my stock wheels and Bighorns to put on to ride
around the house. Cause there easy on the grass....

ChrisC wrote:

I got 27 XTR's and Bighorns too on the S...
I bought a whole new set of factory S wheels from polaris,
and mounted my 27 XTR's on them for the woods.
I still have my stock wheels and Bighorns to put on to ride
around the house. Cause there easy on the grass....

And your point is????????????????

ridepate wrote:

ChrisC wrote:

I got 27 XTR's and Bighorns too on the S...
I bought a whole new set of factory S wheels from polaris,
and mounted my 27 XTR's on them for the woods.
I still have my stock wheels and Bighorns to put on to ride
around the house. Cause there easy on the grass....

And your point is????????????????

He is just proud to have two sets of tires

ridepate wrote:

ChrisC wrote:

I got 27 XTR's and Bighorns too on the S...
I bought a whole new set of factory S wheels from polaris,
and mounted my 27 XTR's on them for the woods.
I still have my stock wheels and Bighorns to put on to ride
around the house. Cause there easy on the grass....

And your point is????????????????

my point was , I like XTR's in the woods better.
but the bighorns are not as rough on the grass....

there would be no way i would put 28 swamp lites on a 450,at least not without a clutch kit,i would put 25 inch duro power grips on your 450,basically they are a really good copy of the great bighorn(my next tire)