How to Choose the Best ATV Tires

The wheels are perhaps the most important thing to choose for an ATV when prepping for a race.

There are a lot of choices available for ATV owners when it comes to selecting tires for their vehicle. They get upgraded more often compared to any other part because of wear and tear.

A large number of varieties are available on the market and ATV owners can get confused on what to choose. Here we take a look at some of the varieties and their purpose to help the readers make a decision about which ATV tires would be the best to choose for their needs.

All Purpose Tire Design

The all-purpose tires have a medium-to-good grip and good for most terrains as long as you don’t go riding in extreme conditions.

The all-purpose tires are good for riding cross country, sand and dirt trails as well as wet weather.

The dual rotation tread design gives great performance in soft to medium terrain and can also get the job done in medium to hard terrain. The tires are also good for short-racing.

Sand ATV Tires

Driving your ATV through sandy dunes can be a fun experience. However, it can become difficult if your ATV is not equipped with the right kind of tires.

Sand Tires for ATV are the most popular and perhaps the most specialized type in the market. These tires are built to give your vehicle the traction and flotation it needs for sandy terrain.

The tread tires are designed in a paddle style with long ridges that run across the entirety of the tire. These ridges function as paddles in the sand. Usually, they are over an inch in thickness and spaced far apart from one another. Front tires are mostly smooth with a few ridges that run the circumference of the tire. The front wheel design aids in steering while the rear tires keep the ATV from getting stuck.

Whether you drive on the beach or desert, specialized sand tires can get the job done.

Racing Tires

ATV racing events are usually held within closed dirt tracks which have plenty of jumps, ditches and other obstacles. These tires are designed with speed in mind, but grip is still important for racing tires.

Racing tires have to be sturdy and durable to take the punishment of a race. Most tires are manufactured from a harder compound that packs a punch.

These tires do well on medium and hard-pack terrain; they are not suited for sand, mud or snowy terrain. The tread design has short, square lugs that run the length of the tire. The lugs are very hard, close with little spacing between and less than an inch in depth. This design is perfect for the hard-packed Motocross terrain.

Mud ATV Tires

Mud tires are popular because of their performance and aggressive looks. These tires come with deep, think lugs that provide traction in extreme mud conditions where the regular all-purpose tires will fail.

Mud tires come in two varieties. The moderately treaded tires run smoothly in different types of conditions with the exception of hard pack terrain. Heavily treaded tires perform really well in muddy conditions, giving the best grip. However, the performance for these tires goes down on other types of terrain which make them useful in mud-pits only.

Mud tires are identified by their tread pattern and lug depth. The lugs are usually long with treads in a pattern of a depth between 1 to 2 inches. There is ample space between lugs. The tread patter and space stops mud from getting stuck between the lugs letting the tire clean itself while spinning.

Off Road ATV Tires

The off-road design is similar to the all-purpose design with similar tight single but made from extra hard material for greater durability. This type of tire is good for turfs, pavements and lawns. Most other types of tires will rip turf apart, because they are designed for a good deal of traction.

The tread is tightly packed with little spacing which also makes these tires last much longer. These tires are the best for use on hard surfaces. They are however a bad choice for any other kind of terrain such as mud or sand.

ATV Snow Tires

Most of the other tires would do relatively well in snow condition. However, ATV snow tires are designed specifically to get the best performance in snow.

Snow tires come in two main varieties. The first has short lugs similar in design to a trail tire but with the spacing of mud tires. The second has the design of a mud tire but the treads are very thin, similar to dune tires.

Both designs offer different benefits. The flat lugs of the first style allow studs to be added for increased traction in snow. The second design can paddle through soft snow and great for riding on a sport ATV.

This was our list of best ATV tires to choose from. Hopefully it will make it easier to select the right kind of wheels based on your needs.