New tires for my 250SX...

[Name Brand]

I need to get some new tires for my 1985 250SX. My machine is 200+ miles away and I can't do any measuring on it. The riding I do is mainly hard and soft trails, soft marsh and tundra and gravel beaches. I want an agressive tread for this machine. I also want a wide tire to increase flotation over terrain, and as tall a tire as possible to increase ground clearance. An 8 or 9 inch rim size is much preffered.


I'm running a set of 22-11-8 Maxxis Sur-Trak on my 125m, these have worked excellent and I especially love the amount of flotation and traction they provide. I think these would work well on the 250SX, but this size only measures up to about 21 inches tall. The stock 22-11-8 on the 250SX measure almost 23 inches tall without any tread on them. I see they do come in a 25-12-9, I think that width would be fine, but would they rub when the suspension is compressed?

I've heard very good things about the Kenda Bear Claw. I see they come in 22-12-8 and 9, and also the larger 25-12.5-9. Anyone know what the actual mounted height is on the 22's?

Interco makes a very apealling tire too, the Super Swamper TSL/ATV. http://www.intercotire.com/html/tsl___atv.htm 22-12.5-8 and 9 are available and the much larger 25-13.5-9. Actual mounted height of the latter is 25 inches. I think with the terrain I ride this would be a very well suited tire.


I guess my main question is if I can run a 25 inch tall tire on a 1985 250 SX. I can manage the width with spacers or correctly backspaced rims, but is there enough room in the fenders for the height? I would also need a tire as tall for the front, most likely a wide knobby, any recommendations?

[brapp]

ok i have used these tires on my sx already and i'll give u my .02 cents. i have run surtracs on 22x11x8 on stock rims and these are great for everythgin but hardpacked roads but still not too bad, just kinda choppy. carlisle trailpro in 22x12x8 on stock rims and these tires are great for turf and light loamy soil but once it gets wet your done they do not clean for s**t, i have run stock 350x tires and rims on my sx and great tire these are ohatsu??? 22x11x9's and i used the 350x rims also verry good for more firm soil and tend to grow and ahve an overdriev affect when u spin thm faster. awesoem tire but has alot fo side roll for the weight of the machine. i have run mudsharks 21x12x8 on the factory sx rims and great tire but loose overall top speed and you will not wear this tire out no matter how much u ride, the exact tire i had on my sx was on 2 banshees a blaster and a tri-z before it made it to my sx. good tire looses ground clearence only being a 21inch tire and kinda hard to turn b/c of the tire design i have run razors on 250es big red rims 20x11x9 great tire but again loose ground clearance and great traction in all conditions exept deep mud. and last but not least i had a set of 24inch mudlites dont rember exact size or what rims i had them on they werent that wide but they would go trough really deep mud and really good ground clearance but poor handeling on anythgin but mud. my personal oppinion is go witht he 22x11x8 surtrack you wont be dissapointed, and they are a good tire and a stock sx will have no problem pulling that heavy of a tire and they grow to about 23or24 inches in 5th gear its liek having an overdrive gear. and as far as a front tire i still have my stock tires on all my sx's and when they wear out i am going to go to a similar tred design liek kends viper or a stock tecate looking tire.

[K1500]

I have an 86 Big Red with a set of 25x13x9 Vampires. I really like this tire because of their deep aggressive tread. They clean very well. They will also dig to China if you lose your momentum. They are a heavy tire, something you might want to consider if you are going up in size. They are 30% to 35% heavier than the Super Swamper according to their web site. You can get them in 22x12.5x9 which is what I would buy if I had a 250SX. The extra three inches and weight would take away some power. You might have issues with fender rubbing with the taller tires, I can't say for sure.

The Super Swampers would also be a good choice, just a little less tread depth than the Vamps. I ran the old Dick Cepek Spider Tracs for years and they were a pretty good tire that had good floatation.

I'm trying to decide on a new front tire myself. I am currently running a Dirt Devil on the front. It's not the best choice for a front tire in my opinion. I ripped out a sidewall on a trip and that was about my only choice at the time. It pushes and slides when trying to turn in the mud. I am going to try a Kenda Viper or Maxxis All Trak and see how it does.

[200xman]

Here's a picture of my 85 250SX with a set of 22-12.5-9 Spider Traks on the back. They worked great in everything on my 350X except they were a little hard to get to slide. I figured they should be fine on the SX since I don't ride that one as agressively. These tire are pretty much unstoppable in the mud and snow and even ride pretty smooth on the hard stuff.

[edog]

ITP Mudlites 22 11 8 all around,yes i said all around. :Bounce

[straight pipe]

i run itp mud lites as well.they have great traction and good road/trail manners.but be aware an agressive tire like mud lite, vampire, spider trax and bear claw dig to china when stuck. a less agressive one like the original shown in the pic had served me great. i have carlisle strykers on my wifes quad and the 185s they have an almost identical tread pattern to the original tire on a 250sx. i can't say for some of the other brands but the lites are excellent in the snow as well. i was crawling in 2 feet of snow with them ...with stockers i would have been toast. the lites are suprisingly light..the stock tire alone weighs more than the lite mounted on the steel rim.

[250sxer]

Bear claws are great....mine are 22x12-8. You aren't going over 22" on an 8 in. rim. If you want the 25" tires, you need the nine inch wheel. Here is another pointer.....the 85 350X rim has the same lug pattern...just in case you want to put the 9" aluminum rims on your SX, you can. I have both the SX and the 350X....I run 22" trail pros on 8" ITP aluminum wheels, 22" Bear claws on my stock SX wheels, and a set of 22"prowedges on 9" ITP aluminum wheels. All are interchageable......But the Claws are the best all around especially when I put them on my 350X....lol