12” or 14” wheels… What to choose?

[Hondasxs]

When choosing a tire/wheel combo you have a lot of choices to make. One of the most common questions is what size wheels to choose. Should I choose a 12 inch rim or a 14 inch rim? While we all have our reasons to choose one over the other there are many factors to consider.

Here is a quick comparison between 12 and 14 inch wheels.
[parsehtml]
<table>
<tr>
<td>12"Pro’s<br>
- Less expensive<br>
- Common size = more tire options.<br>
- More side wall = Softer ride<br>
- Less prone to tire pinch<br>
<br>
12" Con’s<br>
- More common look<br>
- Less handling.<br>
- Less value.</td>
<td>14" Pro's<br>
- Look good<br>
- Increase handling<br>
- Increased value of ATV/SXS<br><br>
14" Con’s<br>
- More expensive<br>
- Less side wall = Harder ride<br>
- More prone to tire pinch<br>
- Uncommon size = less tire options</td>
</tr>
</table>[/parsehtml]

Here is a quick rundown of the comparisons.

- 14’s look good. 12’s can look good too, 14’s just look better.
- Pricing, 14’s are more expensive then 12’s, but not by that much.
- 12” tires are more common and a replacement can be found more easily for both wheel and tire in a emergency situation.
- 12” tires offer more side wall then 14’s. This gives you a softer ride and better rebound when hitting objects on the trail. A 14” rim has a short sidewall thus reducing the amount of rebound available causing more pinch situations.
- 14” tires offer better handling and response when corning. This is due to the short sidewall flex.
- 14” wheels allow for more space between the knuckle and wheel. Seen as a positive and a negative. (More about this in my next post.)
- 14” wheels allow for more rim exposure allowing for more damage from rub, rocks, and objects.

Consider your tire size: Sidewall will increase with tire size. Say you took a 28” tire on 14” rims. It would have the same amount of sidewall as a 26” tire on 12” rims.

 

[Hondasxs]

The following is bases of my personal experience with 14” wheels and my decision to stick to 12’s

Starting in 07 I bought a set of 14” ITP SS wheels and WOW, they looked nice on my ride. I loved them. During a normal ride we have took many of times I noticed I had a flat tire. Taking a look at it I noticed a tennis ball size hole through the inside of my rim. (image) I past it off as just a trail incident and ordered a replacement.

Few months later while riding in a rocky creek it happened again, I had a flat tire, but this time there was a rock stuck between the spokes of the rim. We could not get it out and had to remove the wheel to remove it. Upon inspection we realized what was happening and why this kept happening. Because of the larger rim, this allowed for a larger space between the rim and the knuckle. If a rocked entered the rim and got caught as it turned it would get jammed in between the knuckle and the rim. With nowhere to go the pressure of the wheel turning pushed it through the rim causing the damage. Again, I surged it off and ordered a replacement as I really liked my 14” wheels.

The following spring while riding in West Virginia. I was 20 miles from the truck riding a logging road that has been scrapped. There was a pile of loose rocks in the middle we needed to cross. As I crossed them I heard a rock hit something underneath. It was my rim. Not one but both the front and rear left had had a 3 inch chunk removed from the lip. After a long slow trip back to camp I was done for the weekend and done with 14” rims.
I ordered a set of 12 inch rims that week. It has been 3+ years and I have not has a similar issue.

Then in 2013 I bought my Pioneer. I missed my 14” rims so much I ordered a set for it. Dirt Commander 26x14’s, 8 ply tires. Sure they look sweet on the Pioneer, Looked good, drove good, nice setup. However I ran into new problems. Again in WV we were off riding. Flying down the trail I hit a normal size pot hole in the trail. POW it went. I got off and looked. I noticed a cut in the tire. Not a normal rock cut it was along the bead. I was running 12 PSI as required. So I brushed it off and continued. Later down the trail same issue. POW. I hit rock that my Rincon would have hit on any day with no issue with the 12” wheels. But then again, this Pioneer weighs twice as much. Again I noticed a second cut in the tire along the bead. I decided to slow down a bit. We adjust the pressure up to 15 and I played with it, but it was a rough ride. 10 psi i felt was too low. Finally stuck to 13psi but yet again, POW. Another small mud hole with a sharp rebound. This time you could see the mark on the rim right at the bead.

We finally realized it was tire pinch causing these cuts. With the 14” rims and less side wall offered there was less rebound to offer too. I have now switched to a 12” setup. Only been on one trip but so far no issues or pop’s like before.

The below images are of my 14" ITP wheels I had on my Rincon.

 

[bigc]

thats a really good write up right there i have never used 14in wheels and i for sure wont now those poor 106s took a beating did you send them back to itp carlisle for warranty ?

 

[Hondasxs]

thats a really good write up right there i have never used 14in wheels and i for sure wont now those poor 106s took a beating did you send them back to itp carlisle for warranty ?

Yep. ITP has been great standing behind there warranty.

 

[Bobby Reese]

I went with gbc kanati 28x10x15 on 15in msa wheels no rubbing. Great

 

[admin]

I went with gbc kanati 28x10x15 on 15in msa wheels no rubbing. Great

Bobby,
Would love to see a pic, I'm sure it does look good.
Thanks.
Admin.

 

[bobbyhill]

Great INFO!!!

 

[Tflynn]

Good info and good write up. I've never heard of that problem before with bigger rims, yet another reason I will never buy them!

 

[OutdoorEd]

Awesome information and appreciative of the time you took to write it.....good stuff.

 

[Hondasxs]

Thanks everyone!
And still, I have not had a single one of these issues out of my 12" wheels.

 

[RunningBear]

One interesting thing here is the load rating of 12" tires vs 14" tires. If you have the Pioneer loaded up to capacity, the total weight could easily be pushing 3,000 lbs. or more. That's 750 lb per tire. Theoretically, you'd want a higher load rating than that just to be safe if you load it or tow a trailer regularly. There are plenty of 14" tires with this high rating, but it's very difficult to find 12" tires that with the high ratings. BTW, the load rating of the 12" OEM tires is 1360 lbs each for the front tires, and 1610 lbs for each of the rear tires!! Here is the OEM info: http://otrwheel.com/product/otr-hp-007/

For all of the reasons above, I think it makes sense (at least for me) to stay with 12" rims/tires. However, has anyone been able to find any 12" tires, other than OEM, with the high load ratings? I actually like the OEM tires fine, but they need to be a little bigger! Right now, I'm running the GBC Dirt Devil tires that I bought from Ohanacreek and I like them a lot. I love their bigger size (27x10-12, 27x12-12). When I load the Pioneer heavily, however, I can tell they "give" and "flex" more than the OEM tires did. Of course, part of that is probably due to the larger size.

Anyway, just curious if anyone knows of other high load 12" tires that are available in a larger diameter than the OEM tires. I figure I'll wear these dirt devils out eventually!

 

[scott]

I'm about 90% sure i'm going with the Black Diamond XTR tires from STI. They have a good load rating in 12" tires. That's one of the reasons i want them. I use my Pioneer for carrying heavy loads and pulling heavy loads so i need them. They have great reviews online too. @RunningBear

 

[lee]

it's very difficult to find 12" tires that with the high ratings.

Runningbear, I think you might be mixing apples and oranges.
I heard that a SxS uses a tire marked ‘NHS’.
It means ‘Non Highway Service’.
If you look at page 166 (tires) in the owner’s manual it says the front tire size is ‘25X8.00-12 NHS’.

The 12” tire you are looking at sounds like it is an ATV tire, they are marked ‘AT’.
Some of the bigger retailers will ask you what your vehicle is and show the appropriate type of tire.
Some of the low price on line retailers will sell you what is cheap.
Be careful.

The load rating seems to be related to tire internal construction.
Often you can find the same tire, same size marked AT or NHS.
Also the NHS tires include racing, construction and all sorts of stuff.
It’s like a catch all category.

 

[RunningBear]

Good info, Lee. I think most of what you see listed in 12" tires are "ATV" tires. "NHS" tires would be the way to go for the Pioneer. Good stuff.

 

[Simpleman]

I was looking at the Rocktange 8 ply tires.... look pretty good and plenty of load carrying capacity. I will stay with the 12" wheels and tire combo.... less rotational weight means easier on the brakes and better acceleration and drivability with the 680cc power plant.

 

[500oneer]

I was looking at the Rocktange 8 ply tires.... look pretty good and plenty of load carrying capacity. I will stay with the 12" wheels and tire combo.... less rotational weight means easier on the brakes and better acceleration and drivability with the 680cc power plant.

Hey simpleman I have 26-9-12 roctanexd tires. 1000 miles and they look like new. If you want to air them down past 10 psi they shrink quickly though.

 

[Code54]

I personally would not run a 14" rims here in WV. We don't ride deserts and sand which is a whole different animal but we have found the 14" tear up tires in our environment. Sounds like Hondasxs has also had a tough time with them here and it may just be the way our trails are but 14's just don't hold up for us. One of the guys I ride with had 12's and never replaced a tire from damage, went from 12's to 14's on his SxS and replaced 5 tires in a year, went back to 12's and never replaced a tire since. The lack of sidewall seems to be the issue.

 

[QuadMan747]

The following is bases of my personal experience with 14” wheels and my decision to stick to 12’s

Starting in 07 I bought a set of 14” ITP SS wheels and WOW, they looked nice on my ride. I loved them. During a normal ride we have took many of times I noticed I had a flat tire. Taking a look at it I noticed a tennis ball size hole through the inside of my rim. (image) I past it off as just a trail incident and ordered a replacement.

Few months later while riding in a rocky creek it happened again, I had a flat tire, but this time there was a rock stuck between the spokes of the rim. We could not get it out and had to remove the wheel to remove it. Upon inspection we realized what was happening and why this kept happening. Because of the larger rim, this allowed for a larger space between the rim and the knuckle. If a rocked entered the rim and got caught as it turned it would get jammed in between the knuckle and the rim. With nowhere to go the pressure of the wheel turning pushed it through the rim causing the damage. Again, I surged it off and ordered a replacement as I really liked my 14” wheels.

The following spring while riding in West Virginia. I was 20 miles from the truck riding a logging road that has been scrapped. There was a pile of loose rocks in the middle we needed to cross. As I crossed them I heard a rock hit something underneath. It was my rim. Not one but both the front and rear left had had a 3 inch chunk removed from the lip. After a long slow trip back to camp I was done for the weekend and done with 14” rims.
I ordered a set of 12 inch rims that week. It has been 3+ years and I have not has a similar issue.

Then in 2013 I bought my Pioneer. I missed my 14” rims so much I ordered a set for it. Dirt Commander 26x14’s, 8 ply tires. Sure they look sweet on the Pioneer, Looked good, drove good, nice setup. However I ran into new problems. Again in WV we were off riding. Flying down the trail I hit a normal size pot hole in the trail. POW it went. I got off and looked. I noticed a cut in the tire. Not a normal rock cut it was along the bead. I was running 12 PSI as required. So I brushed it off and continued. Later down the trail same issue. POW. I hit rock that my Rincon would have hit on any day with no issue with the 12” wheels. But then again, this Pioneer weighs twice as much. Again I noticed a second cut in the tire along the bead. I decided to slow down a bit. We adjust the pressure up to 15 and I played with it, but it was a rough ride. 10 psi i felt was too low. Finally stuck to 13psi but yet again, POW. Another small mud hole with a sharp rebound. This time you could see the mark on the rim right at the bead.

We finally realized it was tire pinch causing these cuts. With the 14” rims and less side wall offered there was less rebound to offer too. I have now switched to a 12” setup. Only been on one trip but so far no issues or pop’s like before.

The below images are of my 14" ITP wheels I had on my Rincon.

View attachment 408 View attachment 409 View attachment 410 View attachment 411 View attachment 412

Still feel the same way now that your P1000 has 14" rims?

 

[Russ989]

I’ve always leaned towards 14” bead locks and my thinking is the bead rings can soak up some of the damage and I can run around 7lbs in the tires but your write up has given me some other points to consider. Great write up.

 

[JimmyA]

Good info passed along in this thread! Thanks for the time, effort and experience!