P1000 Factory Rear wheels on front?

[someguy1313]

Is anyone running factory rear wheels on the front (rear size on all four corners)

And what are the issues if so?

 

[TripleB]

Is anyone running factory rear wheels on the front (rear size on all four corners)

And what are the issues if so?

I use to run 28x10 blackwaters on all 4 corners, on factory wheels. At some point one of the rear wheels ended up on the front for a ride by mistake. Somewhere on that ride the rear wheel on the front, rubbed a small trench on the a-arm. You have to have a spacer to run the rear wheel on the front. One other time after I installed superatv a-arms with wheel spacers, I threw on 4 stock rear wheels and tires(27s) just for a test ride down the street. It drove like s*** with those 11 inch wide tires, with the rear 8 inch wide wheels on the front end.
So no, I wouldn't do it.

 

[TripleB]

I've run 4 front factory wheels with 28 and 30 inch blackwaters for years. Still have the 30s on my 3 seater.

 

[someguy1313]

thanks for the input. I'm assuming since so few have weighed in it's generally considered a bad idea or not easily done.

Had hope to score a second pair of rear wheels and mount them up front with spacers in the rear and call it good. Would save me a ton of money over a set of new wheels that match offset on all four corners.

At any rate:

It's mostly a farm vehicle and the slightly wider front tires/wheels are actually rather handy in muddy and soft earth (less 'plowing' in, and rides on top a bit better).

Thanks guys

 

[Scoop]

It's mostly a farm vehicle and the slightly wider front tires/wheels are actually rather handy in muddy and soft earth (less 'plowing' in, and rides on top a bit better).

Food for thought: If your muddy or soft earth has no bottom, then those wider tires will be a better choice (think: flotation). However, if the muddy or soft earth has a bottom, a taller, narrower tire can get through that slippery stuff and maintain contact with the ground beneath it. So, it's not always a question of IF there is muddy or softer earth, but how deep it goes. But, yes, generally speaking, the wider tire is better for most muddy situations.

EDIT: After further review, I've come to the conclusion that I may need to do additional research ...

Narrow tires won't "cut through" mud or soft earth. Instead, the difference is the WIDTH of the contact patch is narrower, so there is less rolling resistance when going through mud.

What I didn't realize was that the contact patch of a narrower tire is actually very close to the same as a wider tire because, while the contact patch of the narrow tire is not as wide, it is longer than the contact patch of a wider tire.

Here is a great video on the subject of wide vs narrow tires (or tyres). If you want the Cliff Notes version, start at 16:45.

In a nutshell:

Terramechanics is the study of soil properties, specifically the interaction of wheeled or tracked vehicles on various surfaces.

 

[Remington]

 

[someguy1313]

interesting! thanks guys!

 

[CID]

interesting! thanks guys!

You could rotate rears to front, fronts to rear and give it a try. That will let you know right quick if it's workable for you. You'll never notice the narrower track on the back for a test ride or two. Just don't be testing your tilt limits.

 

[dweber23tr]

For whatever it is worth, where I am at, my experience has been wider tires provide better performance in mud as well as in snow, provided you can ride on top of it, if you break through then it don't matter

 

[someguy1313]

what about the Talon factory wheels? looks pretty easy.

 

[trigger]

The wide's definitely provide better flotation in snow and sugar sand. They take some getting used to when turning though, they don't bite as well.