P500 P 520, largest tires on stock wheels.

[Olive Green P 520]

A question for P 520 owners.
What are the largest tire sizes that will fit on stock P 520 steel wheels without rubbing or modifying suspension/frame?
I also do not want wheel spacers.
Stock front tire is 24x8x12. I would like ITP Mega Mayhem 27x9x12 up front.
Stock rear tire is 24x10x12. I would like ITP Mega Mayhem 27x11x12 in the rear.
We have lots of soft ground & mud at the recreational property. This will be the primary usage location for the P 520.
ATV riding there is in 1st gear, rarely 2nd gear.
I ran Goodyear Mud Runner run flat tires on the Honda Rancher ATV that I recently sold.
They performed well above my expectations.
Does anybody know if the above mentioned tires/sizes will fit on a 2021 Pioneer 520 without rubbing and/or doing modifications?
There is very little off camber side hill riding, and with the property being in the NY 480a Forestry Management plan,
widening the trails just isn't a option.
I'm open to suggestions and opinions.

 

[Admin]

 

[NitroxDiver]

You are not going to have any trouble with the back fitting but you may have some rubbing on the frame in the front. You may have trouble getting a response as not too many people are running 27” tires without spacers or offset wheels. You can turn the front tires all the way to the stops in both directions and measure the clearance between the tires and the corner of the frame.

 

[Olive Green P 520]

Yes, I could measure with the steering turned against the stops. Except my P 520 isn't built yet.
It won't get delivered until end of June at the earliest. (per Dealer and Honda of South Carolina)
I was hoping to have new tires on hand when the machine arrives.

 

[trigger]

Everybody wants more ground clearance and to stay at 50" but very few have actually done it because it's trouble. Add spacers, offset wheels or leave it alone. IMO

 

[NitroxDiver]

Yes, I could measure with the steering turned against the stops. Except my P 520 isn't built yet.
It won't get delivered until end of June at the earliest. (per Dealer and Honda of South Carolina)
I was hoping to have new tires on hand when the machine arrives.

Hopefully someone will have some info for you. I personally think 27” on stock will hit the frame but I don’t know for sure. The biggest I ever ran on stock wheels with no spacers was 25”.

 

[Fischer]

Hopefully someone will have some info for you. I personally think 27” on stock will hit the frame but I don’t know for sure. The biggest I ever ran on stock wheels with no spacers was 25”.

Was it more tippy with the 25s than 24s or was it not noticable?

 

[NitroxDiver]

Was it more tippy with the 25s than 24s or was it not noticable?

The only time I ever felt I was about to turn over was actually with the 24” tires. After that I added spacers and then moved to the 25” tires. If you need to stay at 50” the p500 the rear is actually only 48” wide stock so you can add 1” spacers to the back and stay 50” that’s what I did originally and it helped a bunch. I originally had 25” with 1” rear spacers and no front then went to 2” rear 1” front and now I’m running 27x9 on 5+2 wheels front and rear with the 2” rear 1” front spacers. Even if I stayed with the stock tires I would run 1” rear spacers. Im not sure if the 520 is 50” or 48” in the back.

 

[Fischer]

The only time I ever felt I was about to turn over was actually with the 24” tires. After that I added spacers and then moved to the 25” tires. If you need to stay at 50” the p500 the rear is actually only 48” wide stock so you can add 1” spacers to the back and stay 50” that’s what I did originally and it helped a bunch. I originally had 25” with 1” rear spacers and no front then went to 2” rear 1” front and now I’m running 27x9 on 5+2 wheels front and rear with the 2” rear 1” front spacers. Even if I stayed with the stock tires I would run 1” rear spacers. Im not sure if the 520 is 50” or 48” in the back.

So 1 inch spacer in rear with 25s will still keep you at 50 inches? And no spacer in front right?

 

[Fischer]

So 1 inch spacer in rear with 25s will still keep you at 50 inches? And no spacer in Have to keep it at 50inch no more. I want to run 25s what's your thoughts.

 

[wvupsc]

I took delivery on my 520 last week. I had the dealer put 5+2 wheels on the 520 with 25" Kenda Bear Claw HTR tires. That put me at 52 inches based on me physically measuring the width (I could have been a little off). A few days after I got it home I put 1.5" spacers on all four wheels. That put me at 55" wide. It seems more stable to me with the spacers; although I"m not dismissing the possibility that I'm just getting used to the sxs (this is my first) and my mind wants to think it's more stable with the spacers.

 

[NitroxDiver]

So 1 inch spacer in rear with 25s will still keep you at 50 inches? And no spacer in front right?

That’s correct. For a little while I was running 25x10 on stock wheels with 1” rear spacers and I was at 50”. Any 10” wide tire should be about the same. Adding the 1” spacers to the back made a noticeable improvement in stability. Of course this was on my P500 I assume the 520 would be similar but I don’t know for sure.

 

[CamoP500]

Another issue is that actual heights and widths vary by brand and type of tire. So just because a 27x9x12 Kenda Bearclaw HTR fits the front on stock rims without hitting the frame doesn't mean Mega Mahams of the same size won't. I can say defintively that 26X9X12 Kenda's fit the front on stock rims without issue and 26X11X12 Bearclaws fit the rear on stock rims without issue. they are a great all around mud/snow tire. Been multiple people on this site saying 27x9x12 fronts and 11x12 rears fit the P500 on stock rims without rubbing with various brands. Search the tire section of the 500 forum. Don't know that 520's are the same either.

 

[jroot327]

I have a new 520 with 26x9 front and 26"x11 rear, Mudlite 2s on stock rims with no spacers and have no rubbing. I haven't looked how close or if there is room for bigger tires. The Mudlite 2s run true to size, and it's still right there around 50".

 

[pappyo]

Welcome -- O/G 520
From Central N.Y

27x9 ft. & 27x11 rear Mud-Lite-XTR's on 4-3 offset alum. Wheels.

Red is the 1st. Color - All other colors followed hopping to catch some of the Glory - Honda hopes they sell

 

[pocapioneer]

I have a new 520 with 26x9 front and 26"x11 rear, Mudlite 2s on stock rims with no spacers and have no rubbing. I haven't looked how close or if there is room for bigger tires. The Mudlite 2s run true to size, and it's still right there around 50".

I'm buying a 520 for mountain bike trail maintenance, so will be carrying heavy loads over sometimes wet, but hard dirt trails with little deep mud. I need a flotation type tire to leave as little footprint on the trail as possible. I don't need any additional ground clearance. Advice would be appreciated.

 

[trigger]

I'm buying a 520 for mountain bike trail maintenance, so will be carrying heavy loads over sometimes wet, but hard dirt trails with little deep mud. I need a flotation type tire to leave as little footprint on the trail as possible. I don't need any additional ground clearance. Advice would be appreciated.

BH 2.0's.

 

[MI-Trailblazer]

I agree with Trigger - Big Horn 2.0 (radial) probably give you the best traction with minimal impact. I do not own a set of Big Horn's, but I have several friends who have replaced their stock 4x4 quad tires with BH's and what a traction difference they make! For the P500 and P520, the biggest thing is going from the stock bias-ply tire to a radial tire. I think that is the biggest ride quality and traction improvement.

Per many recommendations on this site, I went with the Bear Claw HTR's in 26" height and on my stock wheels. No fitment issues at all. First ride after there was a noticeable difference in ride smoothness as well as stability. The stock tires rode harsh and like you were on jelly - darted around, twitchy steering and not predictable. The radials feel more planted and stable. Next biggest improvement after that was the rear sway-bar disconnect. Made the ride quality even better- gone the bone-jarring jolts of every bump you hit getting transferred into the frame of the machine instead of the suspension absorbing it.

 

[pocapioneer]

thanks for your advices

 

[lee]

I ~ will be carrying heavy loads

Look for a NHS rated tire.
Many ATV tires and UTV tires look the same and are used interchangeably by - well us.
But, ATV tires are not load rated for the weight of a loaded SxS.
And the SxS manufacturers use and specify a NHS (Hot Highway Service) tire.

NHS tires have a higher pressure rating and load carrying rating.
Some times it can be difficult to find the information even on the tire manufacturers web site.
On the Maxxis web site you will notice two things, the ATV tire size starts with AT (like AT26X12R12) and the ATV tire is rated at 7psi max but the NHS tire is 20psi max.

 

[jroot327]

I'm buying a 520 for mountain bike trail maintenance, so will be carrying heavy loads over sometimes wet, but hard dirt trails with little deep mud. I need a flotation type tire to leave as little footprint on the trail as possible. I don't need any additional ground clearance. Advice would be appreciated.

My tires are more aggressive than what you're looking for I think,. Bighorns or Bighorn 2.0s will be a little less aggressive and are a bit more all terrain than the MLII's which are geared more toward mud/soft conditions. If you're going to be hauling I'd go with the real thing though, and not a copycat just to be sure it holds up.