another atv question

So I know tracks would be ideal and the best choice, but since I can’t afford them what is the best tire choice for ice fishing. I have looked at the big sand paddle tire wondering if they would work for snow like they do for sand, or am I totally wrong. Let me know what tires work and which ones don’t.

For snow, I think lugs/knobbys count, not paddles. For ice, it really doesn’t matter.. there is chains for that !

If your tires are too knobby, chains will fall right in.

I have 28″ Mudzilla tires on my Grizzly 700, I have never been in anything I couldn’t handle snow wise… Ice it really doesn’t matter (they all will have issues) other than get as much surface area on the ice you can, in that case, big lugs like Mudzilla tires don’t help much…

I don’t have a ton of experience, but what I’ve noticed with a Polaris 500 is that I’m fine as long as the snow isn’t hard-packed so that you “sled up” on top of the snow and your tires quit digging into whatever hard stuff or ground is below. If the machine starts to belly out and ride up on top of a hard layer of snow, it’s game over instantly. Tires seemed almost irrelevant because it went from good traction to zero traction in 3 feet.

I was driving around in January and the snow was grainy like sugar. Even when I was pushing snow with the front of the machine and the snow was more than top of the wheels deep, the machine was digging in all the way down on the ground. But hit a drift and ride up on it a little and it was like I had racing slicks on. Instant zero traction.

Bottom line to me is pick good all-purpose tires for your year-around use. Any tire that claims a huge advantage in snow would be very suspect to me.

Grouse

ITV Tundracross are specific snow and ice ATV tires that have carbide studs built into the tread.

I have chains on the rear and studs on the front. I’ve been very happy with both snow and glare ice. My Chains are the twice as expensive “2 link” spacing (most are 4 link). The studs are screw in studs found on the internet used in ice racing applications.

Works for me and my 550 Arctic Cat ATV.

Mud terrain tires with sheet metal screws in the tread, about 300 of them.

Seriously. Did it this year, and works AMAZING. Glass ice pulling a heavy trailer with no traction issues.

Went through 8″ of slush covering 6″ of water this weekend. Wasn’t easy but the old Honda pulled it all through.

I have ran mud tires on my current Wheeler since 04 and can say in most situations they are worse in snow then a less aggressive tire. Same goes for sand. Anytime you spin they start digging until they find something solid or you are high centered. I have found out that they work better backwards then forward in snow. I have had more then once I road out on hard packed snow and had it soften up through the day and could not go anywhere going forward and would keep right on going in reverse. Makes for a slow ride home.

I run Mud Lite XL’s on my Grizzly and haven’t had any problems to date