2018 Chaparral Motorsports 25" ATV Tire Shootout Part 2: Top 8 Best Overall Performing Tires
Welcome to part two of our three part series featuring our 2018 25" ATV Tire Shootout. In a nutshell, we took 21 of our best selling or most popular tires, mounted them to aluminum wheels, took them out in into the field and put them through five different tests on a 2017 Yamaha Kodiak 700. The five tests we conducted were designed to mimic real world situations ATV and UTV riders typically face. We tested their pulling power, how well they handle extreme hill climbs, how well they brake downhill, how fast they come to a stop at full speed, and how well they handle deep sticky mud. In the previous article we covered how each test was conducted and how the tires were scored, if you missed it you can find it here.
In this article we are going to show you the top 8 Best Overall Performing Tires. Be sure to check back for our next article where we show you an in-depth overview of each of the challenges and which tires excelled in each of those tests.
Lets discuss a couple key takeaways before we get into the results. Interestingly we found that tires with similar tread patterns performed very differently. At face value, some tires looked "the same" but we found that tire weight and tire construction played huge roles in how the tires actually performed.
Looking at the field of tires all lined up, we thought that the ITP Blackwater Evolution tire was going to walk away with the win. It was robust, had the gnarliest and deepest tread and an 8-ply construction. As it turned out, the tire we would have bet on had the worst sled pull and really did not do well at all except for the in the top speed braking test where it scored a 2nd Place.
As it turns out, the best performing tires in our 25" Shootout were the lightest tires featuring the deepest directional tread sporting a flatter overall profile. The AMS Slingshot XT was the Overall Winner and it meets all of the criteria we just mentioned: The front wheel weighed in at 28 lbs, the rear at 31 lbs for a total tire wheel weight of 118 lbs. As compared to the 20th place tire, the Sedona Rip Saw which weighed in at 166 lbs. That is nearly 50 lbs heavier! Lighter tires that could spool up quicker and featured deep and flexible directional tread proved to be the winning combo.
In each test we gave the best performing tire a score of 1 and the worst performing tire a score of 21. The top tire in this Shootout brought home a total score of 25 and the worst performing tire earned a score of 85. As we compiled the footage and tallied the scores, this 60 point spread was surprising to our crew.
https://youtu.be/m8DRIbF2P0Q
To narrow down the field so we can focus on the details, let's begin with an overview of all tires that scored below 50 points, which will leave us with the Top 8 Performing Tires.
Top 8 Tires
- AMS Slingshot XT 25 points
- Ocelot P375 33 points
- Kenda Bearclaw HTR 35 points
- Kenda K3203 Mastadon AT 36 points
- AMS Swamp Fox 43 points
- Quadboss QBT 446 46 points
- ITP Mudlite XTR 47 points
- Sedona Mud Rebel RT 48 points
The winning tire, the AMS Slingshot XT performed like a champ in four of the five tests, receiving a double-digit score in only one challenge, downhill braking.
| 1st AMS Slingshot XT 25 Points | |
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| 2nd Ocelot P375 33 points | |
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| 3rd Kenda Bearclaw 35 ponts | |
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| 4th Kenda K3203 Mastadon AT 36 points | |
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| 5th AMS Swamp Fox 43 points | |
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| 6th Quadboss QBT 446 46 points | |
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| 7th ITP Mud Lite XTR 47 points | |
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| 8th Sedona Mud Rebel RT 48 points | |
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In a few days we will follow up with our third installment from our 25" ATV Tire Shootout where we will dive deep into which of the tires are "the best tires" for a specific job or duty. We will do this by explaining and showing you the raw footage of the best performing tires in each specific test. Spoiler Alert, in each test there were clear winners and those winners did not necessarily make the best overall tire line-up we covered in this article. This Shootout did prove that certain tires are made to perform very specific tasks and we will bring those results to you shortly.
