[rhinohd]

Hey Folks,
Just got my Mudlites today and I was wondering if I needed to have em balanced? Also the sidewall says 7lbs? I always ran 3.5 in the back and 4.5 in the front on my stockers. Should I do like the sidewalls say. Once again like most of you I am not a big mud guy. I do mostly trails...

 

[WOOD]

To me ride quality isnt a issue as you can probably tell by my tire choice so I wouldnt worry about balancing.I think it would be a waste of money because the tires still will not be smooth as a car tire.

I think you would be OK with the same presuure as you ran in your stocker's.7 psi may make em a lil to stiff and you might get the traction you are looking for.

 

[jkkj]

You might check out your manual again. The front tires are suppose to have less air pressure in them because the final drive gears(reared/pumpkin gears) are smaller in the front. Thus the front hub turns faster than the rear. You need to run less pressure in the front so there is no bind.

 

[Lizard]

The pressures written on the tire are the maximum recommended pressure for that tire. The pressures written on the ATV, are the recommended pressures for the weight of the machine, rider and other normal loads. With that said, It's kind of personnel choice. I prefer to run a few pounds higher than the ATV labels, but keep the difference between the front and rear.

 

[rhinohd]

So less in the front and more in the back? Wow I had it the other way. MYBAD!

 

[marine]

Maybe my physics is wrong here but I am not seeing how the tire pressure will affect the binding on the gears. If you are talking about the radius of the tire increasing and therefore making more revolutions we are talking about a fraction of a fraction of distance. But even given a larger tire, there would be less "bite" from the tires into the ground (less resistance). This decrese in resistance, to me, would seem to make the wheele be able to turn at the rate the gears want more easily...please explain to me how running different "ratios" of pressure in the front verses the rear are adversly affecting the durability of the gears?

 

[parkgt]

jkkj,

I'm with Jason on that one. I don't understand the relationship you are refering to. Could you explain that further? And where did you learn this?

Usually in 4 wheel drive applications the front axle turns slightly (very slightly) faster than the rear to keep the front pulling in the direction you wnat to go rather than having the rear cause a push condition. This is for handling not gear wear. Plus the front is limited slip so binding is less of a concern than it would be in a solid/locked setup.

Greg

 

[jkkj]

Well I am making assumptions from other facts that I know. I am talking about 4X4 trucks and not quads. This is my reasoning though.

The Manual states that the front ratio is higher than the rear, and that the front tire pressure should be .5lb lower than the rear.

In a 4x4 truck most sereous off roaders air down to go wheeling. This give a two fold effect. It lowers your gear ratio and gives you a wider footprint. I have seen where rotations per a distance have been counted at full pressure and then aired down. I was supprised at the difference. Something like a aired down 33 turned the same amout of times as a fully inflated 30.

I drew the conclusion that Honda had done this to eliminate the bind from the different ratios. I would think even a small difference in ratio would wear the tires tremendously fast on hard pack and ashault. Not to mention the stress it would put on the drivetrain. It seems to me if you were in the mud and began to spin the tires they would all four "stand up" and you would get the effect of the higher gear up front to pull the front end, but that maybe the .5lb lower up front would equal the gear out otherwise.

The front is limited slip, but one tire or the other must still be attach to the drivetrain at all time. Try this inflate the front tires to max and rear to minumum. Drive down some flat ashault at a constant speed in four wheel drive. The quad should pull slightly to one side. Let off the gas then slightly and speed back up to you constant speed again. I'll bet it is now pulling the other direction now. This will result from the front diff switching the power to the other tire and the bind that is present.

Guys, I am no engineer and have not done any math to back this up. I'm just thinking out loud. That's what these post boards are all about. If you guys are like me and run in 2wd unless you need 4wd it is a complete non-issue. I don't know to many people that are gonna drive there rincon on the ashault in 4wd much.

What do you guys think?

 

[parkgt]

Interesting ideas; I will have to try that sometime. And your right I only use 4 WD when needed.
Greg

 

[marine]

very interersting! And i agree that this forum is for learning, if you want a bash fest then go to a different forum that is why i like this forum. As far as your thoughts I am not sure what is correct but to me it just seems like to small of a deviation in radial distance by changing the tire pressure by 0.5 lbs to make a difference. Besides its like you said, most of us run in 2x4 unless we are going through deep mud (After I get stuck just to see how far I can get in 2x4) or climbing rough terrian...however, I just though about rock climbing...in that case I usually drop front tires to 2.5 and rear to 3.0 lbs...this would be a streessful situation wonder if I should start putting less in the front...but that just doesnt make sence to me....anyone have any other ideas or thoughts on this?