Sand Tires Unlimited UTV Tribute Tire 29" x 14", Uncut

For years I've been asked, "what size sand tires are best for my vehicle?" It's important to realize that there are TWO major factors in choosing the correct tire for your vehicle. The first is obviously the amount of horsepower and torque that you have. But the second, less obvious, is the amount of wheel travel you have. Often times people will build vehicles with tremendous wheel travel which requires a large diameter tire, BUT the engine and transmission they choose aren't strong enough to carry this load.

If your vehicle has too much wheel travel and too small of a tire, when you launch the vehicle and come down on a hard landing, you're going to bottom out the vehicle on the ground. If you buy the correct diameter tire to compensate for your wheel travel and don't have enough horsepower and torque to turn the tires, then you're going to have a miserable time in the dunes with your engine bogging down.

Rear Sand Paddle Tires:
Now let's figure out what your wheel travel is. See below diagram. If you don't have tires yet, collapse the suspension all the way. Measure from the center of your spindle or axle to the bottom of your chassis. Take that dimension and double that dimension. For example, if from the spindle or axle to the bottom of your chassis, you have 15" then a 30" diameter tire is going to be too small and if you launch the vehicle, you're going to bottom out the car on the ground. You would want several inches from the bottom of the chassis to the ground at full compression because the sidewall of the tire is going to compress if you come down from a hard landing.

After you figure out the diameter of tire that you'll need, the next big question is, do you have enough horsepower and torque to turn these tires?

The Tribute is a UTV series front sand tire from Sand Tires Unlimited that was designed to be used with the 4wd featured on side by sides. These tires offer increased steering response and improved flotation while not sacrificing it's hill climbing abilities in the sand over a set of front smoothies or knobby desert tires.

The Tribute features multiple offset ridges to increase side bite for improved steering without digging too much into the sand or increasing roll resistance. This improves the UTV's steering response and reduces understeer. What the Tribute also features that the Razor Back series tires doesn't have are mini paddles. These mini paddles allow for you to use 4wd in the sand with a set of rear paddles and avoiding having to run a set of high drag desert tires in the front. The advantage of using 4wd over 2wd with a set of front smooth tires on a UTV is improved hill climbing, acceleration, more precise steering and increased stability. The small paddles also throw very little sand compared to front desert tires.

The Tribute is sold uncut and has paddles facing in both directions. The tires can be ran as is, but it's recommended for better performance to do a competition cut that removes every other paddle. Doing this cut turns the tire into an asymmetrical tire that can only be ran in one direction.

Part Numbers	Wheel Size	Height
STU-2914	14" x 8"	29"

 

The tire is named Tribute in honor of Sgt. Clinton K. Ruiz who was killed in action in Afghanistan on 10-25-2012 during Operation Enduring Freedom. Sand Tires Unlimited is donating a percentage of their proceeds of this tire to the Sgt. Clinton K. Ruiz Memorial Foundation. You can vist the memorial's Facebook page here for more information.