high pressure tires

[kojo]

Does anybody know if their are any high pressure tires that are more aggressive than the ITP or Carlisle All Trail's. Most of what I'm seeing are rated around 7psi. My Carlisle's are around 22psi, but I'd like to have a set with a little more aggressive look to them and not be rated at such a low psi. Thanks fellows for any help on this.

[pachanga90]

The pressure is rated by the design of the tire.Shopping for tires by pressure is pretty much a waste of time,since it doesn't really serve a purpose in this application.If it were a truck,car,etc..with a lot of weight or towing,then it would be a concern,but for this type of use,there are a lot of very stiff,good off-road tires with low pressure requirements.Alot of it comes by design,since the tire is relatively small,and not carrying much weight(carts are generally at/under 1000 with 2-average-weight people,in most cases).I run 2-ply knobbies at 3-5psi(front),and 4-ply Carlisle Trail-Pros at 6-8psi(rear),and they don't squat anymore than the 2-ply tires on the front,even with a bunch of weight on the back(2-300lbs at times).We run ITP 489's on the 4x4 quad,at low pressure,never have any issues,whether its trail-riding,jumping,or plowing-snow.Look at the ply-rating when shopping for tires,and All-Trails ride awful,no matter what pressure they are set at,they are extremely stiff.If you want a firm tire,go with a 4 or 6ply,maybe a ITP 489/589,or something similar.Hope this helps.

[kojo]

Thanks pachanga for the input buddy. The 489's are something like I'm looking to get. I've read that low pressure tires will slow an electric cart down and I didn't know if it would put a strain on the electric motor or not. The all trails I have now are 23x8x12's and I was planning on getting an extra set of rims(like a plain black set)and putting a set of 25x8x12's or 25x10x12's on those and just keep swapping them around with the vampire rims w/ the 23's on it now(just to have something to do). Again, thanks for your help buddy.

[sportcoupe]

All other things being equal (size/weight) a high pressure tire will be faster and have more torque then a low pressure tire on a golf cart.

The Kenda Terra Trac K502 is the most aggressive 20 psi tire I've seen yet.

[yurtle]

I know nothing about tires, but we bought several John Deere Gators for use on a large construction project, and was surprised to see they had no suspension at all. Just "soft" low pressure tires. So I'd assume those would be far from ideal for a buggy. Too squishy. They did surprisingly well in rough, steep terrain on the Gators.

It sounds like pressure rating and firmness are related, but not apples to apples, depending on the tire design?

[JohnnieB]

I don't know much about tires, or what is out there in the tire market, but what I've observed here on the forum is that guys that don't get the expected speed increase when they install taller tires, have low pressure tires.

There is nothing wrong with low pressure tires and they do have their purposes, but tires are part a a cart's drive system and the drive system is a series of compromises that must be tailored for each individual's needs, wants and desires.

[kojo]

Thanks fellows for the responses. If the low-pressure tires aren't bad on a motor by putting excessive drag on it, then I might not worry about it to much. JohnnieB, I hope they don't disappoint me to much with the speed decrease. Well guys thanks for the replies, gotta do some thinkin' n searchin' now.

[sportcoupe]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

...... but what I've observed here on the forum is that guys that don't get the expected speed increase when they install taller tires, have low pressure tires........

I second this from first hand experience. I had 23" all-trail golf cart tires (20 psi) on a cart with 500 amp controller and a D&D high torque motor. I "upgraded" to 26" ATV tires (5 psi) and lost torque (expected) but more unexpectedly lost mph instead of gaining mph like I should have mathematically. I actually ran slower with the low pressure, larger tires. Loved the look but hated the performance difference.

[kojo]

Sportcoupe, how much reduction in speed did you lose w/ the change? Another question, are tires w/ a psi rating of 18 considered low pressure tires? I guess what I'm asking is where is the psi line drawn to separate low and high pressure tires? Thanks again for the help.

[yurtle]

Again, I know nothing about tires, but what we're really talking about is rolling resistance correct? I'm assuming that the more rubber on the road, the more rolling resistance. Wouldn't the stiffness and width and tread pattern matter more than pressure?