Vendetta tire swimming question

[onlyonce]

Could someone please explain to me why the 14" vendetta tires swim better then the 16" vendetta tires on some machines.
I would think with the higher bouyancy and wider paddeling tread on the 16's would win. What am I not getting?

[john swenson]

hi keith , hope your doing well. looking forward to april mud. not sure on the answer to the tire question. maybe the 14 '' sit lower in the water which gives more tire area for paddling . we ' ll see . later , j.b.

[Noel Woods]

There are several factors that come into play: buoyancy, water resistance, hydrodynamic drag from both the tires and the body, and probably some other factors as well. It's a lot to take in, I just assume that every machine performs differently in the water and in the mud. You can tweak something here and there to maximize performance, but it can be hit or miss such as the 14" and 16" Vendettas.

[onlyonce]

Several owners of a Max IV seem to say the 14" are faster in the water then the 16" which is why I brought up the question. I always thought that more tire above the waterline due to better bouyancy would be an asset. With the body style and drag the same there has to be something about the larger tire that makes it slightly slower

[ARGOJIM]

I have a theory but lets leave that to the engineers, i do belive it has to do with cavitation from the water being thrown in front of the machine and exiting propelled water.

[onlyonce]

That might bring us back to the thread started by a fellow member (sorry I can't find the post to give credit) about using wipers to help direct the water that gets kicked back up and around the tire to a more useful direction that would help propulsion.

[Craig_B]

That might bring us back to the thread started by a fellow member (sorry I can't find the post to give credit) about using wipers to help direct the water that gets kicked back up and around the tire to a more useful direction that would help propulsion.

I believe the member you are thinking of is Kevin Percy.

[Toys4Me]

What do the vendetta's run?

[ARGOJIM]

That might bring us back to the thread started by a fellow member (sorry I can't find the post to give credit) about using wipers to help direct the water that gets kicked back up and around the tire to a more useful direction that would help propulsion.

My vision is the water needs to move forward to actually (aid in momentum) push the body some ( which is why Argo and Max IV seem to be fastest in water from wheel well design) the excess needs to drop between body and tires and escape, now with 4" more rubber it may be causing flow issues along with throwing disturbed water in front of the machine from the outer sides causing cavitation. Like swimming in a jucuzzi, no races are won when you are grabbing air bubbles.

[Noel Woods]

I've long considered adding some kind of detachable bladder to buoyancy system to the front of a machine to direct water away from the hull and add some freeboard to the front.
This is an extreme example of what I'm speaking about, but if you look at the added floatation to the front of the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, I think you will understand the concept. The key for one of our machines, is to add just enough to redirect water flow, and still keep mudding capacity.

[ARGOJIM]

Sandy was previous owners way out to his sailboat on Staten Island, swam better but wouldn't try muddin it.

[onlyonce]

The other thread I was thinking about was started by Great White--- Making non swimming tires swim. I found the video showing that 4 wheeler swimming fascinating.

[mightymaxIV]

I think the shape and depth of the tub has a lot to do with it. I ran a 16 inch Vendettas tires on my MaxIV with 1 1/2 inch wheel extensions to keep the tire away from the tub. The tub has to be able to channel the water to be effective and this is one of the reasons a different tire swims different on every machine.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUyvcHZZ2zE

Mike at Adair Argo told me they installed a set of 16 vendetta tires on an Argo 6x6 Frontier a while back. He said he had never seen a 6x6 swim as fast as the Vendetta equipped Argo. I have a set of 16 inch Vendettas ordered for my 6x6 Argo Scout so we will soon see. As for over all performance (see the video) the Vendetta tire is tops in swamp conditions and the only thing that gave me issues was stumps and roots which are nothing but traction for tracks. I would rate the Vendettas at about 80 percent as good as Adair tracks in pure mud, and better in some conditions then tracks.

[tbone9]

I’m running the 16” tires on my IV however I’ve got 3” spacers. I’m sure it would swim a little better with shorter spacers as the tires would be more under the tub. The extra width helps out when in ruts from other machines though.
As you mentioned the body shape has a lot to do with it. On my stock IV with factory tires I formed wheel wells as the body saged over time instead of lifting it. With just enough clearance for the tires it swims a lot better with less cary over too. I believe the hump in between the front and center tires help as well.