If you could design your own tire...

[gearhead1937]

How about a recipricating saw with a 9" blade? at least it would lay flat.

They did this on the show Trucks, but they sharpened the blade first so it was more like a knife. Worked good on T.V., but then again it was on T.V. Cheap anyway.

[brushcutter]

I once worked in a plant that manufactured soft plastic fishing lures, i.e. worms, crawfish and such, brands you may be familiar with: H&H, Mister Twister, and Riverside to name a few. We made patterns and in the process we used a small metal tube that the broken off edge of a single edge razor blade was bent and the ends pushed into the tube to form a small loop. This worked really well in the pattern rubber we used, but it was softer than a tire would be. We had to be extremely careful to not get cut while replacing this blade. I may build one and give it a try. Now where did I put my KEVLAR gloves.

[cclingma]

I pictured a air hammer with a bit about three inches wide, slighty curved, and fairly sharp. I've never done anything quite like that though so I'm just guessing.

[garbie]

I have heard of guys hooking a hacksaw blade up to an arc welder to cut with.

[brushcutter]

I had a few minutes to play around with the razorblades this morning, and built one of the devices I mentioned above, I picked out the worst Terra tire that I have and in about 5 minutes managed to shave one of the treads off, one thin sliver at a time. It's supposed to be raining here tomorrow, so if I can't get outside to finish the welding project that kept me tied up today, I'm going to try to build a cutter that is a little more robust and see if I can finish the tire I started cutting today. Sooo... has anyone else played with this idea yet?

[cclingma]

Interesting findings so far brushcutter. I've not done anything with modding tires yet. I'm having a terrible time finding opportunities to work on other issues so tire modding has been bumped out pretty far. I'm still very interested and diggin that you're trying.

[Toynut]

Why don't you try a linoleum knife on the treads. It should be robust enough to do the job on the treads. I was also thinking that the blade of a wood planer might also be worth a look, It would seem that a two handled draw-knife type of tool would work as well.

[Noel Woods]

Just like the Super Swamper Vampire ASX.



The Super Swamper Vampire ASX is my perfect tire. I've tried many tires and I've found that it's the best all around tire for our machines. As far as the swimming ability goes, it swims great on my Hustler 980 BIGFOOT, but it doesn't seem to swim as great on a Max IV or taller tub Hustler 980 BIGFOOTs. I just wish it was available in different sizes, since the smaller machines can't clear 26's like larger machines can.

Exactly. The ASX is the finest ATV tire I've ever used/seen used on other machines. The downfall is that it only comes in 26". Also, its in short supply right now. I contacted Interco directly and they got me a set of six recently. If you need them, I suggest you go to their website and hit the "contact us" icon and tell them what you want. They were around $112 w/ shipping. For smaller machines, the regular Vampire tire is available in both 22" and 25". Its a much more aggressive tire, but no side cleats for dig out, so you have to be careful not to spin them too quickly or they will dig you into the ground quickly. The Rawhide 3 is still out there in dwindling numbers in both 22" and 25" but I really dislike them for anything other than running tracks.
As for Terra tires, I have the set I took off my Swamp Fox, on a yard trailer. The trailer sits with a load of firewood on it, and thats about all the Terras are good for. As for the Argo tires, they may work for alot of people, but the gumbo down here in Texas gums them up too quickly. For regular mud and swimming they no doubt work good enough.
The question however is what the best tire is, its gotta be the ASX. It muds, it swims, cost is about average

[jpswift1]

Exactly. The ASX is the finest ATV tire I've ever used/seen used on other machines. The downfall is that it only comes in 26".

As for Terra tires, I have the set I took off my Swamp Fox, on a yard trailer. The trailer sits with a load of firewood on it, and thats about all the Terras are good for.

As for the Argo tires, they may work for alot of people, but the gumbo down here in Texas gums them up too quickly. For regular mud and swimming they no doubt work good enough.

The question however is what the best tire is, its gotta be the ASX. It muds, it swims, cost is about average

Very well said Noel.......I couldn't agree more!

[Middlefork Miner]

I pictured a air hammer with a bit about three inches wide, slighty curved, and fairly sharp. I've never done anything quite like that though so I'm just guessing.

Tire groovers...you can pick them up pretty cheap on ebay...I've never used one though.