My 2019 Polaris Ace 570 came with 25-inch bias-ply tires. I replaced them with 27-inch radials and noticed a significant difference in the ride. Polaris is now putting 32-inch tires on their top-end RZRs.

My 2021 Kawasaki Teryx4 S LE came with 27-inch tires, but I learned from the manual that the machine will handle up to 30-inch tires without having to modify the chassis. Your dealer can help you with suggestions on tires and what sizes your machine can handle.

With over 34,000 street-legal machines on the road, tires are needed with tread composition that will resist wear on pavement and still have good grip in off-road conditions. The industry has responded with some excellent products.

The improvement was accomplished by increasing the ply rating to make stronger tires. With advancement in construction technologies and better materials, tires have been developed with greater strength using fewer cord layers. Thus a tire can be constructed with an eight-ply rating using only two or three corded layers. This lighter tire requires less horsepower to overcome rolling resistance.

The new radial tires have 8- to 10-ply ratings with more lugs to increase tread contact on hard surfaces. Using both hard and soft compounds with more lugs, the tire will last better on the road, but grip off-road. The sidewalls are being made stronger to resist puncture.

The luxury of bigger tires come with a price, but shopping around can take some of the sting out of upgrading your treads. For purposes of comparison, I used 30x10x14 for a tire size. All of them have radial designs and most of them have an 8-ply rating.

Pricing is the tricky part of buying tires. It takes some research to make sure that you are comparing apples to apples or tires to tires. Once you have made a selection and have shopped prices, go to your dealer. If he carries the tire, you will find that he wants your business. I left out private label tires from this list because local dealers wouldn’t stock them.

Here are 10 tires with which you can improve your ride while limiting the impact on your wallet. Each of these tires can be had for less than $250 each. This list goes from the lowest to the highest price.

ITP Terra Hook

This high-performance tire is designed with multi-angled channeled lugs. The unique non-directional tread design delivers traction and performance over roots, rocks, and other trail conditions. It has a ¾-inch tread depth for better handling.

Sedona Rip Saw

The Rip Saw has a 1 1/8-inch tread depth with an aggressive design that offers great traction. The tread pattern wraps onto the sidewall to increase traction in deep-rutted and muddy conditions.

ITP Ultra Cross R Spec

This tire has a heavy tread pattern and a reinforced sidewall that works well on both hard and soft surfaces.

Sedona Rock-A-Billy

Rock-A-Billy’s aggressive tread design will match the high horsepower and high speed requirements of today’s machines.

Sedona Trail Saw

The Trail Saw has an aggressive tread design with integrated side lugs to grip in extreme riding conditions.

Intercore Sniper 920

The Sniper is an 8-ply lightweight radial tire developed for UTVs. It exhibits the durability of a light truck tire and has a deep rim guard, a wide contact patch, and a smooth ride that handles multiple terrains.

GBC Mongrel

Keeping weight to a minimum, the 10-ply Mongrel has a tread design that can handle difficult terrain.

GBC Terra Master

Terra Master is a performance tire for today’s high performance side-by-sides. Designed for all kinds of terrain, this 10-ply tire is made to last.

Tensor Regulator

The Regulator is an 8-ply tire with a nylon reinforcement layer and a truck-based design.

Pro Armor Crawler XG

The Crawler works best in hard, rocky terrain. It blends dual-compound rubber and tread design grip with extended wear life.

When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down, and choose a tire that will work on and off-road. Also understand the limits of tire sizes for your machine.

Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.