For those extreme sport lovers, it is probably the time to look for another tire for your ATV. Just like with many other vehicles, this is an important part to support your riding experience. If you need the tire that will give you confidence under various conditions, ITP Mud Lite vs Mud Lite XL can be a great option to go. Go check our article below to see what they can offer and pick the one that match your preference the most.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– How to choose ATV Tire
– What are ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL
– What ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL are made for
– How are the Tread Pattern in ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL
– Are ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL Radial or Bias-Ply
– ITP Mud Lite vs Mud Lite XL
Choosing ATV Tire
Just like every other vehicles with their consumable tires, there will be a time as well for us to change the set we installed on our ATV. While how long they can last will differ from one owner to another due to the set itself, condition where we often ride and our riding habit, they will eventually wear off later. To know if you need a new tire, we are sure user can already feel it when using the vehicle such as those slight tail-spin.
However, to make sure you are always confident with your set, do routine maintenance check before and after every ride including the tire. When you see rounded down knobs, dry tire and discolored or cracked surface, it is best look for a new one. The actual changing process of your tire and wheel is not complex but the tire choosing process is and this will definitely take some time to determine which unit or model suit your preference and need the most.
As you may already know, there are various tires available in the market made to provide the proper performance depend on where you are going to ride them. The first is rocky or hard terrain tires which is created specifically with a tighter tread pattern for increased contact and deep angled grooves to help the vehicle climb rocks yet still able to give a good traction over lose terrain. The second is sand tires and this type have a very interesting paddle tread pattern.
This pattern is very useful to allow the tire grip effectively and propels the quad forward. They are also coming with a wide footprint to make sure we get the ideal traction when climbing dunes or carving up the deep and soft sand. For those who race or thinking about doing them in the near future, racing/sport tire can be a great option and generally, they are made with a consistent knob-type pattern along with lighter weight which is perfect for medium to hard terrains.
The next is snow tires, used in snowy condition but this type is generally unavailable. If you want to ride in a heavy snow condition, a mud tire can do the work as well since the design are very similar. Last is mud tire that is among the most used type of tire for ATV with its wide tread pattern to help the tire disperse mud and dirt as opposed to small and narrower pattern that may keep dirt inside.
About ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL
If you already have a favorite brand among those many options out there, it is good to start looking from them first but if you still considering various brands, we will recommend you to pick ITP. This brand is among the most popular choice out there for ATV tires because they are providing a wide range of options in their catalogue to answer the users’ need and the most important, high quality tires with dependable qualities and performances depend on the variants.
If the one you are looking for or plan to ride your ATV in muddy conditions, the options you may want to look are ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL . Both of them are tires specially made for muddy condition or surface with their similar design especially on their pattern. However, bound by different model, these tires seem to also offer different capabilities for its users despite the same pattern.
As for the ITP Mud Lite, the one we will talk in this article is the AT version which is used for sport ATV vehicles since this name is used to call all the products in the Mud Lite line and besides AT and XL, they also have Lite II, XXL, and XTR. They are very similar to each other but the other models are coming with a slightly different tread design than the two we talk in this article.
ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL Size
Even though it is hard to see their real dimension based only the picture above, the prominent difference between ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL is on their size since just like the name, their extra-large tire indeed comes with a larger size when you compare them to the regular model such as AT tire. With this difference, we can take a conclusion that the regular model is for smaller ATV while the larger option is for larger vehicle as well such as Kawasaki Brute Force.
ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL Tread
When you take a look closely on the tread pattern, there is nothing different in XL model with the regular model since they are still having the same design. These two tires tread pattern is in one directional and they are coming with a deep tread to help grip in muddy condition while the overall design is meant for self-cleaning, thus we don’t have to end up with a sticky mud getting stuck in our tire and make them lose its grip.
What set them apart in this side is the size itself. Just like what we have said above, the XL tire is bigger than regular Lite tire and due to this difference, the gap or distance between one tread to another will also wider even though they are not separated too far. This difference will affect how smooth our vehicle feel when we ride on a smooth surface because as we all know, tighter patterns will promote a more smooth and comfortable ride when we are not playing with mud.
However, while the gap is wider in Lite XL, the feeling when they are mount on different size ATPs is almost similar or there is no noticeable feeling between these two tires as long as they are used with the correct size vehicle. Read also: Dunlop D404 vs D401 here.
ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL Load
With the initial difference in size and the proper use of ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL, these tires will come with different maximum load as well. For the regular Mud Lite, as you can expect, their load is far lower than what you can have in XL variant which can carry double the original variant. This also mean we can carry more weight in addition to the heavier and bigger vehicles compared to the one we mount on smaller ATV.
ITP Mud Lite and Mud Lite XL Ply Type
Beside those prominent differences, these tires are made based on the same thing since they are equally a bias-ply tire with 6 plies inside and ITP claims that their bias is designed to be as comfortable as a radial like XTR can be. Just like the name, bias ply tires carcass are made from layers of ply cord that are running diagonally to the centerline of the tread with a certain placement to make them create a crisscross pattern
This type of tire whole structure is clearly uniform throughout with the crown and side walls of the tire have similar mechanical properties. The best benefit of bias-ply tire is their capability to carry more weight when compared to other tire called Radial. This is because their sidewalls are more rigid and overall they are stronger. However, bias-ply is also known with a disadvantage which is they are not suitable for usage with high speed because at such speed they can deformed and affect the performance.
In general, bias-ply tires are great for those who travel in moderate speed or fairly slower just like what we do with ATV when riding on the mud and off road as long as you are not riding to race since they won’t be very suitable and it is better to race with radial type.
Comparison
Now, let’s compare ITP Mud Lite with Mud Lite XL. As you may already know, the prominent difference between these two models is the fact that XL tire is in general, a bigger tire than its regular sized brother, thus they are more suitable with larger and heavier vehicles as well like Brute Force from Kawasaki while the other will suit any smaller ATV. Due to this difference, the XL model will also be a great option when you want to tackle deep mud or more extreme surface.
Since XL is designed for bigger vehicles, they are also coming with sturdier carcass and is great to carry heavy load compared to the regular Mud Lite. In addition, the gap between tread is also wider in XL model that may affect the comfort when running on flat surface a little bit.
ITP Mud Lite vs Mud Lite XL
| ITP Mud Lite | ITP Mud Lite XL |
|---|---|
| - Smaller | - Bigger |
| - For small ATV | - For bigger ATV |
| - Lower weight load | - Higher weight load |
| - Narrower tread gap | - Wider tread gap |
Conclusion
All in all, both of them can be a great option for your All-terrain vehicle, but it is better to choose based on your need or what you plan to use them for and the type of vehicle you have. If you are planning on playing in deeper mud and have a big vehicle, it is better to pick ITP Mud Lite XL.
