STI Sand Trax Sand Tires Review

[SHOWTIME]

STI Sand Trax Sand Tires





For our trip to the Oregon dunes, we needed to outfit our Kawasaki KFX450
with some tires to help it get up the steep tree-laden trails of Winchester Bay.
A newcomer to the sand tire industry, STI wanted us to test its new Sand
Trax rear paddle tire and front ribbed tire. ATVR was the first magazine to get
their hands on this new tire/wheel combo, and I was anxious to put them to
the test.

When you first pick up these wheels and tires, you instantly notice one thing:
These babies are light! With the front weighing in at 12 pounds and the rears
at 18 pounds, they are much lighter than their low-priced competitors. The
rubber compound used in these two-ply tires has a spongelike feel, which
means they are flexible and allow for a lot of flotation. Our only concern would
be how resistant they are to being punctured.

Also aiding in the low weight of this combo is the new .150 spun-aluminum
wheels on which the tires were mounted. Made from 6061-T6 heat-treated
alloy, they are as light as some of the thinner aftermarket wheels but claim to
have the strength of their thicker competition. Since I weigh in at 250 pounds,
I'll definitely put them to the test. I've been known to taco thin wheels
without effort and put some distortion in the thicker unreinforced models as
well. We'll see how strong these really are.

The front tires are a standard single-rib design, which look as though they can
be mounted on either side of your quad. They do have a nonfunctional
pattern on the carcass that would say otherwise though. The rears are a
nondirectional eight-paddle V-cut with a mini paddle in between each main
paddle. They are definitely unique compared to other tires on the market and
look as if they should do well.

I installed the wheels, filled the tires to four psi and set the mighty KFX on the
ground. As it sat on the hardpack ground, you could see the sidewalls
squishing out just from the weight of the quad alone. I hopped on the
machine and rode on the pavement access road out of the campground.

As I hit the sand, I looked back and saw that there wasn't much roost being
thrown up from the small, 25mm tall paddles. That's nice for whoever is
following you but also a characteristic of low bite. Another thing I noticed was
that the soft carcass of the tires helped absorb much of the harshness of the
extremely well traveled damp sand. They soaked up quite a bit of harshness,
giving a ride comparable to that of a radial tire.

The front tires seemed to track very well and kept the quad right where you
pointed the bar. There was no excessive twitchiness in the steering, which I
have felt in some of the more expensive units out on the market today. So far
so good, for these.

When I got into the steeper dunes is when I started noticing the difference of
these to higher-end units. If I ever came to a stop on an uphill slope or very
chewed-up sand, these tires were quick to dig themselves in. Taking off
without getting stuck required a lot of throttle or a lot of finesse. Once I got
rolling on top of the sand, I never had a problem.

Climbing the dunes never seemed to be a problem. The tires gave just enough
bite to get up the steepest climbs without bogging down the motor. The V
-shaped paddle design also allowed me to slide the rear end of the quad
without worrying about front end push. These tires won't put you at the front
of the pack in a drag race, but they do provide a predictable, playful ride.

I was racing around the sand trails that ran through the thick pine trees, and I
occasionally bounced off protruding tree roots and worried about punctures.
Not once did anything penetrate the tires leaving us with a flat or a dinged
rim. They handled the trails better than I had expected.

I then wanted to see how the rims could handle my weight when landing from
a jump. I'm not a huge-air person, but with the amount I caught I never had a
flat spot show on the wheels. I then had the big-air jumper throw a leg over
the machine and see what damage he could do. After he made the biggest
leap of anyone in our group, the claimed strength of the wheel was prevalent.
It would have to take a serious impact to hurt these things.

After four days of riding in and out on our pavement access road and hitting
the dunes, these tires were well worn but held up better than expected. STI
is going to make a quick name for itself. With front 21x7-10 tires for $43.69
and rear 20x11-10 tires at $60.26, I predict there will be many quads in the
sand on these new meats. To complement the tires, I highly recommend the
STI wheels. With front wheels for $63.86 and rears at $68.36, the
combination is affordable for outfitting both the front and rear of the quad.

-Eli Madero

TIRES 89
Traction 23/30
Weight 20/20
Handling 18/20
Durability 8/10
Price 20/20
BOTTOM LINE: Solid performance at a low price.
DISTRIBUTED BY MTA: 951/272-0971;
AXO - Apparel for motocross, freestyle, bmx, cycling, road and street.

[oregon duner]

kewl right up. I am running STI's fronts on my 250R. I love how light they are compared with the Kenda single rib. wish they made them in a 22x8x10. I was worried about how thin the sidewalls are but have no problems, they have held up well to many roots and such at the hillclimbs.

[Senator]

We ran those STI fronts on our CR500 quad. They worked great, they were light and we paid much less...30 bucks per tire or so. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat.

The STI wheels I wasn't so happy with. On two different sets we had the same problem...a shitty bead seat. It was as if the quality control was off on the size of the rim where the bead seats. The rim was too small to make it seat well with several different sets of tires that otherwise seat fine on other wheels. I'll never own another set.

[Mrs. Senator]

Yeah those STI wheels Sucked...<<< did you notice the capital "S"?

[Lucky13]

I'm running the STI wheels and tires on the front of the shee only because thats what came on it. Much to surprise those babies turn!! I much appreciate a tire that allows me to point the bars and have the bike actually go that direction without hesitation. Sometimes, you have to make those last minute moves and so far I really like the response of these.

I have yet to have any luck(good or bad) with the wheels but thats interesting about the bead seat so I will keep an eye on that. thanks.

This is a great write up by the way, Showtime!

[Senator]

I should have been more clear -- all of our STI wheel problems were with rear wheels, never front.

Lucky,
Teri and John had the same problem with their rear STI wheels that we had. After I talked to John about theirs throwing the bead all the time I started to figure out that the common denominator between all of this was STI rear wheels.

[Lucky13]

Any word on how the front Sti wheels hold the bead?

[Senator]

Originally Posted by Lucky13

Any word on how the front Sti wheels hold the bead?

All four of ours do just fine

[ltd.yfz]

If they had these in a 22x11x10 i might consider them for the spare banshee