The age old question To Paddle or Not To Paddle? Paddle tires are a specialty tire that have a vulcanized scoop on the tire to help move vehicles through the sand. We will touch on the basics of paddles and if a paddle tire is right for your vehicle. For some vehicles it may be a necessity due to lack of power or driving skill. Others vehicles may prefer to run knobbys as it give the ability to drift through corners increase the driving experience. To be an effective dune tire it must create a big footprint (contact with the sand), the larger the footprint the easier the vehicle will move through the sand. Flotation overcomes horsepower meaning a low horsepower vehicle can go anywhere as long as there is flotation. Once the tires dig into the sand, and creates a hole, then more horsepwer is needed to get out of trouble of the tire digging into the sand. In the end Horsepower cures all.
What is a paddle tire?
A paddle tire is a specialty tire that was made for vehicles that travel through the sand. Paddle tires will have a scoop like tread that will dig into and grip the sand and help drive the vehicle forward. There are many factors that make this type of tire effective.
- Molded or buffed tire
- Dimension and width of tire (wider is better)
- How many paddles are on the tire-depends on horsepower
- The size of the paddle attached to the tire
- Weight of the tire itself
Many factors like size, weight, and paddle configuration go into choosing a good paddle tire and sometimes it can be overwhelming. Tire companies offer many options from molded tires to a buffed tire that has vulcanized paddles attached to the tire. A molded tire is one that is like you would think how most tires appear. The blank tire is placed in a mold, which is heated, and the mold locks in and creates the tread. Molded tires allow manufactures to create a wide variety of the tread patterns. Typically molded tires are thicker with multiple plys (usually 10), which lends to a more durable that will withstand punctures better. Downside to molded tire is they typically have a heavier overall weight, which will rob horsepower. Check out this Article as to why Dune vehicles should be light.
Buffed Paddle tires start out as a traditional tire. These tires are formed by buffing/grinding the original tread off the tire to take the tire down to almost the core. With this now naked tire the paddle adhesion process can begin. Similar to a molded tire the new paddle tread is vulcanized onto the tire. Manufactures the same size tire with several option in regard to the number of paddles on the tire. Buffed tires typically are lighter in weight, less thickness and more susceptible to punctures. Good examples of companies is Skat Trak, Sandcraft, Rouge. Companies like Skat Trak can take any off the shelf road tire buff it down add paddles and make it Sand ready.
SandCraft RCR has a table for SXS demonstrating the number of paddles determined by the horsepower. Not enough paddles and you will spin the tires, Too many paddles and you will be robbing horsepwer trying to move all that sand. It is a delicate process to figure out what is best. Many manufacture provide a rough table to estimate want paddle number for your vehicle.
How to Decide. Here is my personal experience in the Paddle/Knobby tire decision process. Rzr turbo S stock 32″ coyotes on OEM rims. Total weight per tire 61lbs. These coyotes do not perform well in the sand stock. Aired down to 10 psi they have a hard time providing the traction needed on OEM rims. Previous vehicle was a 16 turbo rzr came with stock 30″ tires. Replaced them with MSA rims and 30″ GBC mongrels. Ran those in the dunes at 8 -10 psi for 3 years. Amazing tire in the dunes, provided needed traction and stability while allowing you to drift the RZR through the corners. The newer Turbo S I was trying to lighten the vehicle as it was about 150lbs heavier. So I chose a buffed Sandcraft Destroyer paddle with KMC Beadlock rims. This set up weighs in at 42lbs. Almost 20 pounds per wheel allowing the car to lighten up 80lbs overall, reducing unsprung weight will free up horsepower and make the vehicle more responsive.
Running knobby style tires
Running knobby tires on your Dune vehicle can be very fun. The ability to slide through the corners sideways is a unique experience. The key is to adjust air pressure in the tires to find what works best for your setup. A good quality Tire Pressure Gauge will allow to make precise adjustments. Remember that with lower air pressure you are more susceptible to “Popping a Bead” meaning the tire separates off the rim and loses all air pressure. A Quality Beadlocks rim is a type of rim that has an outer ring that clamp/bolts between the rim and the tire to lock in the tire so it can not separate from the rim. For most applications it is just one ring on the outside of the wheel. This style rim allows the user to lower air pressure while given a piece of mind the the tire is secure and will not “POP” off the rim. A great non Beadlock rim is the Method Bead Grip wheels. Patented technology that helps keep the tire seated with Lowered air pressure.
- lower air pressure (8-15psi)
- Replace rim with beadlock
- Use Method inner bead grip rim (lighter and works really well)
- GBC Mongrel Example to left
To decide which knobby works best you need a tire that provides sidewall strength but still has the ability to flex and get wider when air pressure is lowered. Some knobbies have very stiff sidewall and do not flatten out. For example a 10 ply tires is stiffer tire than an 8 ply. This create a larger footprint on the sand and allows the vehicle to float on top of the sand. In the dunes flotation is the key to traversing the dunes. An example of a tire that works great on hard pack/desert but not good in sand is the Tensor Tire desert series race “DSR”. this tire is proven a winner in Baja but just doesnt provide the flotation needed for the sand.
To run a none paddle tire in the dunes you must learn to keep momentum and choose a line that will allow you to continue speed through the Dunes. Getting stuck in a hole or Witches eye with knobbies can be rather hard to get out of without horsepower or paddles . Without momentum you dont have the ability to float over the sand as much as you need to grip the sand like a paddle to get out. Knobby tires will dig a hole if you have too much air pressure and dont have flotation while trying to start on a slope. Do not park facing uphill always try and park on flat or slightly downhill to prevent this.
