[Rich S]

Well I got my 7 paddle Haulers in Thursday last week and took them out to LS for Snake hunt weekend.


First impressions were great. I was hanging by half a quad against a intake, cams, exhaust etc YFZ.

But then on Friday and Saturday durring the drag races they didn't do so well. I kept dropping the pressure trying to get some more bite and they just kept spinning off the line and I kept getting dropped.


But the real comparison came when I ran my buddy since his LTR is exactly the same as mine was with Sand Stars. It was like I was back on sand stars. I expected to dominate him since I had a "superior" tire????? I was like what the heck???



Then later we went to a different drag strip where it is on an uphill grade..... Then they started to shine but only against cheaper tires and 10" rim haullers. There I raced and beat a yosh piped LTR with some sand skates, and a cherry bombed LTR with 20x10x10 8 paddle haulers. I swapped bikes with those guys to see if it was the rider.... but there my 21" 7 paddle haulers shined...... That is until the launch pad got worn out....

See the haulers only did good in virgin sand. if the start was rutten or worn well.... they would not hook up at all. I even ran them all the way down to 2psi.

So in short, They really didn't do much better than my sand stars on the drags.....

In the trails, the sand stars dominate these haullers. However in the trees with steep climbs the haulers get out with very little effort where the stars need to be spun up madly.


In short short, I'm probably going to be looking at a 21" 8 paddle and a 6 paddle. I like the 21" flex for drag racing, however the gearing is way way way tall. I was finishing in 3rd gear on every run. I'd much rather have a close ratio feel and finish at the top of 4th or in 5th to keep it well in the powerband.

wasn't really short was it.......

 

[fatv]

REALLY WEIRD...... I think that the 7 cup is still TOO much paddle. Sandjunky and i did some testing also. My bike no bafle, no air box lid ,and a cherry bomb. His bike no lid , trinity pipe, and cherry bomb. We both had sand stars on and the bikes were dead even. We switched riders and raced atleast 10 time....still same resualts dead even. Then i put on my 9 cup 20x11x9 glidders with 5 LBS. Now my bike no matter who was on it was 4 bike lengths fast. NO BS. so maybe by letting the air out you were getting too much traction and not letting the engine rev on the top. That is where the glidders really shined. Both of our bikes would be dead even then once we hit top of 3rd gear my bike witht he glidders would just walk away. I will trade you a set of sandstars for those 7 cup haulers.......


WWW.FUELATV.COM

 

[Rich S]

I've still got my sand stars.

The only time these really hooked was when the sand was "fresh" or durring any type of climb. Then these things straight owned.

In all out blasting accross the dunes, they hauled!!! but the thing is, at the drag races...... I'm crossing the finish line at the top of 3rd..... no where near 4th or 5th.


Something must be different about our sand???? Our sand out here is pretty light and almost powdery like at times.

I know if I feathered the clutch or launched at a lower rpm, I could do much better...... but heck I could do that with sand stars.

If I were comparing these to street tires, I'd say these are more like cheap nitto drag radials and they're pretty in-consistant. I understand the sand is a major player in the in-consistancy.

I pretty much bought these as a second set of tires to be used for weekends that I want to drag race.

I'm heading west here in a few weeks (memorial day weekend) I'll be hitting a few different dune spots to keep trying them out. (Cinders, Pismo, Glamis....maybe glamis heat depending).



What tire pressure do you run?

 

[Rich S]

ahhh crap, just read your post again and caught.....

"Both of our bikes would be dead even then once we hit top of 3rd gear my bike witht he glidders would just walk away. "

see I noticed that too..... out on the sand highway, I would pull like a mad man but on the drag flats I never really get out of 3rd (appx 1/8 mi. track)

I'll try and post some video.

 

[Vader]

Picking paddles is always a tough thing to do. Alot of it depends on your style of riding, flats, hills, drags, bowls...I just rode a friend's stock LTR (no lid / no baffle / CB) last week @ Glamis, and he was running 20x10x8 - 6 paddle haulers on 8x6" rims. This was a great set up for the hills like Olds and China Wall, and he could hang with more modded 450's pretty easily. This paddle was better on the hill than the flats. I personally think that less is more in paddle tires, with the only exception being Gliders, since they are a shorter paddle than a hauler you need more of them. But then again, I dune and run hills so that is how I determine which paddle I prefer, and too many paddles hurts you there. I would much rather have a 6 paddle hauler vs. a sand star or 8 paddle hauler when running hills like Olds or China wall....IMO.

 

[fatv]

I think you are right Vader. I also feel a 6 cup hauler or 9 cup glidder will also slide better then sand stars and almost as good as ssII and the others. All of those big cups really hurt the top end and dont let the motor rev. IMO


WWW.FUELATV.COM

 

[SandJunkie]

I gotta back my man Fuel...I lost so bad that I bought his Gliders off him. Now if he beats me with his 6 paddles ya'll gonna hear me scream :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[Rich S]

yeah the key is you guys are racing beyond 1/8mi. and you are climbing properly tall dunes. Out here are drags are as short as our dunes.

Plus out here our sand is a lil more fine and light.

 

[OKTRX450R]

Plus out here our sand is a lil more fine and light.
[/b]

I would disagree...I think the OK sand is actually thicker and heavier then the Glamis sand. Each sand grain is larger then the Glamis sand IMO.

Only thing I can think of is you are getting too much traction?

I raced Rich 3 times on my wife's LTR, they are set up the same, baffle out, air box lid removed, CB installed. Rich was running his haulers and I was running 21X12X10 SSI Comp Cuts on .125 and I beat him 2 out of 3 races. The race I lost I tried a 2nd gear launch...or 2nd gear bog to better describe it! Rich is a far better drag racer then I am and he was even giving me pointers making me even faster!

We are going to hook up again out there and run some more, switch bikes, etc. Then, I want him to bolt on my 6 paddle brats and see what the difference is...

Rich are you going out Memorial Day weekend? We are going to be there Thursday evening and stay in Cowboy Camp (if we can get a spot).

 

[Rich S]

I'm not too sure on the paddle thing in Oklahoma just yet. Only because the guys/girls that are winning out here are running more paddle.

So yeah we'll have to do some more testing. Maybe at Sand Jam or another weekend. I'll be at the Cinders Memorial Day weekend. Thats when we start our duning vacation. I've also added Glamis back to the list of things to do before we head back. I'll probably hit it the weekend of the 9th,10th,11th. It'll be hot as sin but I want to ride it before it all gets closed down :huh:

But yes, we'll definately hook up and run a tire test. I'll have about 3 weeks of riding time on them to really get the air pressure on those things figured out. I know every day and location will require different settings but I'd like to know how much and when to change them up. Cause they did do much better and got better off the line bite when I was running them at 4psi. rather than the 2psi I was running earlier in the day.

This was from my second loss of the day (I got lucky and got 3rd run in a double elimination race.... Then Rob took me out ) I was hoping they would post up some video so I could see what was happening. I know I messed up on the starts (not that it would have changed any of the outcomes ) But I'd like to see what the tires are doing.

[/quote]



Edit: btw I didn't get a 3rd run because I won a race but because I raced out of order and they felt bad for me ha ha ha ha

 

[preston]

Well I got my 7 paddle Haulers in Thursday last week and took them out to LS for Snake hunt weekend.
First impressions were great. I was hanging by half a quad against a intake, cams, exhaust etc YFZ.
But then on Friday and Saturday durring the drag races they didn't do so well. I kept dropping the pressure trying to get some more bite and they just kept spinning off the line and I kept getting dropped.
But the real comparison came when I ran my buddy since his LTR is exactly the same as mine was with Sand Stars. It was like I was back on sand stars. I expected to dominate him since I had a "superior" tire????? I was like what the heck???
Then later we went to a different drag strip where it is on an uphill grade..... Then they started to shine but only against cheaper tires and 10" rim haullers. There I raced and beat a yosh piped LTR with some sand skates, and a cherry bombed LTR with 20x10x10 8 paddle haulers. I swapped bikes with those guys to see if it was the rider.... but there my 21" 7 paddle haulers shined...... That is until the launch pad got worn out....
See the haulers only did good in virgin sand. if the start was rutten or worn well.... they would not hook up at all. I even ran them all the way down to 2psi.
So in short, They really didn't do much better than my sand stars on the drags.....
In the trails, the sand stars dominate these haullers. However in the trees with steep climbs the haulers get out with very little effort where the stars need to be spun up madly.
In short short, I'm probably going to be looking at a 21" 8 paddle and a 6 paddle. I like the 21" flex for drag racing, however the gearing is way way way tall. I was finishing in 3rd gear on every run. I'd much rather have a close ratio feel and finish at the top of 4th or in 5th to keep it well in the powerband.
wasn't really short was it.......
[/b]

I live up north and am thinking of running down to rexberg I.D. I was wondering about paddle size. I have C.B. lid off, and no plug. Was thinking about trying sand gecko. Anybody ever tried them?

 

[Rich S]

I live up north and am thinking of running down to rexberg I.D. I was wondering about paddle size. I have C.B. lid off, and no plug. Was thinking about trying sand gecko. Anybody ever tried them?
[/b]

geckos are pretty much junk.


I really like the way robs 21"x12x10 sand skate I's did. with a 10 wheel you can still get agressive in the whoops and well he even kicked my butt in the drags vs. my 21x12x8 7cup haulers.

I really do like the way the bike handles on a set of V paddles. but then depending on how much money you spend or not.... traction and weight can become an issue.

in all anything will be better than gecko's.

 

[OKTRX450R]

geckos are pretty much junk.
I really like the way robs 21"x12x10 sand skate I's did. with a 10 wheel you can still get agressive in the whoops and well he even kicked my butt in the drags vs. my 21x12x8 7cup haulers.

I really do like the way the bike handles on a set of V paddles. but then depending on how much money you spend or not.... traction and weight can become an issue.

in all anything will be better than gecko's.
[/b]

Montana, there is a pretty detailed thread discussing paddles around here somewhere...

Rich, I in no way am saying I kicked your butt...no way. There is something really weird going on with your tires and we need to investigate it. When you get back and we can hook up we need to do some bike and tires swapping and see what we can figure out...

I will admit I am shocked how good the ssi's hook up...raced a YFZ and he was running haulers and beat him 3 out of 3 races...I did not think those tires would hold up all that well to haulers, hmm, must be my superior riding? Naa! :lol:

Anyway, let's plan a trip out when you get back...maybe just a day trip for the men and when can just mess with tires all day...I will bring 3 or 4 sets along...

 

[OKTRX450R]

I live up north and am thinking of running down to rexberg I.D. I was wondering about paddle size. I have C.B. lid off, and no plug. Was thinking about trying sand gecko. Anybody ever tried them?
[/b]

Montana, try this thread out as a starter...IMO Geckos are the worst tire you can purchase...

Clickity, click, click ME!

To add to what has been stated in that thread if you are looking for a super low cost venture you might check into AMS Sand Snake. I have talked with them several times and they seem to be super nice folks to deal with. The tires are very inexpensive and relatively light for molded tires.

Performance minded--cost no object
Drag Racing/climbing:
Paddla Brat 6 paddle comp cut
Skat Trak Mowhawks

Duning:
STU Sand Skate I comp cut
STU Razorbacks

Performance minded---cost minded
Drag racing/climbing:
7 paddle hauler or 6 paddle extreme
Mowhawks

Duning:
Skat Trak Edges
AMS Diamondtrak

Just give me some freakin paddles---very cost minded:
Drag/climbing:
AMS Sand Snake
AMS Diamond Trak

Duning:
AMS SideWinder
AMS Diamondtrak


You would also do some good to check into the Skat Trak Gliders...I have been hearing good things but I have no personal experience with them. NOTE: I have never ran the AMS sand snakes nor Sidewinders. I have seen them in action and for what they are they perform well so I feel confident in recommending them as a low cost solution.

If you are not into dumping loads into dune tires do not sweat it...not everyone is a dune freak and not everyone gets the opportunity to dune as often so the $$ investment may not pay out for you...almost any paddle is better then none...almost!

 

[SandJunkie]

The Glidders are mucho badassO

 

[wctcmm2003]

The Glidders are mucho badassO
[/b]

OK...trying to follow here, 9 cup 20x11x9 glidders are recommended for climbing hills, dragging, etc? How do they ride while duning and jumping? I'm going to be hitting Glamis quite a bit soon and dont want to fall into the same trap as I did with my sand stars (bogging, loss of power, no top end, etc). In ITP's defense, the bike was totally stock while riding on those, but it was pretty bad. BTW, anybody else riding in the Phoenix area regularly?

 

[SandJunkie]

AZ...I had the EXACT same problem with those sand stars. Fuel and I extensively tested those againest the gliders...they handle just fine...and they pull on that top end like a turbo kicked in...went and got a pair the next week after. They drag...climb...and turn absolutely fine. Get those and some blue labels?...ohh yeaaa

 

[fatv]

The glidders only have 1 down fall ...... sand only. They are not as durable as haulers or extremes. If you ride these glidders on rock, gravel, or hard packed they are toast.


FUELATV

 

[wctcmm2003]

Sounds good, thanks guys. Unfortunately the guy who asked me to end my auction on e-bay early so he could buy my sandstars bailed and never replied after I ended it. So, I will be rockin the stars at Glamis tomorrow and Friday. Oh well, I went to a 13t and have all the other regulars (cb, no lid, uni, uncorked), so I'll let you know how it rides...THEN buy the Glidders BTW, how much did you pay for your glidders with the rims you're running?