Car tires on 1100c

foxalaska

Active member
Any ideas for a rim conversion to enable using car tires on my buggy? I have the newer style 4-hole rims. I use my machine for transportation on streets in a village and would like to use a siped car tire. Better traction on ice and should roll easier.
 

foxalaska

Active member
Haven't pulled the wheel to get exact measurements. It's a 4-hole rim, unlike the older models that were 5 hole. The Alaska Railroad had car rims mounted on those models. I was hoping someone here has found 4-hole rims that would work. Narrow siped car tires work well on ice and running on roads, which is about all I do.
 

bczoom

Senior Member
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Is putting car tires on your existing rims an option?

If you want to get car rims, I'd start with something like this to get your bolt pattern.
https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=92
(I'm guessing it may be something like 4x100 which is a very common size).

After that, you'll need to check the center bore. Then all the offsets. For the offset, I think you need a 3-4" backspace.

Myself, I'd just go buy aftermarket/cheap steel wheels made for the RTV and put car tires on them.
Here's an example using Amazon (who also has 12x7 wheels with different bolt patterns and offsets). Most of these steel wheels are under $50.
https://www.amazon.com/ITP-Delta-St...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=936TS5GZ8R0B100BHPGK

They're 12x7 wheels so I'm thinking the correct tire would be something like 215-60/15

Pretty sure you could also go with 12x8 and fatter tires but like you said, skinny tires dig better through the snow.
 

Keifer

Senior Member
Gold Site Supporter
FYI. Sometime back I remember a post of someone going to a salvage (junk) yard and buying 4 of those emergency use only spare tires. They were never used and served the purpose on his RTV. I'm sure those were 5 hole rims though.
 

foxalaska

Active member
Some good ideas here. My problem is two-fold. Lousy mileage and horrible on ice. Our streets are a sheet of ice and will be that way all winter. The standard tires on the Kubota are not only crap on ice, they have a rolling resistance on hard surfaces. I want to run something like a narrow Blizzak without increasing the rolling diameter. This machine is underpowered as it is without increasing tire diameter. A 14'' tire seems to be about right.
Fuel is $7 a gallon here, so fuel economy is important.
 

bczoom

Senior Member
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Fuel is $7 a gallon here, so fuel economy is important.
Dang, that's expensive. I get it relatively cheap. Want me to fax you some? ;) I'll need your fax #.

Can't speak for your 1100 but on my 900, I get about 2.3 hours of run time per gallon of fuel so it's not bad on the wallet.
 

foxalaska

Active member
I get about 1 hour per gallon, maybe less. I run the thing wide open so I don't get run over by other vehicles. Very seldom see 24 mph. Running the tires overinflated helps, which makes me think different tires will help. These things are horribly underpowered, which we can thank the "greenies" for.
 

shinnery

Active member
Zoom I do not believe you can put a 15 inch tire on a 12 inch wheel, the air will not stay in. You would probably need a 215/60-12 tire for a 12 " wheel. LOL
 

bczoom

Senior Member
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Zoom I do not believe you can put a 15 inch tire on a 12 inch wheel, the air will not stay in. You would probably need a 215/60-12 tire for a 12 " wheel. LOL
Yea, damn it. :) You could blow air in but it would be futile. I'm going with I was laying out a concept. ;)
Now I'm thinking 14" may work but again, just concept...
 

Groundsmechanic

New member
I am looking to do the same thing with our X1100Cs. The problem is finding a stock height automotive tire that will fit the 12" wheel. We did this with our Bobcat 3600s and Gators. For the Bobcats I bought 14" ATV wheels from Summit Racing and used Starfire trailer tires. The Gators used trailer wheels and tires. If I measured correctly the bolt pattern is 4x110. The parts lookup shows the HDWS wheels as 8.5" wide and a quick measurement without removing the wheel and tire showed about 6+2.5???? Not 100% So a 4x110 5+3 with the proper weight rating should work fine. It may stick out a bit further than stock but the front looks like it has plenty of room.

But one possible problem is the bolt/stud design of the hub. The factory Kubota lugnut/lugbolt head is too big to fit into the recessed holes of the aluminum wheels I have for the Bobcats so you may have to find a steel wheel with no recesses.

When looking for new wheels, as well as tires, you need to make sure they are rated for the GVWR of the vehicle divided by 4. This is why I had to buy fancy aluminum ATV wheels because I could not find steel wheels that would fit the Polaris 4x156 bolt pattern that were rated heavy enough for the Bobcat plus driver.

The stock HDWS tires on the Kubota are rated at 1675lbs at 10mph. So that will give you are total rating of 6700 lbs. The GVWR is 3,999 lbs. Plenty of room to spare. I would also like to find a better wearing 12" radial to run in the winter but the weight ratings are killing me, none are high enough. Best I found in 25x10-12 are Carlisle Versa Trails at 1200lbs, which will work, but I want more of a truck tread.

Sorry for the long post but I have been researching this topic for many years now and have yet to come up with a perfect solution. Luckily the new Gator we are getting is coming with the factory 14" aluminum wheels so finding an automotive tire for that will be easy.
 

foxalaska

Active member
Groundsmechanic, you certainly have a grasp of the issue. It proves there is no simple answer. I'm currently in a village in the middle of Alaska, which makes it rather hard to find rims that fit. If you find an answer would you kindly let me know. Thanks.
 

Groundsmechanic

New member
Groundsmechanic, you certainly have a grasp of the issue. It proves there is no simple answer. I'm currently in a village in the middle of Alaska, which makes it rather hard to find rims that fit. If you find an answer would you kindly let me know. Thanks.

Absolutely
 

ZZZ2D1

Active member
Site Supporter
I went through this with my RTV 1100 and my RTV X1100c.

The bolt pattern on the 2019 RTV X1100C Is 4/110, This bolt pattern is commonly used on utility trailers.

I bought my wheels from Side BY Side Stuff with chrome lug nuts.

Wheels are System 3 ST-4 Gloss Black Wheel part number SBSS-9239

The tires I run on them are BF Goodrich TA Radials P245/60R14

I only run these in the Summer.



For Winter use I run stock Aluminum rims with SunF AO33 25x11-12 tires.

No rubbing issues at all and Flat Terrain speed is 26/27 MPH.

No Tire is favorable on Ice.
 
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