Frequently Asked Questions

8-10 ft/lbs (10.8 to 13.5 Nm) for 8”, 9” and 10” wheels (1/4” bolts). 15-18 ft/lbs (20.3 to 24.4 Nm) for 12” to 17” wheels (5/16” bolts).

Low tire air pressure is the cause of many bends & dents in wheels. Remember, you probably drive or ride your off road vehicle differently than you do with your car (wheels on the ground!), and your car uses 35 lbs of air pressure, which cushions any blow to the wheel. Wheel bend occurs when the tire compresses and the wheel takes a “direct hit” from either a crushed suspension or low tire pressure or a combination of both. When the tire collapses the next thing to hit the ground is the wheel, and 300+ lbs of force is a lot to expect from a wheel. If you are going to jump at all, run the maximum air pressure your tires allow—you will find the maximum operating pressure on the tire sidewall. Flimsy tires with a 3 PSI maximum pressure should be avoided.

When a wheel is struck in an upward motion with low air pressure a longer wheel half is more pliable. The inner half is less forgiving which will result in a bent inner wheel half.

Air pressure is the key to the longevity of any wheel. Air protects the wheel from contact with the ground. We should also add the harder the tire the more you can fine tune suspension, because you can tell it’s a shock that is too soft, not the tire.

Start with the highest pressure your tire will allow. The maximum pressure is molded into the sidewall of your tire. Remember, the load carrying capacity of your tire is determined by its construction, but generally increases with air pressure.

When running a wider wheel than tire, the edge of the wheel is exposed to direct contact with obstacles. For off road applications, run the tire at least 2 inches wider than the wheel. The tire bulge is normal and will act as a “bumper” for the rim lips.

The bead hump is the raised portion of the wheel just inside the outer lips that looks like a big wedding ring. Its purpose is to keep the tire mounted on the wheel. Most wheels now have “safety beads” which is a fancy expression for wheels with bead humps. With low pressure and severe riding, even safety beads may not be enough. If you are going to ride like an ultra aggressively, you should consider our beadlock system, making it impossible for the tire to move.

A bead seat is the area between the bead hump, and the outer lip. It is where the tire rests during use.

The “drop center” of the wheel is the valley near one bead area. The purpose of the drop center is for ease of tire mounting. If there were not a drop center it would be hard to get the tire over the outer lip of the wheel. During the tire mounting process, one edge of the tire bead must drop into this area, while the opposite side of the bead is push over the lip of the wheel. Failure to do so could stretch, cut or damage the bead area of the tire; or in some cases even bend the wheel rim. Mounting is best done by professionals and it is dangerous when safety precautions are not observed. Click here for more Safety Information.

Our rolled lip was designed with a true racer in mind. The rolled lip takes the place of a welded in ring. It is very tough and sturdy. Used by 18 out of 20 top 20 GNC Pro’s, it has the advantage of adding strength without “collecting” mud, which causes vibration from out of balance.

Wider Offset is a common expression for a wheel with the same overall width, but a center location that makes the Vehicle wider (or narrower). In our part numbering system, a typical description will look something like “10×5 (2+3)” That is a 10” diameter x 5” wide wheel. The (2+3) indicates the offset, with 2” being the inside part. The thing to remember is the SMALLER the first number in ( ), the wider your Vehicle will be.

A wider Vehicle is generally more stable. A narrower Vehicle increases rollover tendencies, but will operate in tighter quarters.

A different offset wheel is an inexpensive way to widen or narrow the overall stance. It is a way to add stability (wider) or improve clearance on narrow trails or trailers (narrower).

A word or two of caution is now appropriate: Changing offset will change the way your Vehicle behaves, and affect the load on other components. If you try to narrow the Vehicle, you could run into clearance problems with suspension components. Widening the Vehicle with offset will generally increase steering effort and stress on ball joints, bearings, etc.

The billet center wheels require a tapered lug nut to center the wheel. Call your local dealer or distributor for more info.

A nut plate sits behind the integral lip of the bead lock. Each nut plate retains 2 bolts that come through the outer ring, and integral ring. They do come in different sizes to compensate for wheel diameter. If you have ever owned a welded bead lock, and have broken or stripped out the clamp ring bolts, you must drill, and re-tap the wheel, and it is very time consuming, and troublesome. When a nut plate is either stripped, or if a bolt is broken off you can just replace one nut plate at a minimal fee, and have it fixed with very little trouble. The nut plate is designed so that no wrench is needed to hold it and it distributes the clamping loads while adding reinforcement.

Polaris makes a stud kit. Contact your local Polaris dealer. Here is the part number 7515513.

Our tolerance specs are not as lenient as some of our competitors bolt patterns. We keep to the highest standards to insure quality, and a sure fit.

When switching to an STD center wheel you must use a flat surfaced nut. It can be flanged, or a washer can be used behind the nut.
DO NOT RUN A TAPERED LUG INTO A FLAT SURFACED WHEEL.

Barbed wheels have added, and more aggressive bead humps to insure tire lock. This feature is for Go Karting wheels.

By far the most common American pattern is 3/2.5 inches & European is 3/58 millimeters.

We suggest the DWT double rolled lip 10X5 4+1 for the front, which helps leverage ratios, and every aftermarket a-arm company designs their leverage off running 4+1 offsets; and for the rear DWT 8X8 Ultimate CB (Competition Beadlock) wheels, which come standard with a rolled lip on the inside half, and a nut plate kit mounted on an integral lip.

When riding cross country making it to the finish is a primary challenge, which is why beadlock equipped wheels are a must. Our 10X5 4+1 Shamrock center is the best wheel for this application. It is narrow enough to carve the woods, and durable enough to withstand the constant jarring of rough trails. For the rear we have a 9X8 Ultimate CB (Competition Beadlocks) that come standard with a rolled lip on the inside, and a nut plate kit mounted on an integral lip.

We offer our Sand Shamrock. This wheel was designed with the weekend warrior in mind. It puts our lightweight .125 (blue label) wheel with the style of our shamrock center. This wheel combines style and grace to become the best sand wheel on the market. We offer it in Honda, and Yamaha bolt patterns.

This is hard to tell someone what he or she would need when we can’t see, or know everything you are doing with your vehicle. We will give you guidelines, and we ask you to use your best judgment. For dunning, and light recreation we recommend our .125 (blue label) wheel. For someone wanting to get little more aggressive we have our .160 (black label) wheel. For those who are inclined to do more than average jumping, and harder recreation we have our .190 (red label) wheel. Keep in mind NO wheel is indestructible, and always remember if you are saving money by using .125 wheels, but buying 2-3 sets a year you could have saved money in the long run with a thicker wheel.