Each year, more and more people buy themselves a brand new Polaris Ranger.
Can you guess what’s the first thing that they do? They put on a set of bigger and more aggressive tires, of course!
But what are the biggest tires on a stock Polaris Ranger that you can fit without rubbing?
Related: The Four Best Batteries for Polaris Sportsman 500
The Biggest Tires on Stock Polaris Ranger
The biggest tires that you can fit on a stock mid-size Polaris Ranger are 26″ on 12″ rims, and 27″ on 14″ rims.
If you’re running the stock 12″ rims, then you will need a 1/4 spacer in order to prevent the tires from rubbing on the tie rods. On the other hand, if you’ve got 14″ rims then you can run 27″ tires and still get a bit over 1 inch of clearance left.
Keep in mind that not all tires are true to size and some might rub while others will not. Even though the manufacturer states that the tire is 26″, it can oftentimes actually be 27 1/4″ while fully inflated. In case you’re looking for a recommendation – the ITP Mudlites measure true to size and are a very popular choice for the Polaris Ranger.
But what about width?
As far as tire width goes, you can put on pretty wide tires on a mid-size Polaris Ranger. With that said, most people run 9″ wide tires on the front and 12″ on the rear. This gives the best balance between light steering and traction, as the skinnier front tires are easier to turn and wide rear tires float over mud.
The Biggest Tires on a Stock Polaris Ranger 1000
The biggest tires that you can safely fit on a stock 2020-2021 Polaris Ranger 1000 are 30″. They won’t rub even without a lift kit, stock A-arms, or trimming the fenders.
A bunch of people managed to squeeze 32″ tires on their stock Rangers, however, that might not work out for everyone. Whether you can actually fit 32″ tires mainly comes down to how worn your shocks are and if the tires are true to size or not. If the shocks are pretty tired and sag down a bit, then 32″ tires will probably be too big.
Related: Biggest Tires on Stock Honda Rancher 420
How to Fit Even Bigger Tires on a Polaris Ranger
You can fit even bigger tires on a Polaris Ranger with just a few mods. Here are the pros and cons of each.
2″ Offset Forward A-Arms
The first and by far the most cost-effective mod that you can to your Polaris Ranger are the 2″ forward A-arms.
The 2″ forward A-arms will move your hubs forward by 2 inches and allow room for 2-3″ more inches of tire. That means you’ll be able to easily fit 28″ tires on a mid-size Ranger, and 33″ tires on a Ranger XP 1000.
But that is just the start. Offset front A-arms are also arched to give you at least 1.5″ of ground clearance in addition to more space for bigger tires.
Furthermore, since the offset forward A-arms move the hub forward, they will also increase the wheelbase on your Ranger, which increases stability while climbing hills and crawling over rocky paths.
Lastly, offset forward A-arms are always made much stronger than OEM ones and it’s pretty much impossible to break them.
Lift Kits
A lift kit is probably the most popular way to fit bigger tires on a Polaris Ranger.
Not only are lift kits very inexpensive, but they will also give you more room to fit at least 2-3 inch larger tires. What’s not to love?
Luckily, there are a lot of lift kits for the Polaris Ranger, so you can easily choose if you want to go with the most popular 3″ lift kit or a serious 5″ and even more.
Big lift kits will usually come with offset A-arms, axles, tie rods, etc., and will give you huge tire clearance, though they are expensive.
Portal Gear Lifts
Portals are absolutely incredible. They will lift your Polaris Ranger by 4″, 6″, or even 8″ while also maintaining torque due to built-in gear reduction.
You might not realize, but lifting your Ranger and/or running bigger tires will rob your engine of power and cause your drivetrain to wear out much quicker.
Big and aggressive tires are much harder to turn and therefore cause more wear to your transmission and differential, while a lift kit can put your CV axles at an awkward angle. All of that is taken care of with Portal Gears.
Portal Gears replace your OEM hubs with small gearboxes that reduce gearing and bring back lost torque, if not increase it. This means that you can run really huge and aggressive tires without losing power or causing increased wear on your drivetrain.
Furthermore, portals will maintain the proper operating angle of the CV axles as if you had no lift at all.
With that said, the only downside to a portal gear lift is the cost. They are very expensive and cost upwards of a few thousand dollars.
Final Thoughts
The Polaris Ranger is an incredible UTV, but it can be even better with a set of bigger and more aggressive tires.
However, you are limited to 26″ tires on stock 12″ rims on mid-size Rangers, and 30″ tires on the XP 1000.
If you want even bigger tires, then you can make room for them by either buying offset front A-arms, a lift kit, or portal gears.
Jake is the site’s primary contributor.
Motorcycles and automotive repair have been a big part of his family for generations, therefore it’s only natural that he decided to become a heavy-duty diesel tech.
Outside of work, you’ll find Jake restoring and riding rare street bikes and ATVs.