I can afford the paddle set up – but not the divorce! The answer finally came along, a very lightly used (look brand new) set of 12-paddle, staggered scat track sliders (26×12.5×14 – 85” rollout @ 9~10psi) on 14×7 STU beadlocks. This new arrangement is noticeably lighter than the stock tires/wheels.
So after my first time at Florence here is my report. Three big differences:
1) Now I can go up anything in 2-wheel drive. It’s funner to drive, exactly like a rear wheel drive car. Front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive is probably better and safer – but not as fun.
2) You can feel it get on top of the sand. Starting out she digs in and goes, sort of like the stock set up but then you can actually feel the RZR (at maybe 10 ~ 15 mph) float up on top of the sand like a boat getting up on it’s plane.
3) Then the second funnest part, once on top of the sand you can feel it hook up and go! Not “huge” more acceleration, but enough that you can feel a real difference. The first funnest part is sliding the back end around with ease and very smoothly.
So it’s about having a funner ride and staying in 2-wheel drive. The latter leads to the former.
This could be a drawback to some. Driving on the sand with stock tires in 4-wheel drive, you never get stuck and both the traction and acceleration are very linear. With the paddles, exactly like a sport quad with paddles, you have to pay attention where you stop, like on a slight uphill grade. Nose up and hammer it with paddles – you’re stuck. Same thing cresting a hill. In both cases you have to keep your momentum going, or, shift into 4-wd. The big part of that is; burry the back end of a sport quad and you just pick it up and slide it over. Not so easy with a 1,500lb machine. None of that poses a problem if you pay attention and the trade off is well worth it.
There’s my (paddle) $.02.
