QUADBOSS QBT346 SAND TIRES & SHOCKER WHEELS

— UTV ACTION TIRE TEST —

Quadboss has served the four-wheeler community since 2001, and the company has gone from making tire sealant and plows to providing quality replacement parts, accessories and upgrades for ATVs and now UTVs. Fast-forward to today and Quadboss is a one-stop shop for everything UTVs—from winches and bumpers to tires and light bars and everything in between. Its newest products are the QBT846 DOT-approved tires tested last month and the QBT346 sand tires and Shocker wheels for high-performance UTVs.

FEATURES:

The QBT346 comes in 28- and 30-inch diameters for large, high-horsepower UTVs. Fronts have tri-rib center lugs for optimal steering, along with spiderweb-designed shorter lugs that wrap around the sidewall for added traction. Rear 28-inch QBT346s have 13 7/8-inch-tall paddles, while 30-inchers have 14 7/8-inch-tall paddles, and both have slight V-shaped paddles with added spiderweb traction ribs.

Quadboss’ newest wheel is the Shocker, and the eight-spoke spider-leg design goes great with the spiderweb design gracing the QBT346 sand tires. The black and machined-aluminum wheel has machined circles on the outer rim for a faux beadlock look, and the QB-logo custom center cap looks cool too.

 

CONSTRUCTION:

The tires boast lightweight, six-ply radial construction with 11-inch-wide fronts and 14-inch-wide rears for added flotation. Aircraft-quality aluminum is precision-machined on the Shocker 14×7 rim, which comes with 4/110 5+2, 4/115 5+2, 4/137 5+2 and 4/156 4+3 patterns and offsets to fit all of the popular sport UTVs.

WHO’S IT FOR?

Anyone with a turbocharged UTV or modified 1000 will be stoked with the 30-inch QBT346’s performance, looks and handling, and the Shocker wheels add to the Spiderman theme of the tires. Owners of UTVs with 27-inch tires and less power than the top-flight turbos or 1000s will be happier with the 28-inch combination.

PERFORMANCE:

We ordered up a set of 30-inch QBT346s and Shocker 14×7 4/137 5+2 wheels to put on our Can-Am Maverick X3 X ds. If you don’t order them mounted, make sure your tire guys mount the directional tires correctly. We removed a lug nut from the X3 and tried it on the Shocker wheel, but we couldn’t find a 17mm socket thin enough to fit in the Shocker lug hole with the OEM lug nut.

After a trip to Jet World for custom lugs, we mounted the QBT346 Sand tires and Shocker wheels with 13.5 psi all around and set off for Arizona’s Cinder Hills OHV Area. Volcanoes formed the cinder hills and bowls millions of years ago, and the hill-climbs are huge and steep. The QBT346 sand tires floated really well on cinders and had great traction for climbing and turning in the extremely loose conditions. They also worked great in the loose, loamy forest soils, and the paddles held up well on cinders, rocks and roots.

We then set out for the Oceano Dunes at Pismo, as Dumont and Imperial (Glamis) Dunes are way too hot in summer for humans and UTVs. At Pismo, the QBT346s really impressed us with great steering, flotation and traction. We had so much grip in 4WD that the X3 didn’t want to slide at all around bowls and flat turns, and the front tires also hooked up with plenty of side bite and steering grip. Another bonus is that the 7/8-inch rear paddles didn’t kick up a big rooster tail that could shower sand on anyone following closely.

THE VERDICT:

We are impressed with the new Quadboss QBT346 sand tires and Shocker 14×7 wheels. The tires provide great flotation, forward traction, steering, side bite and acceleration. They’re light and durable as well, as we abused them in volcanic cinders, and they looked brand new afterwards. The QBT346s and Shocker wheels look great together, and several people commented on how cool the “spidey webs” looked in our tire tracks. Best yet, the sand tire and wheel combo is less expensive than many others on the market.

CONTACT:

www.quadboss.com, [email protected], (877) 847-1558

RATING: ★★★★★

PRICE: QBT346 tires, $115.95–$175.95; 30×11-14, $133.95; 30×11-14, $175.95; Shocker 14×7 rims, $119.95