30-inch GMZ Sand Stripper XL Tire mounted on GMZ Casino Beadlock Wheels
By Jon Crowley
Overview
The all new GMZ Sand Stripper XL tires are constructed with a durable 6 ply radial construction similar to the original Sand Stripper tires. The front and rear tires are available in sizes 30x13x15 front, and 30x15x15 rear. The Sand Stripper XL tires match up perfectly with the new high-powered machines available on the market today providing the perfect combination of looks and performance with excellent flotation and traction. These new tires are the ideal match when paired with the GMZ Casino Beadlock wheel that was specifically designed to maximize the performance of the tire.
GMZ Casino Beadlock Wheel
Sand Stripper XL Front: The three-rib design and size of the front tire offers excellent floatation and turning ability making transitioning from dune to dune effortless even for bigger heavier vehicles. Available in size: 30x13x15 Weight: 24 lbs. Overall height 31″.
Sand Stripper XL Rear: The new rear tire features a 7/8 inch tall, ten paddle design suitable for most of the newer high-powered machines available on the market today. Specifically designed by GMZ engineers for the best tire height and paddle ratio to deliver the most traction and flotation possible without adding any extra strain on the clutch and belt system. The Sand stripper XL is available in size: 30x15x15 Weight: 30 lbs. Overall Height: 32½”.
Sand Stripper XL mounted on Casino Beadlocks on our FOX Edition RZR XP 100
Review
We mounted up the GMZ Sand Stripper XL tires and Casino Beadlock wheels on our FOX Edition RZR XP 1000.
The first thing you notice is the large size of these tires, especially the fronts. The ribs on the Sand Stripper XLs are more pronounced and the tire is not only bigger around, but the width is quite a bit larger.
28″ STU Blaster Front (left) vs. 30″ Sand Stripper XL Front (right)
For comparison, we set them up against a set of STU Sand Blasters.
28″ STU Blaster Rear (left) vs. 30″ Sand Stripper XL Rear (right)
On the rear tires, the STU Sand Blasters are typically setup with 16 paddles, while the Sand Stripper XLs come with 10 paddles.
GMZ Sand Stripper XL Paddle
In addition to less paddles on the GMZ Sand Stripper XL, the individual paddle profile is substantially different. When compared to the STU Sand Blaster, the Sand Stripper XL paddle is about the same height, but has a much larger shoulder. Less shoulder on the STU will translate to more flex while under heavy load. There is a lot of science here when it comes to number of paddles vs. paddle profile, but that is beyond our pay grade.
Then we compared the weights of the 28×14 STU Sand Blasters that are mounted on HiPer beadlocks against the 30×15 GMZ Sand Stripper XLs mounted on Casino beadlocks:
On the Scale
Rear Weight:
41.8 lbs STU Sand Blaster + HiPer beadlock vs. 49.6 lbs GMZ Sand Stripper XL + Casino beadlock
Front Weight:
30.6 lbs STU Sand Blaster + HiPer beadlock vs, 40.8 lbs. for GMZ Sand Stripper XL + Casino beadloc
The GMZ setup is clearly heavier, which translates to more rotating mass and less power to the ground. To be fair, the tires are bigger, so you pay for some of that, but they also have more meat on the carcass.
Sand Mountain, NV
With our new paddle tires mounted up on our FOX Edition RZR XP 1000, we headed out to Sand Mounted in Nevada to do some testing. For comparison, we brought along our long travel RZR XP 1000 that has the STU + HiPer setup. To be fair, this isn’t a perfect side-by-side comparison since this car is heavier due to the long travel suspension and SSV Works stereo. Plus our FOX Edition has a Muzzys Exhaust which should tip the power balance a bit. But we wanted to have some sort of baseline for comparison.
28-inch STU Sand Blaster on our long travel RZR XP 1000
Nevada has been experiencing some unusual amounts of rain this summer, and as luck would have it, we got dumped on the first afternoon we were there. We hit the dunes again the next morning, and the sand was wet for about the top three inches. Not the ideal scenario for our tests, so take that into consideration when making a comparison.
Aggressive Look of the XP 1000 with GMZ Sand Stripper XLs
First off, I am a size guy when it comes to tires. I pushed for 30-inch dirt tires several years ago (see 30-inch Tire shootout), and love the way a UTV looks with bigger tires. I never really noticed that the 28-inch STUs look small on a XP 1000 until these new Sand Stripper XLs came out. Now I don’t know that I’d want to go back! This is especially noticeable on a long travel car, but I love the way the Sand Stripper XLs fill in the wheel well and make the stance look much more aggressive.
But big isn’t always better. A tire that is too large can make you feel like a kid with his Dad’s shoes on, but we were happy that we did not notice anything like that. The Sand Stripper XLs just felt appropriate in all conditions.
Turning
Three-Rib Front Sand Stripper XLs Cut Hard
When it comes to front sand tires, I have noticed that it really comes down to personal preference. Some like a completely smooth buff up front, and others want a more responsive bite from a tire. I can tell you without a doubt that the Sand Stripper XL is more on the aggressive bite side of things. The three-rib design grabs into the sand like no other, and I liked it that way.
We found a good spot to huck the RZR to see how the Sand Stripper XLs did with some abuse. We had the tires set at 10PSI and the tires and wheels handled everything just fine. The front tires look very close at full bump, but we did not see any tire rub.
Catching Big Air in the Dunes
Full Bump Landing
Power Slides
Power Slides are effortless and predictable
I don’t know about you, but I love to toss a RZR hard in the dunes. Feeling the read-end come around while throwing a nice roost is a blast. I was happy to find the RZR XP 1000 had enough torque to spin the Sand Stripper XLs. Power slides were predictable and the ribbed front tires really help to keep you aimed where you want to go.
Performance
After spending a few hours duning hard, I was satisfied with the general performance of the tire. We thought it would be a good idea to see how the Sand Stripper XLs stacked up on a hill climb.
Nice Roost Shot
We lined up at the bottom of Comp Hill and started from a dead stop. The STUs jumped out front about a car length, and pretty much held that lead to the top. Again, this wasn’t an apples-to-apples RZR to RZR comparison, and the sand was wet, so I can’t say what the results would be like in an ideal scenario, but I was happy with the results.
For me, I’d pay for the slight loss in performance to gain the bigger tire all while paying a lot less for the GMZ package ($1713.60 Retail).
Clutch Tuning
We are running completely stock clutches in both cars, and for best performance, we would need to adjust weights or go with a full-blown clutch kit. We were seeing RPMs range from 7300 to 8000 on both cars. This is a bit low if you want the most performance out of a RZR XP 1000, but they both climbed to the top of Sand Mountain just fine.
Option for Less Turning Bite
If you don’t like as much positive cornering grab, here is another option. If you mount the front tires with the ribs on the inside, the ribs have a much less profound hook.
Power slide while coming around a bowl in Glamis
You can see how the front tires do not cut as hard in this shot
RZR XP Turbo
We have run the Sand Strippler XLs on our RZR XP Turbo in Idaho at the UTV Invasion and in Glamis for Camp RZR. The car looks great and performs as expected.
You can really see how the ribs cut into the sand in this image from St. Anthony Dunes
Hard corner at the Idaho Dunes
Running Hard at Camp RZR in Glamis
A little Turbo Wheelie in Glamis
If you’d like more information, you can find GMZ on the net at www.gmzraceproducts.com. You can also find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GMZRaceProducts.
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