ITP Mud Lite Tires - Everything You Need To Know

Of all the replaceable wear items on your ATV or UTV, your tires are perhaps the most important, constituting your machine’s only point of contact with the ground. Little surprise, then, that there’s a big industry around four-wheeler tires, with a multitude of brands, models, compounds, and tread types, each with its own pros, cons, and quirks. Our “Everything You Need To Know” tire series is meant to help you navigate the vast sea of options out there, so you can make the best choice possible on your next set of tires. Here, we’ll look at the ITP Mud Lite series, exploring its features, sizing options, comparable alternatives, and reviews from real users.

ITP Mud Lite Features

ITP’s Mud Lite tire range was designed to provide ATVs and UTVs with optimal performance through just one type of terrain: mud. That makes ITP Mud Lite tires more specialized, and a bit less versatile, than some other options out there. While they can handle themselves on hardpack trails, their aggressive, V-shaped treads are most at home in loose dirt and mud, and they’ll wear more quickly than a trail-focused all-terrain tire. As an added plus, however, that tread design is also quite adept at shoveling its way through the snow – especially the firm stuff.

ITP Mud Lite tires are also designed to be light in weight, with a 6-ply carcass offering a good balance between durability and low rotating mass. If you’re coming from a set of same-sized 8-ply tires, you’ll feel the difference every time you accelerate, brake, or turn the handlebars. Most of the ITP Mud Lite tire range utilizes bias-ply construction, lending them excellent puncture-resistance and the ability to be aired-down aggressively if needed, but the Mud Lite XTR is available wherever radial construction is preferred for its extra comfort and cornering performance. ITP touts the XTR as the industry’s first “extreme terrain radial tire.”

Mud Lite XL

Mud Lite AT

Mud Lite XXL

Mud Lite XTR

The ITP Mud Lite tire range largely lives up to the “lite” portion of its name, thanks in part to its 6-ply rating, although its tall, solid tread blocks keep it from being the lightest mud-terrain tire we’ve looked at. An ITP Mud Lite XL can weigh anywhere from 21 pounds at the low end, for size 25x8x12, to 33 pounds at the high end, for size 27x12x14. All XLs feature a fairly tall 33/32” or 34/32” tread depth. With its shallower 21/32” tread, an ITP Mud Lite AT tire sized 25x8x12 weighs just 17 pounds – 4 pounds less than the equivalent XL. The Mud Lite AT range tops out at 24 pounds, size 25x12x9.

Numerous alternatives to the ITP Mud Lite tire range are available, whether you’re looking for lighter weight or even more extreme performance. The Maxxis ‘Zilla compares favorably to the Mud Lite range in terms of weight; at the high end, a big 30×11-14 Maxxis ‘Zilla weighs about 32 pounds, which is significantly lighter than any comparable Mud Lite, and that’s with a meaty, 38/32” tread depth, to boot. That light weight comes at the expense of some sidewall stability, but overall performance is comparable.

Another alternative to the ITP Mud Lite tire range is the Kenda Bear Claw, which features a similar, effective V-shaped tread design and 6-ply rating, with a durable, long-lasting compound that ensures years of use even on hardpack. For that reason, it’s more of an all-rounder than the ITP Mud Lite series, and it’s significantly lighter in weight than the Mud Lite XL, with a comparable price tag. The price you pay for that is somewhat lesser mud-terrain performance; tread depth on the Kenda Bear Claw is significantly less, meaning it’s not as adept at shoveling its way through deep mud.