rancher 2x4 wheels and tire questions

I wouldn't put HUGE tires on a 2WD, but going up a couple sizes offers you better ground clearance on trails, and keeps you from dragging skidplates in shallow mud.

Just keep in mind that raising your center of gravity makes you more likely to tip over, and the larger tires will rob some power from you.

Set it up for how/where you like to ride. If you like riding fast through tight trails, I wouldn't go past a 25" tire. If you like going slower over obstacles, you may be okay with a 26". I would definately have a winch on the front of your 2WD, or ride with buds who do have winches or tow straps.

I put some 25s on my wife's 2WD Recon and it does way better than the stock 22s. Very, very slight loss of power, and able to go just about anywhere my 4WD Rancher can go with a skilled driver on the Recon.

if you are going to mud ride then it would be a good idea to go bigger. i used to have a 2wd 300 mud bike, i had 25" all around and the front would rub if i would turn all the way. the bigger tires really helped getting the front to float.
-Aaron

+1 for 25's, but IMO you should get some pretty skinny ones up front and x12's in the back. The reason I think you should get skinny tires for the front is because the wider your tires are, the harder it will be to steer.

On my old 300, I had 25x8's on the front and 25x12" Rawhide III's in the back, and it did very good for a 2wd in the mud.

I had 25inch mud bugs on the back of my old 2wd rancher and it did very well....... If you go over a 25 then you are going to have to change the front tire too and i didnt want to do that so thats why i went with the 25 in the back