UTVs are big business these days, and with the increased popularity and sales of side-by-sides, there is bound to be a huge aftermarket for these amazing machines.  As with automobiles, the UTV aftermarket tire industry is highly competitive, and consumers are constantly looking for the best tire for their particular application.

Maxxis is a well-known and respected name in the ATV/UTV world, and for good reason.

 With championships winning products such as the Maxxis RZR ATV tires and the Maxxis Big Horn UTV tires, Maxxis has earned a reputation for producing some of the best tire products on the market.  The Maxxis Ceros Radial UTV tire is no exception, and here we take a look at what makes this tire so appealing.

The Ceros Radial was designed to be a smooth rolling, high speed 6-ply tire that excells on dry, hardpack trails and tracks, yet is still effective in any other condition.  It's directional tread pattern helps ensure forward movement when accelerating, and it's available 11-inch wide rear tire puts a lot of rubber down on any contact surface.

We were drawn to the Ceros originally by its attention-grabbing tread pattern and unique sidewall design - the Ceros looks more like a truck tire than a UTV tire, and in a sea of tires and tread patterns that that tend to look the same, the Ceros is a standout for sure.

Our particular application for the Ceros tire would be a unique one.  We were mounting our Maxxis Ceros on an extremely fast and racey SR1 UTV - a highly modified race UTV that is powered by a 1000cc Yamaha R1 streetbike engine.

 Capable of reaching speeds of well over 100mph, the SR1 needed a tire with a big footprint for traction and one that offered plenty of forward bite to keep the machine moving straight on fast acceleration.  

We would be using the Maxxis Ceros mostly on a short-course race track, which typically starts out muddy but then becomes dry and blue-grooved (almost cement-like) before the race is over.  We were looking for a tire that was designed similar to an ATV race tire, with square edges and plenty of tread on the ground, as well as a tire that would flex the sidewalls just a bit in the corners to give us some side-bite.  The Ceros met all of our criteria and we were excited to see how they performed.

We mounted our 26x9 front and 26x11 rear Ceros tires on 12-inch beadlocks, which allowed us to air down to about 10psi without running the risk of pinching our sidewalls between the ground and the wheel rim when landing from big jumps, but still gave us plenty of traction for the straight-aways.  

Despite hearing that this tire wasn't designed for performing particularly well in the mud, we were pleasantly surprised by the forward grip and traction that the Ceros did have in the wet, muddy track conditions we encountered.  We have also experienced running the Ceros on stock UTVs in the mud at much slower speeds, and they still performed well in fairly slick, muddy conditions such as in the pits or on the trails.

The Ceros tires do shine on harder packed, drier terrain, however - and it's always a thrill to feel the forward bite when you hit the throttle on an SR1 as you rocket into the next turn.  The Ceros have a good forward grip, but they also allow for our vehicle to break loose into a slide whenever necessary during a race, very much like a race quad tire.  In racing applications, this is important - however, on the trails you may not feel comfortable with any type of sliding, and because of the factory siping in the lugs (which softens the lugs and allows them to flex), the Ceros do a great job of maintaining grip unless you are actually trying to break them loose.

With their six-ply design, we had no issues with punctures or flat tires in any terrain we chose to run our Ceros tires in, whether it was on the race track, in the desert, on the trails or even in the dunes.   If you are looking for a tire that looks as good as it performs, the Ceros might be just what you are looking for.  

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.