Ocelot Zippers

Spotted these tires online some time ago and figured I’d pull the trigger on a pair for the lawn ranger. Truthfully I had somewhat unrealistic requirements/wants for a tire that would handle most terrains well. Luckily, for just under $100 I found a pair of tires that worked really well.

Featuring a wide spaced yet shallow depth (almost 1/2”) tread design, these tires have proven to be a great match for a light, low horsepower tractor that sees a great range of terrain. The shallow tread depth with thin bars are easily spun in mud by a 212cc Predator, while the wide tread spacing prevents them from packing mud between the bars like you would get on a knobby. The only time my tractor gets stuck in mud is when I get into ruts and bottom out the transmission so the tires can’t pull anymore. The same story goes for sand, which is this tire’s primary design focus.

It is interesting to note that the tracks these tires leave on any soft surface are extremely prominent- the tread bars cut into the soft surface like a knife and leave a clean imprint of the tread design. This goes to show that in soft surfaces, the smooth part of the tire with greater surface area bears the weight of the machine while the tread bars act only to push it forward, and will fold over before they start “shoveling” themselves down deeper.

On hard surfaces like rock these tires perform surprisingly well. The 2ply carcass lends itself to flexibility even at the tire’s maximum operating pressure (5psi), on a 250lb tractor, even. The tread bars themselves are very thin and can be pushed over with your fingers. It is my personal belief that most of the traction on hard surfaces comes from the surface area of contact of the smooth part of the tire that would normally just bear the weight of the machine in soft surfaces(as mentioned above). Think of this in contrast to a hard lug AG tire which skate on rock because the only surface area for grip is on the lugs of the tires.


Keep in mind that a fairly wide rim is ideal for these to flatten out the tread profile and improve flotation properties. Most stock mower rims are fine.


Here is a spot where these tires excelled. To hop the rock, you have to wheelie into it to avoid bouncing the front end up in the air. Knobbies here would just pack with mud and spin so I couldn’t wheelie. The zippers had no problem lifting the front end, as well as providing adequate grip for the final “bump” up the rock.


Here the Zippers easily picked up my front end in a slippery creek bed and put me up a slimy rock face that was taller than my hood.


Unfortunately I believe these tires are only offered in 18x9.50-8 (like mine) or 22x11-10. I think the 22x11-10 would be a great choice for any 3/4” axle tractor, and would probably not be too hard on the transaxle depending on how crazy the driver is with their clutch pedal.

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

Spotted these tires online some time ago and figured I’d pull the trigger on a pair for the lawn ranger. Truthfully I had somewhat unrealistic requirements/wants for a tire that would handle most terrains well. Luckily, for just under $100 I found a pair of tires that worked really well.

Featuring a wide spaced yet shallow depth (almost 1/2”) tread design, these tires have proven to be a great match for a light, low horsepower tractor that sees a great range of terrain. The shallow tread depth with thin bars are easily spun in mud by a 212cc Predator, while the wide tread spacing prevents them from packing mud between the bars like you would get on a knobby. The only time my tractor gets stuck in mud is when I get into ruts and bottom out the transmission so the tires can’t pull anymore. The same story goes for sand, which is this tire’s primary design focus.

It is interesting to note that the tracks these tires leave on any soft surface are extremely prominent- the tread bars cut into the soft surface like a knife and leave a clean imprint of the tread design. This goes to show that in soft surfaces, the smooth part of the tire with greater surface area bears the weight of the machine while the tread bars act only to push it forward, and will fold over before they start “shoveling” themselves down deeper.

On hard surfaces like rock these tires perform surprisingly well. The 2ply carcass lends itself to flexibility even at the tire’s maximum operating pressure (5psi), on a 250lb tractor, even. The tread bars themselves are very thin and can be pushed over with your fingers. It is my personal belief that most of the traction on hard surfaces comes from the surface area of contact of the smooth part of the tire that would normally just bear the weight of the machine in soft surfaces(as mentioned above). Think of this in contrast to a hard lug AG tire which skate on rock because the only surface area for grip is on the lugs of the tires.


Keep in mind that a fairly wide rim is ideal for these to flatten out the tread profile and improve flotation properties. Most stock mower rims are fine.


Here is a spot where these tires excelled. To hop the rock, you have to wheelie into it to avoid bouncing the front end up in the air. Knobbies here would just pack with mud and spin so I couldn’t wheelie. The zippers had no problem lifting the front end, as well as providing adequate grip for the final “bump” up the rock.


Here the Zippers easily picked up my front end in a slippery creek bed and put me up a slimy rock face that was taller than my hood.


Unfortunately I believe these tires are only offered in 18x9.50-8 (like mine) or 22x11-10. I think the 22x11-10 would be a great choice for any 3/4” axle tractor, and would probably not be too hard on the transaxle depending on how crazy the driver is with their clutch pedal.

Good price on those. And what's with 318 in the back? You don't need that do you?

I thought the price was awesome for what you get. The 318 is my cousin’s boat anchor that needs the ignition module under the flywheel replaced.

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

I thought the price was awesome for what you get. The 318 is my cousin’s boat anchor that needs the ignition module under the flywheel replaced.

How much?  

> are only offered in 18x9.50-8 (like mine) or 22x11-10

Guess I waited too long to buy a set, they only offer the 22s now. Though it makes sense about how they provide the traction. I was thinking they might make a good tire for Georgia clay mud on my yard dog.

Yeah, I noticed the other day that they only have them in 22x11-10 now. I think they’re out of production, dont know if theyll ever mold any more of them.

Sunf has these 22x11-9s in a similar tread pattern, don’t know how well they perform though. Dont see any other sizes offered.

https://a.co/d/4Yg0niH

Thanks, with a 7% 1 star rating, there are probably some problems. Reviewers said they are hard rubber, which kind of defeats the purpose of why you liked them and I wanted them. When I get ready to buy more tires again, I will try to find them off of Amazon.

@JB_4x4 I found These

Awesome, thank you!

I plan on ordering some by the end of the month. My new tires from Amazon just arrived, I might put off mounting them on the new 4x4 rims and save the rims for these instead. Might look nice black on black.

@JB_4x4 black on black is the way to go it looks classy on anything

JB_4x4 wrote:

Awesome, thank you!

I plan on ordering some by the end of the month. My new tires from Amazon just arrived, I might put off mounting them on the new 4x4 rims and save the rims for these instead. Might look nice black on black.

Keep us updated, if they actually have them I’ll probably go ahead and order another pair. I had some bad luck trying to order some on ebay, they said they had them in stock but didnt.

Will do, I am starting my golf cart brake conversion, hence the new rims and tires.