33 Inches of Improved Performance
Story & Photos By: Brandon Bunch
The Arisun After Shock XD has been around for a while now and has always been a favorite here at UTV Sports… But with the release of a new 33×9.50R15 size, the aging model gets a few updates to the design. We loved the After Shock XD in the thirty-two inch size thanks to it’s smooth and compliant ride, very high level of grip, and reasonable price point with a good resistance to wear. Our only complaint would be that the tire had very sharp-edged shoulder tread blocks which cause a bit of harsh feedback through the steering wheel in the deep desert ruts, especially if the tires are mounted on wheels with a centered or negative offset.
The thirty-three inch After Shock XD now has what looks like a flatter surface across the center of the tread, with rounded corners on the shoulder tread blocks which should result in a more progressive feel in the corners, and less of that annoying feedback through the steering wheel in the ruts. The rest of the tire including the tread pattern looks to be the same as what we’ve grown to know and love. Mounted up on a set of Raceline beadlocks and bolted to our Polaris RZR PRO XP, the new After Shock XD delivered performance that was everything we hoped for.
I wouldn’t recommend bolting up a set of 33’s to your RZR PRO XP unless you are ready to clearance the front of the belly pan and possibly your firewall, but the tires performed extremely well when putting all 181 horses to the ground. The extra height does wonders to keep the rear of the chassis off the ground, and the rounded shoulder tread worked extremely well at keeping the handling consistent throughout the deep ruts.
The traction delivered was everything that I remembered and loved from the thirty-two inch After Shock, with tons of forward bite and very stable performance under very hard braking. Whether on sand, gravel, hard pack dirt, or rocks, the Arisun After Shock XD honestly is one of the better handling tires we’ve ever tested. The fact that it’s available in 28”, 30”, 32”, and now the new 33” size makes this tire a great tire for any performance UTV application.