EFX Motovator R/T
The New Lightweight Race Tire From EFX
Story By: Kyle Callen
Photos By: Brandon Bunch
Just like there is a seat for every butt, there is a tire for every driver. There is a multitude of different riding environments and each person has their own riding style in that environment which makes tire selection very personal. It seems like we have tested every tire under the sun here at UTV Sports, and we love doing it. Putting hundreds upon hundreds of brutal miles on each set to find out what they are really made of while giving you, the reader, our honest feedback. There have been many we have loved and many we do not. We do everything we can to throw hardpack, sand, rocks, and even snow at these tires for a full and honest review and that was the case when EFX Tires sent us a set of their latest offering, the 32×9.5R15 Motovator R/T. Well, minus the snow, that’s hard to find in the southwest in late summer.
EFX Tires says this tire was specifically designed for hard-pack performance driving, so that’s where we would start, after they were mounted of course. Mounting the Motovator R/T to a set of 15×6 KMC XS234 Addict 2 Beadlock wheels and bolting them onto our 2019 Polaris RZR XP Turbo S Velocity, the combination looked tough. Our Turbo S Velocity has a fair amount of shock tuning done and this really allows us to push the tires to the edge in the hardpack Lake Havasu trails that are littered with rocks. Our home trail system is a lot of fun for performance driving, but can bite you quickly with the slightest mistake in the driving line.
With the combination weighing in at 52.3 LBS ready to be bolted on to the car, EFX was serious about keeping the weight and rolling resistance down. The rounded profile of the 9.5-inch wide tire doesn’t have the sizable contact patch with the ground that some of the other 32 inch tires have, but the aggressive tread pattern and soft compound should make this tire hook up well. Enough small talk, let’s get to the dirt and see what this tire will do.
The open block tread design coupled with a soft compound makes for an excellent forward bite in all conditions. The trail system is very well worn here, and the narrow 9.5-inch tire track through the ruts extremely well making the short 2 seater feel like it is on rails. Intentionally, or so I say, we bashed it off as many rocks as we could find on the trail and the 8ply sidewall wouldn’t fall victim to a puncture. In the open flats, the lateral traction from the aggressive open block design gives you the same cornering ability is if you were in a rutted trail. Thanks to the soft compound of the Motovator R/T the car always felt planted and stable, until you clicked it into two-wheel drive. The 168hp would come to life breaking rear traction. Even with excessive tire spin, the car was in control and predictable while we were playing Tokyo drift in the hardpack. Again, EFX is very honest saying this is a hardpack tire, so we had to get it out of its element to see what it would do.
Sand Hollow State Park has a wide variety of sand dunes connecting by rock crawling trails. In the sand, the Motovator R/T dug in hard, probably not the best hole-shot tire for the dunes, but once it was up to speed, the car was responsive and stable. In the rocks, the soft compound shined while the sidewall lugs latched on to the rocks giving excellent traction. The only real downfall of this tire is the wear life. After 1000 brutal miles, we are ready to order another set as they are a fantastic all-around tire, and absolutely one of our favorites.
