Tips To Help You Make The Right Decision When Buying Tires
Choosing the right off road tire can be one of the biggest challenges when upgrading our vehicles. Walking around the 2023 SEMA show we noticed an increasing number of manufactures producing quality off-road tires so we thought it a good time to take a look at how to pick the right off-road tire for your needs. First things first. What we'll need to assess is how exactly are we going to be using our vehicles and I say exactly because I used to think that I was going to be on some trail or the Forest Service road every single weekend. It didn't take long to figure out that if I wasn't driving my vehicle off road all the time that I needed to stop looking at mud-terrains and start looking at all-terrains or rugged-terrain type of tires.
So after we realistically consider how much on road use compared to off road use we're going to be using our you go for we should know at this point what type of tread design we've narrowed down our initial search too let's take a minute and look at what the differences actually are between the different types of trend designs. The all-terrain is going to be on the end of the spectrum for being the least aggressive off road whereas the mud-terrain will be at the complete opposite side of the other end of the spectrum for being the most aggressive for off-road travel and you guessed it the rugged terrain also known as the hybrid-terrain falls in the middle as its tread pattern is a blend of an all-terrain design and a mud-terrain design.
All-terrain types of tread designs are great for those of us who know we're gonna be spending a majority of our time on the road. The all-terrain will theoretically get the best fuel economy based off of the grouping of the tread blocks, a closely grouped together trend design allows the tire to roll more effortlessly on the pavement allowing the engine to work less to have to rotate the tires and because the tread blocks are positioned closer together with less space in between the tread blocks this will also significantly reduce the amount of road noise you'll experience when compared to a mud-terrain with tread blocks that are positioned the furthest apart from each other.
Now if you are spending around half of your time on the road and the other half out on the trails or even in climates that are more harsh and unforgiving then the best choice there is going to be are the rugged terrain hybrid type. The reason it's called a hybrid tire is because the tread pattern is half all-terrain and half mud-terrain. Hybrid tires also known as rugged terrain tires will typically have a lot of siping throughout the tread blocks along with tread blocks that are larger and more blockier than the average all-terrain tire. The tread voids on a hybrid tire are also much larger to increase the evacuation capacity of water, snow, sand, mud, and dirt and are more suitable for harsh winters and off road use.
The hybrids tread patterns are also designed in a way that helps cut down on road noise and still offers an incredible amount of cornering and braking and acceleration performance similar to its all-terrain counterpart. Also the composition of the compound for hybrid tires is going to be just a little bit softer than an all-terrain for off road traction but still designed to offer a long lasting tread just maybe not as long as an all-terrain tire plus the hybrid compound will also offer a better chip and cut resistance as well.
So now we know that all-terrain tires are great for those of you spending a majority of your driving on the pavement and hybrid tires have a great tread design for more aggressive off road use yet maintain pretty decent on road manners. Then there is the mud-terrain type of tread design. A name that is obviously indicative of driving through mud but that's not always the case.
On mud-terrains the tread is designed with large blocky tread lugs and designed in a way that favors off road use much more than on road performance. On the road mud tires can be loud and not handle very well at highway speeds. Now this isn't speaking to all off road brands of mud tires as there are several that perform really well on the road. But mud-terrains are really for those that do spend a majority of their driving time off the pavement. Mud tires will have large evacuation voids in between the tread blocks that quickly and effectively evacuate any loose debris like mud, snow, water or dirt. The tread blocks on mud tires are also shaped in more of a scooping design to help keep them digging biting and gripping even in the worst conditions.
However with that said it's important to note that mud-terrains won't have the traditional siping that a hybrid or all-terrain tire has and are often not recommended to use on icy road conditions. You'll also notice that the tread flows down onto the sidewall for that extra grip when air down for extra traction off road. Typically the construction of a mud-terrain tire allows it to be much more resilient to punctures cuts and tears as well which means there are also going to weigh more than an all-terrain or hybrid tire.
Another important item to note is that typically the rubber compound is the softest kind of mud-terrain compared to an all-terrain or hybrid-terrain tire. So if you do plan on running your mud-terrains on the road know that typically they'll wear out much faster than its counterparts. But if you are spending the majority of your driving time off the road and want an aggressive tread design to get you through some of the worst trail conditions or toughest obstacles out there then make sure and check out the mud-terrain type of tire.
So to sum up start by asking yourselves how much off road driving you're really going to be doing and from there determine if an all-terrain type of tire will work for your vehicle. Or if your time driving is split between on road and off-road then well a hybrid tread design will do the trick. Finally, if most of your time is spent off pavement in extreme terrain well then a mud-terrain tire is going to be the answer.
Off-Road Tire Manufacturers
Kenda
BF Goodrich
General Tire
Mickey Thompson
Toyo
Goodyear
Yokohama
Kanati
Cooper Tires
Nitto
Firestone
Falken
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