Off Road Adventures
Off-Road Tire Options – Adventures in Traction
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Any conversation about off-road tires should start with the painfully obvious; a differential locker will have as much, if not more, effect on your traction than a taller, meaner set of tires. Okay, I’ve said it, but now we need to deal with the fact that you’ve already lifted your rig, maybe gone through a set (or two) of taller, meaner tires, and now you’re looking for an upgrade, right?
Before we talk about an upgrade, though, perhaps we need to spend a little more time on the obvious. You will have to decide whether to buy bias ply or radial tires. Both kinds of tires have their advantages, but getting your money’s worth will depend on what you intend to do with the rest of your vehicle. Most cars and trucks no longer use bias ply tires, because radial tires ride much smoother and last much longer on the pavement. For off-road vehicles, though, bias ply tire treads are perfectly suited to mud, rocks, sand, and larger rocks. The downside to running bias ply tires is that they won’t run very quietly or very long on pavement, so the ride home won’t be a comfortable one. If you prefer a more comfortable ride home, and if your rig spends equal amounts of time on the highway and hanging off a cliff, a set of radial tires will last much longer on the pavement and should perform decently off-road as well.
If, after considering the obvious issues, you still intent to equip your rig with 18-inch, bias ply, terrain grabbing meat hooks, we now have some fun stuff to discuss.
Effective off-road tires have what is referred to as an “aggressive” tread, meaning that the tread pattern has large lugs (the flat spot in contact with the ground) for a better grip and large sipes (the grooves between the lugs) to ensure that excess mud, sand or water is expelled from the tire… Some tire treads are directional, meaning that the tire will provide exceptional performance, but only when rolling in one direction. Directional tread tires cannot be rotated the same way that non-directional treads can, so they trade off performance for longevity. Some tires have extra tread on the shoulder, which, on Mickey Thompson tires, are called SideBiters, but other companies have devised other names for them. These extra treads can provide up to 50% more traction and will help protect your sidewalls from punctures.
Because these super-nubby treads can wear down in a hurry, many of the newer off-road tires feature silica coatings, sometimes referred to in more ephemeral terms like “a proprietary cut- and chip- resistant compound”. Quantifiable results are hard to come by at the moment, but the general consensus is that these surface coatings do indeed add to the life of the tire.
There’s a universe full of off-road tires available for the dedicated rock crawling community, and you don’t need a degree in physics to figure out the ideal tire for your rig. Just remember what it will be used for, and keep track of how much you intend to pay, and you should be able to find the right rubber to put between yourself and the dirt.
For more great information on 4wd and offroading, visit http://www.4wdevolution.com.
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