Off-Road Tire Test Shows Downside Of M/Ts On Street-Driven Trucks

Although the tread is able to cut through mud, it does not perform well in other areas.

Tyre Review on YouTube has returned with another comprehensive rubber test, this time on something that is very dear to the truck-loving U.S. Market. Although it can look great on any vehicle, big off-road mud tires are able to make almost anything look good. However, such tires are designed for chopping through mud. What about other conditions? Similar questions are asked about street tires and mid-grade all terrain tires in other situations.

This is a tricky question because different brands of tires can offer different levels. General Tire offered five different truck tires as part of its Grabber series. The Grabber APT mild all terrain tire is next, while the HTS is an all season street tire. These tires are street-friendly, while the Grabber A/TX X is an aggressive all-terrain. Grabber X3 is a full-on mud-terrain tire with a large, blocky tread. For this test, an extra-large 315/70 version was used. A set in 265/70 format was also used. This size is the same as all other tires.

Off-Road Tire Test Shows Downside Of M/Ts On Street-Driven Trucks

All tires were tested on a variety of tracks, including a hard-pack dirt track and a gravel track. All tests were performed using a first-generation Ford F-150 Raptor. It lost four-wheel drive in the mud pit. For that, a Nissan Frontier came in to help.

The video will provide details about the test. There are many interesting results. There are some key points to be aware of, some of which may surprise you. The HTS street tires won the race on pavement. However, they performed well off-road in dirt, gravel and dirt, with only minor disadvantages in gripping and traction. The street tires performed better than the mud-terrain tires on hard-packed dirt.

Similar results were seen for emergency braking on wet roads. The mudders took 21 feet (6.4m) longer to stop than street tires. This significant difference is worth considering if you are a frequent road user and want knobby tires only because they look cool. If you have to deal with muddy conditions or off-road obstacles, M/T tires will outperform all other tires.