Breaking Down Off-Road Tires

October 21, 2015

From mudding and rock crawling to baja blasting or overlanding, off-roading depends on your tires. Your vehicle’s contact patch with the terrain underneath can make or break your off-pavement performance, even if your 4×4 system is world-class.

At Tint World® Automotive Styling Centers, we’re all about aftermarket customization and love vehicles of all shapes and sizes. We stock each of our locations and online store with some of the best off-road tires available in the industry, and many of our technicians are out on the trails just as much as you are, allowing us to help you better understand the various types of tires available for your truck, SUV, or ATV.

Before you buy your next set, consider these points of interest:

  • All-terrain tires: The first step away from highway tires, all-terrain tires are designed to offer off-road prowess for a variety of situations. A great choice for overland adventures, mild trail riding and longevity, all-terrains come in a variety of shapes and sizes for virtually any vehicle. While the tread patterns are aggressive, all-terrain tires tend to clump with mud much easier than other varieties and lack the bite needed to conquer slick rocks with ease. If you don’t plan on playing in the mud or in a rock garden every weekend and want an aggressive looking tire that performs well in the dirt, all-terrains are the way to go.
  • Mud-terrain tires: Two steps away from road tires, mud-terrain tires are dedicated off-road varieties that tend to forgo road manners for off-pavement performance. Typically more common in larger sizes, mud-terrains carry deep tread blocks with thick sidewalls to prevent mud from clumping up. Perfect for the more focused ride, mud-terrains lack the road manners of all-terrain tires, are loud by nature and tend to have a shorter lifespan than their more rounded counterparts.
  • Competition tires: If street manners or tread life are not a concern for you and you simply want a tire that is designed for off-road purposes only, competition-spec varieties are the tire for you. Sometimes even built as bias-ply tires, these varieties offer very little paved road grip, lots of noise and wear down rather quickly, but are unbeatable when it comes to off-road performance.

Don’t get confused about what off-road tire you should select for your truck, SUV, or ATV. Contact your local Tint World® location, where you’ll find the industry’s best custom wheel and tire packages, paired with an expert staff who will guide you through every step of the process.