Adventure Starts with the Right Tires
For some, a car is just a convenient way to travel from A to B.
For others, traveling off the beaten path tests both the resolve of themselves and their vehicle, against the will of nature.
While your standard radial tire is designed to withstand the environment common to a daily drive – highway driving, low rolling resistance and potential bias towards comfort or performance – the greatest “obstacle” it is designed to navigate is either a speed bump or perhaps a nasty pothole. But when driving off-road where pavement is replaced by notched rock and gnarled wood, advanced tire technology is what makes a 4×4 perform. With greater reinforcement and stress ratings, an off-road tire features knobbier tread sections, aggressive sidewalls to protect against cuts, and a higher durability rating to keep you from becoming stranded on the trail.
Professional photographer and adventure junkie Eric Bunting has made a name for himself capturing stunning landscapes across Alaska, Wyoming, Utah and now Montana where he currently calls home. With a background in mechanical engineering, the call to nature was too strong to ignore, and he turned his passion for the outdoors into a fulfilling livelihood. Along his journey, Eric found that upgrading your tires from conventional stock offerings can unlock better performance and more confidence when pavement is replaced with something a bit more “natural.”
For many off-road enthusiasts like Eric, modifications like better lighting for late-night returns, skid plates protecting against undercarriage impacts, and winches to get yourself out of a rut are all on the list – but here’s why your adventure should begin with your tires.
Upgrading Your Adventure
Imagine setting off for a hiking trip and packing all the required items (canteen, reflective gear, bug spray, clothing, etc.) only to find you have a pair of flip flops to wear. So before you head out on your next off-road adventure, know whether you need an all-terrain (AT) or top of the food chain mud-terrain (MT) tire.
At the most basic level, having an off-road tire provides a taller tread and subsequent ride height, resulting in greater ground clearance and extending the range of your otherwise stock suspension. Take Eric’s 1983 Defender 110 for example. Equipped with a locking differential, favorable approach and departure angles and sturdy low-range gearbox, the Defender is an already capable off-road platform and just needed the right pair of “shoes” to bring his 4×4 to a new level of comfort and performance.
Imagine setting off for a hiking trip and packing all the required items (canteen, reflective gear, bug spray, clothing, etc.) only to find you have a pair of flip flops to wear. So before you head out on your next off-road adventure, know whether you need an all-terrain (AT) or top of the food chain mud-terrain (MT) tire.
At the most basic level, having an off-road tire provides a taller tread and subsequent ride height, resulting in greater ground clearance and extending the range of your otherwise stock suspension. Take Eric’s 1983 Defender 110 for example. Equipped with a locking differential, favorable approach and departure angles and sturdy low-range gearbox, the Defender is an already capable off-road platform and just needed the right pair of “shoes” to bring his 4×4 to a new level of comfort and performance.
The technology of a tire features a variety of interwoven and layered high-strength materials, including nylon and steel. A tire’s load capacity is commonly measured by ply rating. Off-road tires typically come with a 10-ply rating resulting in greater durability and structural integrity to hold up when under pressure and the road runs out.
When the Going gets Tough
Mud-Terrain Tires like the Hankook Dynapro MT2 are designed to be the go-to for off-road enthusiasts who want maximum performance and plan to navigate elements such as large rocks, downed trees, and surfaces like mud and sand where traction can be hard to find.
With a more aggressive and pronounced tread block structure, small design nuances such as the Mud and Stone Ejector help protect against the drilling and potential puncture of sharp stones in addition to providing more biting edges when going over slick off-road surfaces. One of the distinct characteristics of an MT tire is an aggressive wrap-around tread that extends from the outside edge of the tire and integrates into the tire’s sidewall, providing added protection, reinforcement and traction when considering the off-angle driving situations a vehicle can encounter when off-roading.
When looking at previous iterations of the MT segment, new manufacturing processes such as split-mold technology enable removing the parting line that would typically separate the primary tread section of the shoulder block from the sidewall traction elements.
The Roads In-between
The all-terrain segment represents that perfect middle ground for those looking to have added traction and off-road capabilities while not sacrificing characteristics that provide a balanced on-road feel. The Dynapro AT2, for example, features off-road elements such as locking shoulder lugs that, similar to the Dynapro MT2, provide additional reinforcement from shoulder edge to the sidewall in addition to better traction on a variety of surfaces.
With a higher pitch frequency compared to an MT tire, the Dynapro AT2 incorporates multi-directional grooves and sipes (small etches on the surface of the tread block), facilitating better traction regardless of the direction of travel or road surface. This tread technology also extends to better traction in snow and colder climates, as indicated by the three-peak mountain snowflake rating on the tire’s sidewall. This marking represents the tire has passed specific winter performance parameters set by the Department of Transportation.