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A one size does not fit all, so to speak,
and couldn't be any more true
when it comes to picking out the right tire
for your own particular needs and circumstances.
Then, in addition to that,
we need to factor in the varying climates
and weather conditions.
What might work best for someone that lives
in the southern portion of North America,
may not work very well for those of us
in the northern portion of North America.
So then the question becomes,
what are the best tires for
the region of the continent we live in?
Well my friends, let's go find out.
Hey guys real quick, let me preface this first,
as I think it's important to break down
the regions before jumping into the tire info.
The easiest way for us to determine what the northern
and southern regions are is to separate it by
those of us who get the icy, snow filled,
treacherous, wintery conditions,
and those of us who don't.
Or those of us who drive in the mountains
and north of the 40th parallel
or the 40 degrees latitude line,
which spans from about the center of the United States
all the way up through Canada
and throughout the state of Alaska.
Then, there are those of us who
are south of the 40th parallel.
And guys, this is a pretty close representation of the
separation between northern winter climates
and more tropical southern climates
and obviously, there's gonna be some overlap here.
Starting with the northern territory.
This needs to be a tire that is pretty much
designed and engineered to do it all
or at least close to it all
and I'm not sure that perfect tire actually exists.
Well, not yet anyways.
And to keep it simple, we're gonna go through
the types of tires that will work best for those daily
drivers that often see the trails on the weekends.
Which means, the tread design is gonna have to have
a lot of syping for additional grip in snow,
on the ice, wet roads, and wet rocks.
Because of all the mud and deep snow
throughout the northern region,
we'll need large evacuation tread voids,
similar to a mud-terrain but we're gonna want
a high number of center tread blocks for increased
performance and traction on the road
compared to a traditional mud terrain.
We'll want large, bulky shoulder blocks to help
scoop out mud and snow and also aggressive side wall cleats
or side wall lugs for extra bite in the deep ruts,
snow or while aired down for an increased footprint.
The tread compound will need to be softer
than an all terrain to help increase its adhesion properties
in the freezing, icy, cold winter conditions.
Plus, it helps the tire stick to wet rocks
or similar slippery conditions.
So a tire that has the three peak mountain snow flake
rating would be the best case scenario there
for optimized traction year round.
And we need at least a three ply side wall
to handle all the abuse and help prevent jagged rocks
from tearing through the side walls.
So this is one heck of a tall order for a tire brand,
therefore there are only a few tires out there
that fit within all of these parameters.
First one is the Good Year Rangler Duratrac
which is a favorite of many.
Second one is the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss Hybrid
all-terrain but in sizes narrower than 315 or 1250 wide
to get the 3PMSF rating.
Number three on our list is the Cooper Discoverer Rugged
Trek and our last one is the Kanati Trail Hog AT4.
And guys, these are just four of the most aggressive
hybrid tires that I could find.
It doesn't mean that there aren't more like this
that have the 3PMSF rating and if there is,
well definitely make sure and let us know.
Now with that said, there are a dozen or so other potential
qualifiers on the market that do have the 3PMSF rating
however have tread designs that the tread blocks
are more closely grouped together and patterns consistent
with your lesser aggressive all terrains
and are great but for the northern and mountainous regions,
we're looking for the most aggressive three peak
mountain snowflake rated tire we can find
to handle the greasy thick mud,
deep snow, jagged rock, slippery rocks and hills
while off roading but still be able
to handle the treacherous winter
driving conditions on the pavement.
Unless you barely ever hit the trails,
then well your winter tire options are pretty wide open,
but I would recommend staying within the brands and models
that at least have the 3PMSF rating.
Also guys, for all of the different tires,
we're gonna go through with you today,
we will have a link in the description to bring you
right to them right on our website at Trail Built Off Road.
And now, for all of you south of the 40th,
that rarely have to experience the joys of driving on ice,
never knowing when it's going to be your turn
to meet your maker, while the liquid sodium chloride,
also known as liquid rust, eats away at our vehicles.
It's getting to the point now
where most of us don't even purchase replacement
tires anymore and instead well,
we just buy a new vehicle with brand new tires
every couple of years and just throw the old one away.
Obviously guys, I'm just being facetious here.
If I didn't enjoy living on the brink of death,
having a new vehicle every couple of years,
well, then I would just move south by all of you guys.
Anyways, emotions aside, south of the 40th parallel,
picking out the right type of tire
really just comes down to what the most common
terrain is that you go off roading on.
If we want to, we can remove the severe winter driving
3PMSF rating if we almost never drive in temperatures
below freezing or under 40 degrees
as that is what the 3PMSF rating covers.
However, with that said, a 3PMSF rating tire will
offer at least 10% more cohesion on the road or in the rocks
which is advantageous for many of you in the south.
The only disadvantage is that your tires
are going to wear faster being that they have
a softer rubber and silicone composition.
But regardless, an all terrain or hybrid rugged terrain
with at least a mud plus snow rating, three ply sidewalk
instruction and aggressive shoulder lugs
and side wall cleats will perform great in a large
number of on and off road environments.
Like if you wheel in a lot of sand, silt,
slick rock or most rocks for that matter,
unless they're always wet then a lot of syping throughout
the tread blocks will help tremendously there
or you wheel a lot of two tracks out in the desert.
The off ring on this type of tire is pretty vast
but a few favorites are the Nitto Ridge Grappler,
Falcon Wild Peak AT3W and the BFG KO2
and now for some of my favorite tires,
are for those of us that are really needing a tough,
super durable, aggressive, high traction tire
for deep mud or trails that might normally tear the shreds
out of an all terrain or rugged terrain tire.
And I'm referring to the mud terrain categorized tire.
Mud terrains will typically have a tread compound
that is gonna be even softer than a 3PMSF rated tire
and will wear down the fastest if you're mostly doing
on road driving or playing on slick rock or other
types of gritty granite-like types of rock surfaces.
If you are racing through the desert,
full of hazardous and jagged rocks,
then the strength of a mud tire will be your friend.
But if you're trying to not dig into
or dig in the loose silt or sand at slower speeds,
then an all terrain or hybrid terrain will offer more
flotation and less digging and will work best there.
If it's mostly mud like it is in a large portion of the
southeast areas or swamp-like Florida,
then again a mud terrain is the way to go in order
to evacuate as much mud as possible to get the tread lugs
biting and grabbing unless of course you don't go,
off roading that is, then obviously the all terrain
will last you the longest and offer better on road comfort.
And contrary to what many of us believe,
an all terrain or hybrid terrain tire with a fair
amount of syping and airing down works just a little bit
better for getting traction on slick rock
or most rocks for that matter.
However you can't beat the strength of a mud terrain.
So, give up a little bit of traction for toughness
or get as much traction as possible
and always make sure to carry along a spare tire.
Also, one thing to note is that a mud terrain tire
is going to be heavier than an all terrain or hybrid terrain
and in a majority of cases, upgrading the drive line
suspension and brakes is highly recommended
in order to prevent sometimes catastrophic carnage
not to mention a drop in fuel mileage as well.
So just something to keep in mind
when considering upgrading it to a mud terrain tire.
And for some of the best mud terrains in the business,
we're lookin' at the Nitto Trail Grappler,
the Toyo Open Country MT
and of course the BFG KM3.
And remember guys, as I had mentioned earlier,
the link to check out all of these tires on our website
is posted in the description below
and when you are researching these tires on Trail Built,
also keep in mind that when you package a set of tires
with a set of wheels that we will mount and balance
them for your for free and guys,
we'll also ship them to you for free
if you live in any state in the lower 48
and that is a heck of a great savings.
And guys, as always, we appreciate all of you for watching
and all of your support, I'm Josh with Trail Built
and we'll see you guys out on the trails.
(light music)