When it comes down to choosing a tire for your lifted truck, the question we hear asked the most is, Should I get an all-terrain or a mud-terrain? Many people like the aggressive looks of the mud-terrain, but want the highway manners of the all-terrain. The truth is, both tires have their place and can each fill the role for several types of drivers with different needs. We asked our friends at BFGoodrich to supply us with an A/T and M/T, so we could set out and determine what the differences are in living with an aggressive tire from day to day. Both of our tires were approximately 33 inches tall, but since they were installed on two different trucks, we decided to give you a general overview of their characteristics.
Both Center Line wheels and Weld Racing graciously supplied each truck with a set of each company's polished forged wheels, which offer superior strength over stock and cast wheels. The stylish Center Line Stingray III, in a 17x8-inch size, was installed on our project Ranger, while the trick-looking Weld Rod Lite XP came in 16x8s for our project Silverado.
The All-Terrain T/AKO has been the bastion of off-road tires for decades and comes standard from the factory on such off-road machines as the Chevy S-10 ZR2, Ford Ranger FX4 Level II, and Hummer H2. Highly regarded for its robust construction, including a three-ply sidewall known as the TriGuard, the BFGoodrich A/T is also designed with a rim protector to keep those beautiful rims safe from angry curbs. The A/T benefits from an exceptionally long tread life, where in our experience, seeing a 50,000-mile old A/T that has been cared for and still retains tread is not an unusual occurrence. The A/T is now available in 34 sizes as large as 37 inches for 14- to 20-inch wheels.
BFGoodrich's mainstay in the extreme off-road department has been the Mud-Terrain T/AKM. Billed as the ultimate off-road tire after proving itself everywhere from racing to rockcrawling, the new KM version retains all of its original off-road-ability, while increasing streetability. Big open tread blocks keep this self-cleaning tread design digging and finding traction in the worst terrain. The M/T is available in 26 tread sizes for 15- to 18-inch rims and is available as large as 37 inches in diameter. The M/T also has TriGuard construction.
Anaheim Wheel Center, in California, expertly mounted the wheels and tires on our project Silverado, while our good friend at Best Value Tire in Huntington Beach, California, handled the wheels and tires on our project Ranger.