Off-roading is exhilarating. There’s something about escaping the bureaucracy of clearly marked roads to freely drive practically anywhere you’d like. Not to mention, places you can explore when off-roading are nothing short of magnificent. To go on these adventures, though, you need off-roading tires that can handle the journey. Read on to learn the basics for picking an off-road tire so that you can make an educated decision.

Consider How You’ll Use Them

Before getting into tire types, you should reflect on how you’ll put the tires to use. Off-road tires range from extremely road-friendly to those not meant for extended trips on pavement at all. If you have flatter terrain to explore, or if you’d realistically drive on paved roads regularly, tires that more closely resemble normal street tire would be better than full-blown rock crawlers. But, if you have sandy or rocky land near you that requires extra grip, tires with more extreme tread patterns and voids would work wonders. Overall, be on guard about overbuying—every prospective off-roader has high hopes of how they’ll spend their time off-roading, but that often isn’t entirely realistic.

The Tire Types

The basics for picking an off-road tire necessitate going through the common types you have to choose from: all-terrain, mud, and rock crawler tires.

All-Terrain Tires

First, all-terrain tires are the mildest, most road-ready tires that you can take off the road. While these tires have larger tread blocks and voids between treads, they are more akin to a road tire than an intensive off-road tire. These are best for on-road use with some off-roading, and they provide relatively fuel-efficient and quiet driving compared to other options.

Mud Tires

Mud tires, meanwhile, have more void space than all-terrain vehicles and are a common tire for more frequent off-roading. These even larger voids give your car the ability to grip and pull at the ground more effectively. Also, mud tires come with wide longitudinal channels to push water and mud away so that you avoid losing control as you drive.

Rock Crawler Tires

Rock crawlers are the most extreme off-roading variety. These tires have huge tread blocks and voids, meant to not only solidly grip the ground below, but also to climb significantly steep inclines. They also have reinforced sidewalls that stand up to sharp rocks as they climb. However, both mud and rock tires do have the disadvantage of poor fuel-efficiency on paved roads. If you’re in the market for off-roading tires, contact our team at RNR Tire Express. We operate tire stores in OKC, and we would love to answers your questions about off-roading.