With pickup trucks and SUVs dominating the roads these days, off-road tires are definitely in demand. Choosing a replacement set can be a daunting task, as this segment is full of choices. Jonathan Benson at Tire Reviews knows a thing or two about tire testing, and he’s taken on the herculean task of evaluating nine off-road brands in just about every situation imaginable.
In this case, it really is a considerable effort, since proper testing requires equal conditions for accurate results. Not a problem on pavement, but the dirt and gravel courses change after each pass. To eliminate variables, the dirt course used by Benson was redone after each individual tire session, giving each mark a good run on smooth road. And to make sure the tires were properly exercised, his test vehicle was an ex-V8-powered Ford F-150 Raptor.
As for testing, Benson says his tire choices are on the softer side of off-road, as these are most common on passenger vehicles that are often used more on pavement than off-road. Testing includes wet and dry performance, wet and dry braking, gravel performance, dirt performance, noise and comfort, and rolling resistance.
All the tires in the test are the same size, 275/65 R18. Specific marks include:
- BFGoodrich Trail Terrain TA
- Continental ground Contact AT
- Firestone Destination A/T2
- Goodyear Wrangler A/T Adventure
- Nitto Terra Grappler G2
- Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain more
- Toyo Open Country A/T III
- Travelstar Ecopath AT All Terrain
- Yokohama Geolander ATG015
The video at the top of this article shows the results of the test sessions, but with something as subjective as tires, simple numbers don’t tell the whole story. A quick summary shows that Continental and Firestone perform best in the wet, with Goodyear and Pirelli in the dry. Off-road, BFGoodrich has no rival, although Firestone is also good. Continental scores well for noise and is also second for comfort behind Yokohama. As big winners, the video singles out Goodyear, Continental and Firestone.
However, Benson points out that tire performance is enough subjective. Drivers spending more time off the pavement would probably prefer the BFGoodrich or the Pirelli. The video does a fantastic job of explaining everything from subtle nuances while riding to the overall character of the tires, and a Tire-reviews article even lets people adjust the measurements to find the best off-road tires for their situation.
We talked about tires with Benson a few times on the ride on cars podcast. Check out his last visit in the episode below.
With pickup trucks and SUVs dominating the roads these days, off-road tires are definitely in demand. Choosing a replacement set can be a daunting task, as this segment is full of choices. Jonathan Benson at Tire Reviews knows a thing or two about tire testing, and he’s taken on the herculean task of evaluating nine off-road brands in just about every situation imaginable.
In this case, it really is a considerable effort, since proper testing requires equal conditions for accurate results. Not a problem on pavement, but the dirt and gravel courses change after each pass. To eliminate variables, the dirt course used by Benson was redone after each individual tire session, giving each mark a good run on smooth road. And to make sure the tires were properly exercised, his test vehicle was an ex-V8-powered Ford F-150 Raptor.
As for testing, Benson says his tire choices are on the softer side of off-road, as these are most common on passenger vehicles that are often used more on pavement than off-road. Testing includes wet and dry performance, wet and dry braking, gravel performance, dirt performance, noise and comfort, and rolling resistance.
All the tires in the test are the same size, 275/65 R18. Specific marks include:
- BFGoodrich Trail Terrain TA
- Continental ground Contact AT
- Firestone Destination A/T2
- Goodyear Wrangler A/T Adventure
- Nitto Terra Grappler G2
- Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain more
- Toyo Open Country A/T III
- Travelstar Ecopath AT All Terrain
- Yokohama Geolander ATG015
The video at the top of this article shows the results of the test sessions, but with something as subjective as tires, simple numbers don’t tell the whole story. A quick summary shows that Continental and Firestone perform best in the wet, with Goodyear and Pirelli in the dry. Off-road, BFGoodrich has no rival, although Firestone is also good. Continental scores well for noise and is also second for comfort behind Yokohama. As big winners, the video singles out Goodyear, Continental and Firestone.
However, Benson points out that tire performance is enough subjective. Drivers spending more time off the pavement would probably prefer the BFGoodrich or the Pirelli. The video does a fantastic job of explaining everything from subtle nuances while riding to the overall character of the tires, and a Tire-reviews article even lets people adjust the measurements to find the best off-road tires for their situation.
We talked about tires with Benson a few times on the ride on cars podcast. Check out his last visit in the episode below.