This month, things get rubbery around here. The number of 4x4 tire offerings from the aftermarket has exploded in the last couple of years. Some are milder all-season treads, while others are designed specifically for mud, snow, sand, towing, whatever. Our crack staff of rubberheads has been putting some new donuts through some rigorous testing recently, and this month we spotlight some of the newest offerings that have caught our fancy.
At least we can afford to be picky when it comes to tires nowadays. Back in the day, when this magazine first started, choices for so-called "off-road" treads were slim and none. The Armstrong "high-flotation" tires we showcased in our first-ever tire test (Jan. '64) were officially called a "Special Service" tread. We thought they worked pretty well in sand, desert, and rocks, but were "a little shy" in mud (no kidding, Sherlock).
One thing that has stayed constant, though, is our willingness to experiment with inflation pressures-our testers in '64 ran these 11.00-15 Armstrongs down to 3 psi with "no difficulty experienced" in the dirt, and our current testers do things pretty much the same way with today's offerings. You can see what cool new treads we've discovered starting on page 72.
Worst Stucks, Part 2: We wanted to discuss this last month in our "Crash & Burn/Worst Stucks" issue, but we hadn't ironed out all the details before we went to press, so we postponed the news until now. Anyway, we're pleased to announce a "Worst Stuck" reader contest this month. How does it work? Simple: Send us your best photos of your worst stucks, and we'll sort through all your entries and pick a Grand Prized Winner, who'll receive a brand-new Warn 9.5ti winch. We'll also mail out boxes of free FW swag to selected runners-up, and hopefully we'll be able to run all of your entries in the magazine over the coming year. But of course, you'll need to enter if you want a chance to win.
How to do it? Three ways: The first is to send us some high-resolution Jpegs of your stuck rig in (in)action, along with some notes describing where and how you got stuck-and unstuck-to fourwheelereditor@primedia.com. As an alternative, log onto fourwheeler.com, click on the "Worst Stuck Contest" link, and follow the instructions. If you don't have e-mail access, you can send us some crisp color prints (no Polaroids, please) and notes via snail-mail to Four Wheeler's Worst Stucks, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., 11th floor, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Be sure to include as many gory details as possible to share with your fellow readers, as well as your phone number in case we need to get in touch with you. Check out the contest rules on page 114, then send us your Worst Stucks ... and maybe you'll be our lucky winner. We'll publish the best of the bunch in our March 2008 issue.
-Douglas McColloch