4x4 Truck Tires - Limited Articulation

This is a subject we almost never get tired (pun intended) of debating: What's the best tire for four-wheeling? Of course there's no one "right" answer, and if you ask any ten guys you meet on a trail ride, chances are you'll get ten different replies. Heck, most of us can't even agree on what air pressure to run when we're out on the trail. But some general principles always apply, so we're getting back to basics this month with some simple suggestions to help you pick the right rubber for your ride.

A lot, of course, depends on your definition of "four-wheeling." Is it mud? Rocks? Sand? Racing? It is a tire that can handle pavement duties, or the rigors of towing, as well as dirt? Back in the old days, we only had a handful of so-called "off-road" tire designs to choose from, so making an informed decision over which tire to run on your truck was a lot easier--and more often than not, it was whatever brand of off-road tire your local tire store had for sale at the time. Nowadays, though, tire manufacturers from all over the globe offer dozens of different tread designs, some of them quite specialized and nearly all of them readily available, and choosing among brands has never been more daunting. So this month, in addition to tests and evaluations of some new designs, we take a close look at tread patterns, compounds, sidewall construction, and all the other components that make a good off-road tire, and offer some suggestions for what you need--for your kind of driving, and for your favorite terrain--starting on page 60.

Another subject that comes up all the time is tire size: Specifically, the things you need to do to fit 40-, 44-, or even 49-inch tires beneath your truck. There are a lot of variables involved, and a lot of ancillary costs to be factored in, but we can give you some ballpark estimates of the amount of lift you'll need to fit bigger tires on your 4x4. Of course, just because you should be able to fit 44s on a Lincoln Navigator if you lift it 20 inches doesn't mean that anyone actually makes a lift kit for it. (Don't bother Googling--nobody does. If you want that much lift, you'll need to fab it up.) And while we can't tell you how much it'll necessarily cost you for the beefier axles, bigger brakes and all the other stuff you'll also need to complement those bigger tires and wheels, we can at least give you some rough guidance on the subject of tires-vs.-lift. Check out our "What Fits, What Hits" on page 64 to see what you'll need to get more rotund rubber on your 4x4.

--Douglas McColloch