4x4 Tyres

Off road driving can be one of the most fun activities you’ve ever tried. Whether behind the wheel of a four wheel drive or tagging along for a ride in the passenger seat, the excitement of getting off the bitumen and onto a dirt track can be exhilarating. Many people when they think of preparing for an off road trip start with what they will wear. For instance, comfortable clothes like a set of old tummy tuck jeans and a warm sweater often cross the mind as does a good pair of boots. Next come what they will take to eat. Although these are important, actually preparing your 4x4 probably should take priority. Particularly if there has been some rain beforehand. Even a small amount of rain can turn what was a solid track into a complete muddy bog. Although this makes for even more exciting fun as you pit your skills against the mud holes, it also happens to be the area where many less experienced drivers come unstuck. If you are not prepared for these types of environments, that is the mud, sand, clay and rock, you could find yourself sliding over a mud track and hitting a tree. Alternatively you might simply shred your tyres.

One of the realities of today's world is that many of the 4wd cars on the road are simply that – on the road. They’ve never seen a dirt track in their life. As a result they are woefully unprepared for the country dirt roads. For example, the 4x4 tyres on a standard, city going, four wheel drive are built for driving on bitumen city roads. They achieve this purpose perfectly by being quiet and able to turn into and out of corners safely at high speed. But then the driver of one of these four wheel drives takes it out on a camping trip thinking that because it is a four wheel drive, it will be able to handle any condition thrown at it. Whilst on the trip, he takes the 4x4 of road, it rains a little and the dirt tracks become mud slicks. As the owner begins traversing the mud full of confidence, he suddenly finds his 4x4 tyres are filling with mud, he’s losing control of the vehicle and sliding into a rock or worse still, over the edge of a ravine.

There are two main 4x4 accessories that you will need if there is any chance you are going to hit some serious mud. They are:

• Recovery kit – if you get stuck in the mud then you are going to need a kit to get you out. This includes all the gear that goes with the winch that you are going to winch yourself out with. If you are on your own it’s worth looking at getting an electronic winch as well.
• Some decent 4x4 wheels with great 4x4 tires – your tyres should always be dropped to about 25psi for large vehicles and 15psi for smaller vehicles, until you can see the side wall of the 4x4 tyre start to bag out.

When looking to purchase 4wd tyres, it’s a good idea to first determine what type of terrain you may possibly be driving on. There are the obvious ones of mud and sand. But it is also worth looking at other environments like rock and clay. Lets face it, if you are going to be out in the country, you might as well be prepared for every eventuality. Ultimately, you are looking for something that will come up trumps in all of these environments and still be drivable on the city roads – a tall ask but definitely possible. Also don’t buy really cheap 4x4 tyres as they simply won’t give you the quality and handling.

The main feature to look for here is a very aggressive tyre tread. The tread blocks need to be large with large voids i.e. the spaces between the tread blocks, to allow the mud to be ejected. If the tread blocks are too close together then the mud will stick in the spaces and the whole tyre will become a mud slick. There also needs to be aggressive tread on the shoulder of the 4x4 tyre and again there needs to be large side wall lugs. Because these are higher, they aren’t taking the weight of the vehicle and have the effect of cutting through the mud making the tyre more efficient at escaping the mud. They also have the added function of protecting the sidewall from being damaged by rocks.

Once again, a very aggressive tyre tread is the order of the day in the hope that the tread blocks will grip the rock as you go over it. The tyre also needs to have some form of protection on the tyre wall so that it doesn’t get cut to shreds by sharp rocks. The best protection is more beefy tyre blocks as these will assist in climbing over rock, but at the very least some tyres simply have a thick rubber ring protecting the tyre wall. Again the tyre pressure should be dropped when driving over rock with the effect that the tyre can mould itself to the rock assisting it to get the necessary grip. Finally, 4x4 tyres made from a softer rubber compound have been found to have more grip over smooth or wet rocks.

Basically to be in the good in the sand, a 4x4 tyre has to have a large surface area of rubber on the sand – also called a big footprint. You attempt to achieve this by dropping the tyre pressure to 15psi. But even at that tyre pressure, some tyres will have a larger footprint than others. It is harder for 4x4 tyres with a larger footprint to sink and therefore they are more likely to negotiate a sand pit, even at slow speeds.
Large tread blocks will also help it claw through the sand without getting stuck.

Clay tends to be a problem for just about any 4x4 tyre because it is so effective in clogging up the spaces between the tread blocks. A very aggressive tread with large tread blocks and large voids will help. As will large tread blocks on the tyre walls that help the tyre claw through the clay.

The overall technology of 4x4 tyres has come so far that it is now possible to get a 4x4 tyre that has most of the above features and yet is still quiet enough and handles well enough on bitumen to be still used in the city. So if there is any chance that you may be taking your four wheel drive off road or camping, it is well worth making sure you are prepared with some decent and dependable 4x4 tyres.