Picking the best mud-terrain tire could be challenging. Well, mud-terrain tires are generally heavy, noisy, and hard to balance. So, before making a selection, you should perfectly define your needs and your expectations. In this article, as a former Bridgestone engineer, I will talk about the best mud-terrain tires that could be used on any kind of application. Let’s begin!
- Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 – Best All-Round Winter Oriented
- General Grabber X3 – Best All-Round
- BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain KM3 – Solid pick if you don’t need solid winter traction
- Nitto Trail Grappler M/T – Best appearance – Wide Product Range
- Falken Wildpeak M/T – Best Tread Life
- Hankook Dynapro MT2 – Best tire for sand
Table of Contents
All-Terrain vs Mud-Terrain
While I was researching online tire reviews, I realized that people are exceedingly confused about the difference between mud-terrain and all-terrain tires. As it were not enough, the rugged-terrain category has been created by manufacturers. Well, things are messed up.
I’ve decided to create the below table to make things clear for you fellows. You can check the below table to define your expectations and see which tire category meets your expectations.
| All-Terrain | Rugged-Terrain | Mud-Terrain | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durability | Poor | Good | Best |
| Comfort | Best | Good | Poor |
| Fuel-Efficiency | Best | Good | Poor |
| Highway | Best | Good | Poor |
| Dirt | Best | Best | Best |
| Gravel | Good | Best | Poor |
| Mud | Poor | Good | Best |
| Rock | Poor | Good | Best |
| Sand | Best | Good | Poor |
| Wet | Best | Good | Poor |
| Winter | Poor | Good | Good |
You can check this article out the learn more about rugged-terrain tires!
How Long do Mud-Terrain Tires Last?
It highly depends on your vehicle, driving habits, and driving conditions. Mud-terrain tires are built for solid off-road performance. Though, for instance, if you use them on the highway often, tread life will dramatically decrease.
Mud-terrain tires last 40,000 miles on average. Yet, this number could be changed by external factors. Check the below table for more information.
How to Get the Most Miles out of Your Mud-Terrain Tire? (Imported From Table Press)
| Guideline |
|---|
| Make sure that your tires’ technical features fit to your vehicle(for instance, you need 3-ply sidewall for over 3/4 ton pickups) |
| Use them on proper inflation pressure, you might slaughter your tire with the high inflation pressure on off-road |
| Do vehicle alignment often |
| Don’t miss rotation timing(3000-5000 miles depends on usage) |
| If you’re not buying them for only appearance, avoid highway usage |
Getting maximum wear life from a tire is related to you as well as your tire,
If you’d like to learn how to get maximum tread life:
Mud-Terrain Tires in Snow
Mud-terrain tires are not designed for snow. When you use them on snow, their lugs are filled with snow and your traction will decrease short to none. Moreover, these tires don’t have enough siping to grip on light snow. For this reason, I don’t recommend them for snow usage.
I’ve briefly explained what you have to expect from mud-terrain tires. Now, it’s time to share my favorite mud-terrain tires for 2022.
BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3
BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain KM3 is one of the highest-rated mud-terrain tires in the market. Its specific compound selection enables highway usage without sacrificing too much from tread life. However, the perfect tire doesn’t exist. Well, it has cons also.
As a former Bridgestone engineer, from my standpoint, BF Goodrich KM3 offers solid traction off the road. Due to its wide lateral grooves, it can evacuate the water with ease and provide massive traction on the mud. Moreover, it has Traction-Armor Sidewall Sculpture tech that prevents puncturing on rock crawling. Due to its soft compound, it’s a cozy tire. Yet, its huge void area makes it a bit noisier tire on the highway. It’s not the best tire on the wet. Yet, its increased biting edges and fluffy compound provide a decent grip on wet surfaces. Furthermore, it has decent tread life for a mud-terrain tire.
I recommend this tire if you spend too much time in the city. Worth reminding, even though it has good deep-snow traction, it’s the worst ice tire on this list.
If you want to see how it stands against BFG KO2, check this article out!
Yokohama Geolander M/T G003
Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 is a mud-terrain tire that builds by a US manufacturer. Yokohama knows US conditions very well. So, their tire is a highly reliable tire for any conditions inside of the US. Well, it’s slightly pricy but I can guarantee that it’s totally worth it.
In summary, Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 is an all-round tire. While it can perform perfectly in severe off-road conditions, it’s also a trustworthy tire for wet and dry highway usage. Due to its wisely designed center section, it’s the quietest tire on this list. It has higher sipe intensity compared to the other mud-terrain tires in the market. Therefore, its light-snow, wet, and ice performance is superior. Its beefy sidewall rubber makes it durable. Moreover, these sidewall biters increase its loose ground performance a lot. This tire has a perfectly optimized contact patch. For this reason, it wears evenly and offers long-lasting rubber.
Yokohama Geolander M/T is a safe-side pick on this list. No matter what your expectations are, it can cover it all in all aspects.
General Grabber X3
General Grabber X3 is another mud-terrain tire that belongs to the US manufacturer. It has a similar design to Yokohoma Geolander M/T. Yet, its sidewall biters go through the bead and that feature makes it a better tire for mud driving. Worth reminding, this one is also a bit pricy.
In summary, General Grabber X3 comes up huge with solid dry ground performance. Due to lack of sipes, it’s not perfect but a decent tire for wet grounds. However, its off-road performance is huge. It can evacuate and clean itself easily. Well, these features also help it to grip light snow and increase its traction on deep snow. Even though this tire is the most durable tire on this list, due to its tough internal construction, it doesn’t offer a rough ride as its competitors. Yet, its noise level is low due to a very well-optimized void area in the center section. It also has a decent tread life if you use them on the right vehicles.
You can click here to see its test report!
Note: General Grabber X3 isn’t a good selection for 3/4 ton or above pickups.
Nitto Trail Grappler M/T
Nitto Trail Grappler M/T has been added to this list due to its wide product range. This tire is available on big rim sizes like 22”, 24”, and 26” inches. Well, this feature makes it hard to balance time to time. Yet, if you prefer to use well-known tire manufacturers like DiscountTire, you can solve this problem with ease.
In summary, Nitto Trail Grappler M/T offers the smoothest riding experience on this list. Due to its perfectly optimized center section, it can provide quick steering response and solid loose ground traction at the same time. Yet, it has a high void area in the center section. Well, it’s a vocal tire. Where it comes short is tread life and wet traction. Its soft compound wears quickly. Moreover, it has limited siping on the tread(which causes poor wet traction).
Nitto has a wide product range for off-road tires. You can check this article out for detailed information!
I recommend this tire for its aggressive appearance.
If you’re looking for a cheaper version, I recommend you to check Toyo Open Country M/T. You can click here to see the comparison between Toyo M/T and Nitto Trail Grappler M/T.
Falken Wildpeak MT01
Falken Wildpeak MT01 is the dirt-cheap pick of this list. If you’re looking for a decent tire for a good price, here is your solution. Yet, worth reminding, these tires are built for massive off-road performance. So, it has limited on-road manners.
In summary, Falken Wildpeak M/T has a unique tread life. Due to its stiff compound, it wears very slowly. It has a wide void area in the center section. Well, it’s a vocal tire. Yet, this void area increases its traction ability significantly. It has a lack of siping, so, it’s not the best tire for wet grounds. However, its tread depth is deep and it can clean itself very well. Therefore, it’s a good pick for severe winter conditions.
I recommend Falken Wildpeak M/T if you care about your budget and do not much care about on-road manners.
Hankook Dynapro MT2
Dynapro MT2 is the recently released mud-terrain tire of Hankook. It’s another budget-friendly pick. It’s a mud-terrain tire with a rugged-terrain appearance. Well, unlike Falken Wildpeak M/T, it has satisfying on-road manners.
In summary, Hankook Dynapro MT2 has top-cat durability. Due to its relatively stiff compound, it’s not worn easily even on the highway. Hence, it has reliable tread life. However, due to the stiff compound, it has a loud mount. It’s an average tire on wet and loose grounds.
Here is a detailed review of Hankook Dynapro MT2!
Specs
| Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 | General Grabber X3 | Hankook Dynapro MT2 | BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain KM3 | Nitto Trail Grappler M/T | Falken Wildpeak M/T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Mud-Terrain Tire | Mud-Terrain Tire | Mud-Terrain Tire | Mud-Terrain Tire | Mud-Terrain Tire | Mud-Terrain Tire |
| Vehicle | Light Truck, SUV | Light Truck, SUV | Light Truck, SUV | Light Truck, SUV | Light Truck, SUV | Light Truck, SUV |
| Available Sizes (Rim) | 15”, 16”, 17”, 18”, 20”, 22”, 24” | 15’’, 16’’, 17’’, 18’’, 20’’, 22” | 15’’, 16’’, 17’’, 18’’, 20’’, 22’’ | 15’’, 16’’, 17’’, 18’’, 20’’, 22’’ | 15”, 16”, 17”, 18”, 20”, 22”, 24”, 26” | 15”, 16”, 17”, 18”, 20” |
| Weight | 32 – 81 lbs | 55 – 90 lbs | 45 – 89 lbs | 37 – 89 lbs | 61 – 111 lbs | 46 – 87 lbs |
| Made In | West Point, Mississippi, USA | Mt. Vernon, Illinois, USA | Clarksville, Tennessee, USa | Opelika, AL, USA | Lakewood, NJ, USA | Japan |
| Severe Snow Rated (3PMSF) | No (Only M+S) | No (Only M+S) | No (Only M+S) | No (Only M+S) | No (Only M+S) | No (Only M+S) |
| Warranty (P-metric) | 30 Day Test Drive | 45-Day or 1st 2/32″ Customer Satisfaction Trial | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Warranty (LT Sizes) | 30 Day Test Drive | 45-Day or 1st 2/32″ Customer Satisfaction Trial | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Prices | Check price section to see best possible prices | Check price section to see best possible prices | Check price section to see best possible prices | Check price section to see best possible prices | Check price section to see best possible prices | Check price section to see best possible prices |
Price
The tire market has a dynamic price policy. Hence, in my point of view, sharing tire price is pointless.
Though, I’ve analyzed the top 10 brands of most popular tire brands.
Here are the dealers with a reasonable price range,
DiscountTire
- Biggest dealer in the US. Founded in 1960
- 1000 stores in 35 states. You most probably find one on your parallel street
- Free rotation and balancing
- 5% off for DiscountTire cardholders on online purchase
- Highest rated online tire dealer in Consumer Affairs
- Almost all brands are available
- Delivery takes 2-4 days (30% shorter average waiting time when you book online)
- Frequent discounts and promotions
Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/yokohama-geolandar-m-t-g003
General Grabber X3: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/general-grabber-x3
BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/bfgoodrich-mud-terrain-t-a-km3
Nitto Trail Grappler M/T: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/nitto-trail-grappler-m-t
Falken Wildpeak M/T: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/falken-wildpeak-m-t01
Hankook Dynapro MT2: Coming Soon!
TireRack
- Fast and Free shipping
- Usually delivered in 1 day
- Joint venture with DiscountTire(their installers and dealers are on your service)
- Tons of installer options, they also help you to choose the best one
- Mobile installers in many areas, your tires will be replaced while you’re working in the office
- Tire test results and comparisons can be found on the most product page
- 4.6/5 points on Google rate
Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/yokohama-geolandar-m-t-g003
General Grabber X3: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/general-grabber-x3
BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/bfgoodrich-mud-terrain-t-a-km3
Nitto Trail Grappler M/T: Not available
Falken Wildpeak M/T: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/falken-wildpeak-m-t
Hankook Dynapro MT2: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/hankook-dynapro-mt2
SimpleTire
- Free shipping
- Delivered in 2 days
- Verified shops near you(for mount and balance)
- Mobile installation option
- 7 million customers since 2021
- 4.7/5 points on Google rate
- Top-notch customer service, you may even request a price match
Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003: https://simpletire.com/brands/yokohama-tires/geolandar-m-t-g003
General Grabber X3: https://simpletire.com/brands/general-tires/grabber-x3
BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3: https://simpletire.com/brands/bfgoodrich-tires/mud-terrain-t-a-km3
Nitto Trail Grappler M/T: https://simpletire.com/brands/nitto-tires/trail-grappler-m-t
Falken Wildpeak M/T: https://simpletire.com/brands/falken-tires/wildpeak-m-t
Hankook Dynapro MT2: https://simpletire.com/brands/hankook-tires/dynapro-mt2-rt05
While choosing dealers, I especially pay attention to reliability. All of the dealers on this list have 15-20 years of experience in the online tire business. Therefore, I can guarantee a smooth and fast tire buying process.
Conclusion
These are my Top-6 selection regarding mud-terrain tires. You can check the below table for my ratings.
| Mud | Rock | Sand | On-Road | Wet | Winter | Comfort | Tread Life | Road Noise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| General Grabber X3 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain KM3 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Nitto Trail Grappler | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| Falken Wildpeak M/T | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 6 |
| Hankook Dynapro M/T2 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
I hope this article was helpful. If you have any further questions, please leave them below. Have a safe ride folks!