We have always installed All-Terrain Aggressive Tires in our Overlanding and Off-roading Jeeps, to get better ground clearance and improved traction on rough terrains. The reason we prefer All-Terrain Aggressive Tires is based on the traction they offer due to the aggressive tread patterns compared to standard all-terrain tires.
For most Jeep off-roaders and Jeep Overlanders, they install mud-terrain and all-terrain performance tires to get the aggressiveness and better performance they are looking for in their Overland and Off-roading Rig.
We went shopping for both mud terrain and all terrain aggressive tires, we were specifically looking for All-Terrain Aggressive Tires to fit our custom off-roading and Overlanding Jeep Wrangler, this means in this review we will be looking at the best 37 inches All-Terrain Aggressive Tires that you can install on your off-roading and Overlanding rig.
Check Out Our Metric to Standard Jeep Tire Size Converter
What Makes a Tire Aggressive?
When we were shopping for the best All-Terrain Aggressive Tires, we were mainly focusing on the tread patterns, since we were planning on using our Jeep for off-roading and Overlanding in various Jeep trails, the tread patterns on our All-Terrain Aggressive Tires should be able to provide maximum traction on rough and uneven surfaces familiar on Jeep trails.
All-Terrain Aggressive Tires we were looking for had to have larger, more widely spaced treads blocks, that will provide maximum grip and traction on the road, they should also have sharp edges that will be useful when driving through dirt, gravel, mud, and rocks in various Jeep trials.
Another factor we had to consider when looking for All-Terrain Aggressive Tires included larger and broad shoulder lugs that improve our Jeep’s handling and reduce vibrations when driving off-road, for Jeepers it helps reduce Jeep Death Wobble when off-roading.
The final factor we were looking for in our All-Terrain Aggressive Tires is the materials that make up the tires, the rubber compounds should be able to handle rough terrains including dirt, gravel, mud, and rocks, plus the harsh weather, to be resistant to cuts, punctures from off-road elements we have mentioned above.
Best All-Terrain Aggressive Tires
For Jeepers looking for All-Terrain Aggressive Tires, there are two options to choose from All-Terrain Aggressive Tires and aggressive mud tires. this is because they are focused on off-roading. By considering the type of off-roading good for you, the terrain, and weather conditions you will be able to choose the best All-Terrain Aggressive Tires that are right for you.
Best All-Terrain Aggressive Tires
In our hunt for the best All-Terrain Aggressive Tires, we settled on three brands BF Goodrich T/A KO2, Falken Wildpeak AT3W, and Nitto Ridge Grappler which we will discuss more in detail below:
BF Goodrich T/A KO2
If you are into rock crawling off-roading, and Overlanding, we recommend BF Goodrich T/A KO2 as the top All-Terrain Aggressive Tires available in the market today. The tires are made from long-lasting rubber compounds and have semi-aggressive tread patterns that are ideal for daily driving and off-roading, we use our BF Goodrich T/A KO2 all-round, from dry loose dirt in Jeep trails, to rough rocky roads, and even light mud, snow, and sand.
BF Goodrich T/A KO2 tire designs feature a high strength, single strand construction that makes them durable and protects the rubber from road elements especially when using them in rough terrains, the bead construction on the tires also enhances the traction when off-roading, and allows improved performance especially after airing down your tires during off-roading.
In terms of handling, the tires have improved handling capabilities thanks to the 3-D sipes which stabilize the tread blocks dual compounds, additionally, you will love the tire’s full-width steel belts and rum protector that will allow the tires to fit perfectly to your wheels.
One of the disadvantages we have found when using the tires is that they don’t perform well on slippery and wet surfaces, and they tend to offer subpar performance and reduced responsiveness when used on wet and slippery roads, especially paved roads.
Falken Wildpeak AT3W
Our number two best All-Terrain Aggressive Tires are Falken Wildpeak AT3W, these are new tires in the market from Falken, the new tires are an introduction to the all-terrain tires through improved looks and designs, they feature silica tread compounds that are adapted for rides through rough surfaces, and also help in diffusing head, the sidewalls feature tread blocks that will make them ideal for rock crawling because they will protect the tires from side punctures.
We have installed Falken Wildpeak AT3W on our Jeep and used them to navigate through Windrock Park Trail Head which is known to be rocky and rough to be honest we loved the tire’s grips and handling capabilities on rough terrains.
During our tour to the Windrock Park Trail Head, we had the opportunity to test the tires in loose and soft sand, and the tires were able to get traction without slipping, we didn’t have the opportunity to test them during the winter, but after contacting some of our friends who own Falken Wildpeak AT3W and use them on a daily, they inform us the tire provides improved traction in wet surfaces better compared to other all-terrain aggressive tires available in the market thanks to their enhanced siping technology.
If you have been to Windrock Park Trail Head, the place is known to have small rocks on the edges of the roads, the tires have an aggressive sidewall that allowed us to air down our tires without worrying about having issues with sidewall punctures when off-roading in Windrock Park Trail Head while aired down to 12 PSI.
Unfortunately, one of the things we didn’t like about the Falken Wildpeak AT3W is the ride quality, the tires provided a rough ride, especially on pavements, but the performance improvements were felt in rough terrains.
Nitto Ridge Grappler
Our number three best All-Terrain Aggressive Tires are Nitto Ridge Grappler, these are Japanese tires that can be installed in your off-roading, Overlanding, and camping rig, they have improved tread patterns that make them aggressive and allow them to grip the road better compared to other all-terrain tires available in the market.
The Nitto Ridge Grappler have aggressive treads on the sidewalls that provide protection when aired down or when off-roading on rocky roads, they also provide additional traction when aired down when off-roading.
After installing them on our Jeep, the Nitto Ridge Grappler provided the aggressive look we wanted on our Jeep, however, we experienced some puncture after trying them on rocky terrains, that’s the reason we have placed them as number three on our list, maybe it’s because of bad luck but after the ordeal, we won’t recommend them for rock crawling.
If by any chance you go off-roading, we advise you to carry your recovery gear, as they helped us a lot during the experiments when trying out the tires in this list.
Aggressive Mud Terrain Tires
Being from California, we frequent Azusa Canyon for our Jeep mudding expeditions, for these reasons we also needed aggressive mud tires that we can use when we visit Azusa Canyon and also sometimes use them when off-roading in various Jeep trails.
Mud terrain tires are used for off-road and mud terrains, if you are looking for All-Terrain Aggressive Tires mud tires, are an option for you, we settled on three brands same as all-terrain tires, BF Goodrich Mud Terrain, Falken Wildpeak M/T, and Mickey Thompson Baja Boss.
To test the three aggressive mud tires, we headed to Crowley Lake Columns near Mammoth Lakes, California. We choose Crowley Lake Columns because we would be able to test the tires on mud, rocky roads, and sandy terrains.
BF Goodrich Mud Terrain
The first mud terrain aggressive tire that we tried was BF Goodrich Mud Terrain, and we were so impressed with the tires that we were always referring to them as the best mud terrain tires after trying a set of other brands, this is because they performed better on rocks, sand, and mud.
Crowley Lake Columns trails have loose dirt, and moderate rocks spread out with occasional mud and silt roads, this was the perfect place to test out the tires for their performance as an all-around tire, and the BF Goodrich Mud Terrain did not disappoint.
The tires have a 3-ply sidewall and aggressive treads that protect the sidewalls of the tires and also improve traction when in mud, rocks, and sandy trails, on paved roads “Highway 395 near Rock creek”, the tires were noisy and we would not recommend them for street or highway driving, instead, we would prefer grabbing BF Goodrich T/A KO2 All-Terrain Aggressive Tires.
Falken Wildpeak M/T
We also tried out Falken Wildpeak M/T tires in Crowley Lake Columns, the tires were perfect in our Jeep Wrangler and gave the Jeep an aggressive look we were after, we would recommend them for Jeep Gladiators also when it comes to performance on mud, sand and rocky terrains the Falken Wildpeak M/T tires provided the needed aggressive off-road capabilities.
Some of the features that made the Falken Wildpeak M/T decent off-road were the tread patterns which were softer compared to BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires, they provided a smoother and quieter ride, while also improving the traction on the road. The treads are wider and we didn’t get rocks stuck on the tire’s grooves.
On our way to Crowley Lake Columns, we happened to pass through Layton Springs Road which is a narrow dirt road, that got our Jeeps Falken Wildpeak M/T tire outer edge treads get into contact with the ground, the contact improved the traction on the dusty road, while also shedding out rocks and dirt from the large grooves of the tires, and left a big dusty cloud behind.
To be honest, the tires are softer and very soft, and we don’t believe the soft nature of the tires will give you the long lifespan you would like on expensive Aggressive Tires.
Mickey Thompson Baja Boss
We tested the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss tires on the Crowley Lake Columns beach, the beach is filled with rocks, mud patches, and wet sand that were perfect for testing mud terrain tires. the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss tires feature an asymmetrical tread pattern which we believe improved the handling and traction of the Jeep on the beach.
Mickey Thompson Baja Boss can be used all year round as All-Terrain Aggressive Tires, however, they are marketed as mud terrain tires, the sidewalls were protected from the rocky beach rocks by a three-ply sidewall design, and silica reinforcement that improved the handling on wet surfaces and reduced wear and tear on such uneven surfaces.
The Mickey Thompson Baja Boss has a wider groove that ejected small beach rocks from the tires, improving traction on wet surfaces, after driving through the beach the tires were spotless, and the tires were ejecting mud as we were driving in the muddy beach.
We would recommend Mickey Thompson Baja Boss for off-roaders, and Overlanders especially those who live off-road in swampy terrains.
How to Maintain All-Terrain Aggressive Tires
Now that you have purchased all terrain aggressive tires, its time to learn more about maintaining them, aggressive all-terrain tires are made to travel on roads less traveled, rough roads that are full of elements that are harsh and will wear out your tires faster If you don’t maintain them properly.
How Often Should You Rotate Aggressive Tires?
We recommend rotating all-terrain aggressive tires after every 3,000-5,000 miles.
Due to how we use our all-terrain aggressive tires on rough roads, the tires treads tend to wear out faster, this is because of the friction created through the contact of the tire treads and the rough terrains we frequent with our off-road and Overlanding rigs, for this reads despite the recommended tires having 40,000 miles warranty it’s important if we help prolong the life towards achieving such figures by properly rotating your all-terrain aggressive tires after every 3,000-5,000 miles.
Learn more: Is Tire Rotation Necessary?
Should I Get My Tires Balanced and Aligned?
We recommend getting your All-Terrain Aggressive Tires balanced and aligned every 6,000 to 8,000 miles, or after six months, this is because balancing and aligning your aggressive tires will help in prolonging their life by reducing faster tread erosion, and tire scalloping.
Tire scalloping is common when you have aggressive all-terrain tires that are not balanced and align3ed properly, what happened is some spots that are into contact with the rough grounds tend to wear out faster than other spots that should be in contact with the ground causing a bumpy ride but are not due to misaligned tires.
What PSI Should I Run My Aggressive All-Terrain Tires?
For aggressive tires, we normally run our aggressive all-terrain tires starting at 20 PSI and lowering further based on several factors of our Jeep, and also the terrain we are in at the moment, for example, some of the factors on our Jeep that will determine how low we can lower our all-terrain tires are our wheels, if you have beadlock wheels you can lower your tires to 5-7 PSI and if you don’t have beadlock wheels your PSI should be 10-12 PSI.
We use a Slime gauge to monitor with extreme accuracy the pressure on our tires when airing down our tires when off-roading.
Now while airing down is free, airing up is not, you will need a portable air compressor to air up your tires back to recommended levels after off-roading, on our Jeep recovery kit, we recommend having Smittybilt Air Compressor or ARB On-Board Twin Air Compressor to help you air up your tires.
Having the right equipment’s with you when off-roading with your aggressive all-terrain tires will ensure you have adequate performance, in terms of traction, handling, turning, and braking.
Conclusions.
We hope that this article on All-Terrain Aggressive Tires provided some insights on what to look for when buying all-terrain aggressive tires, what are some of the best all-terrain aggressive tires we found on the market when shopping for our aggressive all-terrain tires, and also how to maintain them for prolonged life when off-roading in your favorite Jeep trails.
While all-terrain aggressive tires might not be suitable for everybody, we hope that the information in this post has helped understand if all-terrain tires are the right type of tires for you, if you have found that you will need this type of tires for your off-roading and Overlanding needs, we believe we have provided enough information to help you zero in on the best all-terrain aggressive tires that will get you off-roading and Overlanding rig through all kinds of terrains and weather conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Do aggressive tires make noise?
Yes, aggressive tires make more noise compared to standard all-season tires, after installing aggressive all-terrain tires on our Jeeps we experienced more pronounced noise, especially when cruising on the highway at high speeds, this is because of the air and tires friction due to the large spaced protruding treads.
However, when off-roading, we normally drive at low speeds, this means the noise is minimal and the performance of aggressive tires is improved due to the improved traction due to the large and wide-spaced treads on the tires.
Do aggressive tires affect gas mileage?
Yes, aggressive tires will affect your gas mileage and fuel efficiency, this is because of the increased contact patch between the aggressive tires and the rough road surfaces that results in more rolling resistance, the rolling resistance is also made worse by the large and wide tread patterns present in all-terrain aggressive tires.
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About the Author: James Ndungu
James Ndungu is a seasoned automotive professional with a deep passion for Jeeps. With 40 years of experience in owning, testing, and reviewing various Jeep models, James has gained extensive first-hand knowledge and expertise. He shares his insights, tips, and advice through his engaging writing, helping fellow Jeep enthusiasts navigate the exciting world of Jeeps.
Last update on 2024-09-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
