What are Mud Terrain Tires?

Mud Terrain Tires - MUD TIRES or MT (Mud Terrain) are as you might have gathered from the name, designed to perform most specifically in the mud. But when you look at the tread design of many mud tires, they generally perform well in other conditions such as on the rocks, in deeper snow, as well as in loose gravel and in the softer, constantly changing terrain of wooded trails. This is because mud tires are usually designed from a softer compound with wider gaps (voids) between the lugs, which grab onto anything it can hook one of its lug edges around, especially when aired down. Tread designs typically are what make or break a mud tire and vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer. Drawbacks of the MT Mud Terrain tire are they perform poorly on the highway especially in the rain where the wide lug pattern results in less of a tire footprint on the road. Even worse, the MT can be downright dangerous in icy conditions. Mud tires also tend to wear quicker than an all terrain or a street tire and depending on your perspective, the on-highway noise level can be considerably higher especially after they wear down with highway use.