OTR Tires
Many people have a misconception when it comes to OTR (off-the-road) tires. Some believe that you need OTR tires only for when you need improved traction for your vehicle on rough terrain. It makes sense to think that larger tires mean more traction, but this idea is not entirely accurate.
Granted, the right kind of OTR tires can give you additional traction, but this is not the only thing that these tires are good for. OTR tires are meant primarily to raise the height of your vehicle. This gives added ground clearance, allowing your vehicle to drive on a steeper ascent and descent when you are driving off-road.
When you are planning to drive over boulders, going through the mud, following a forest trail or any other type of off-road driving, having the extra ground clearance that off-road tires provides you with will give you more options when you reach certain obstacles. Improved traction becomes a secondary function, granted a function that is important, but not the sole function of OTR tires.
Experienced off-road drivers will tell you that buying OTR tires for your vehicle can be compared to a marriage. Just like when you get married, OTR tires involve a drastic change. You will have to make sacrifices and spend extra time on the constant care and maintenance of your tires.
When you upgrade to bigger tires, you will also have to upgrade other parts on your vehicle. In order for the tires to fit on the vehicle with out rubbing against the fenders, you may need to add additional inches of clearance to the truck itself. To get these additional inches, a simple suspension lift of body lift will do the trick nicely.
Having larger tires will mean that your truck will have to work harder to bear the extra weight. To counteract this additional weight and avoid the loss of performance, you are going to need to look into purchasing new performance shocks. You may also want to consider investing in other performance-enhancing truck parts such as computer chips, pinion gears, and exhausts.
When looking into the size of different OTR tires, there are a few factors that you should keep in mind. The most important and the most obvious factor that you should consider is whether or not your vehicle can handle the size of the off-road tires that you are interested in. If the answer is no, then you must consider the modifications that will be needed in order for the tires to actually work properly.
It would be nice if there were universal guides that would make the process simpler, but this is simply not the case. Your best option is to contact the manufacture of your vehicle to get a general idea of what your vehicle is capable of. You need to be aware of the limits of the truck, and the parts you will need if you expect to exceed these limits.
Before you decide to make the commitment of OTR tires, you should at least know that type of off-road tires would fit your off-road needs. There are a couple of questions that you will need to ask yourself, such as: What is the primary type of off-road driving that you will be doing, and how much actually off-road driving will you do? Taking some time to ponder of these questions will help you greatly to narrow down which tires are best for you.
Choosing the perfect tires can be a very complicated process if you do not consider all the factors. It is a very good idea to do some research before you actually buy a set of OTR tires. If you still have doubts, contacting an experienced person who has a similar vehicle to yours can help you greatly with choosing the right tires, and with the installation process as well.