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All New BFG Rugged Terrain Tires - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

Fred Williams Brand Manager, Petersen’s 4Wheel & Off Road Photographers: Tony Williams

These new tires from BFG are so new that your local dealer will not see them for a few months. They're due in stores May 1, 2011. We got our paws on a set of the first examples out of the molds, and we're here to say you're going to like these tires.

131 1105 All New Bfg Rugged Terrain Tires lower Side Shot Photo 30667577

BFG Tires has been offering the Rugged Trail T/A for ages, and we're not the only ones who thought it needed a refresh. The new Rugged Terrain T/A, like the Rugged Trail before it, isn't a deep mud or vertical rockcrawling tire like the Krawler or Mud Terrain, but if you drive on the street daily or trundle down dirt or snowy roads occasionally and your old rubber is due for replacement, then put these on your radar.

PhotosView Slideshow OLD - The first thing we noticed is the sidewall design. The old Rugged Trail is a great tire and came supplied by the factory on many vehicles, such as our '10 Ram, but for a dedicated off-roader they look a little tame. We haven't learned if the new Rugged Terrain will be instituted in as an OEM tire, but it does have a more appealing, aggressive sidewall design.

OLD - The first thing we noticed is the sidewall design. The old Rugged Trail is a great tire and came supplied by the factory on many vehicles, such as our '10 Ram, but for a dedicated off-roader they look a little tame. We haven't learned if the new Rugged Terrain will be instituted in as an OEM tire, but it does have a more appealing, aggressive sidewall design.

Our test truck had run 75,000 mostly highway miles on an old set of BFG All-Terrains and was ready for replacements. We thought the move from All-Terrains to Rugged Terrains would be a step down in performance, but that wasn't so.

Straight away we noticed the new Rugged Terrains are much quieter than our old All-Terrains at highway speed. Plus we noticed a slight mileage increase. Not to say the All-Terrain isn't great, but if you unfortunately see more urban asphalt than Baja dirt you may want to go with the Rugged Terrains.

Snow blanketed much of the country this year (as this issue goes to press, 49 of 50 states have snow). But it brings into consideration a tire like the Rugged Terrain, which is at home on both dry and low-traction roads. The many angles of tread voids help traction in wet and snowy terrain.

We ran the Rugged Terrain over gravel roads, up dirt hillclimbs, and through some basic water crossings and sloped side hills. They were sure-footed everywhere and pulled the test SUV with ease. Our LT265/75R16 test tires were Load Range E with a 3,415-pound maximum load and measured 31 1/2 inches with two polyester sidewall plies and two polyester, two steel, and one nylon tread plies.

In deep mud the Rugged Terrains finally met their match, as the voids started clumping up. Of course, BFGoodrich has other tires designed for mud. If you're looking for a good street tire that can get you through on rough days, then the Rugged Terrain is right for you.

All New BFG Rugged Terrain Tires - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

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