Tire Rack Puts Off-Road Tires on Pavement in Comparison Test

Lets face it, most all-terrain tires will spend a majority of their tread life on the pavement; and even if you have the most capable, hardcore rig and you just have to have the rubber to match, you’ll probably be spending at least some time on the road. Like we test cars, our sponsor Tire Rack tests tires to give consumers a grip on what’s what, and considering the popularity of off-road rigs (or soft-roaders that look the part), they’ve gone and tested some of the most popular all-terrain tires on the market.

Tire Rack divided 12 tires into three separate categories: On-road all-terrain, off-road all-terrain and rugged all-terrain. As defined by Tire Rack, “All-terrain is a broad category of tires with more off-road capabilities than highway all-season tires, yet not the max-traction all-terrain tires, often called Mud Tires (MT).” Furthermore, four of the tires tested are Light Truck-rated (LT), designed for higher pressures and load carry capacity.

TJ Campbell, tire information and testing manager, was joined by Brent Rollins, assistant tire information and testing manager, to conduct the experiment. All tires were mounted onto the same 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport, put through track and real-world environments, including a 6-mile loop of expressway and country roads with varying speeds.

For the full experience, you’ll need to check out the full test on the Tire Rack YouTube channel or their online article, which includes some driving impressions, but here are some of the standout results. Tread lightly, spoilers ahead.

The Nitto Terra Grappler G3 performed the best in three categories, stopping in 158 feet from 60 mph on a wet track and 126 feet on a dry track. It also had the highest corner G-Forces on a wet track at 0.61 Gs; and it tied with the Cooper Discoverer Road + Trail on a dry track at 0.74 Gs. Those Coopers performed admirably, placing second in the dry track braking and wet track cornering, and third in the wet track braking.

Of course, there’s a lot that goes into a tire, including road noise, road feedback and, of course, cost; and on that note, tires are one piece of your automobile’s puzzle that we recommend not cheaping out on. There’s a lot to consider before making your next all-terrain purchase, so be sure to do your research.