When / why did off road tires get to be so beefy?

[ManWithJeep]

Give me a history lesson here guys. Up until the 80's, it seems that most off road tires were short and skinny. Take this video, for instance:


It seems that the Land Rovers were perfectly capable in most off road situations with the tire style of the day. Heck, there's even plenty of footage of Model A's crossing terrain with skinny tires in 2WD that no passenger car would even think of attempting today:


But today, we have tall, wide, beefier tires, like this (shameless photo of my jeep ):

Was the adaptation of the taller and wider tires we have today simply due to manufacturing advances and consumer taste, or is there a real benefit to modern off road tire designs? Did off roaders in the 60's and 70's wish they had bigger tires, or did the existing skinny tires suit them well? Was it due to necessity or did it just become "in style"?

Would be cool to see a comparison test between an old Land Cruiser with the original style tires, to one outfitted with modern beefy off road ones. Anyway, just thinking out loud - things that make you go 'hmm!'

 

[Glenn]

Simple answer? The fatter tire?...more rubber on the earth , the more earth to get traction. The taller tire? the higher all our tender little rig parts get for obstacle clearance. We have learned from our past and I will take a skinny tired rig to school with my 35 x 12.50 sneekers

 

[Glenn]

Nice rig ! Shameless plug of my rig now...lol

 

[Glenn]

However when it comes to snow? Gimme the skinny ;)

 

[ManWithJeep]

Nice rig ! Shameless plug of my rig now...lol

View attachment 14712

Now those are some beefy tires!

 

[Glenn]

Now those are some beefy tires!

They have served me well...Hankook Dynapro MT's ...they hook up on ledge, mud, sand, rock. Never left me wondering...lol

 

[Overlanding Downunder]

If you are ever lucky enough to drive a Ford Model T, they follow the road nicely (Sarcasm). If the road drops away to the left that is the way the vehicle will go. Then snaps back to the right when it hit the pothole in the road. Pulling up/Braking was fun with narrow tires, not much if any grip on the road. Before getting into Overlanding I was into restoring cars.

Forgot to mention that narrow tires were great on a wet muddy road, you could make groves that were drive-able in the dry. Uncle use to put the Model T Truck wheels in the groves, in the dry, and and get out and walk beside the truck and load it.

Someone can correct me on this. But I thought some of the old 4X4 Ford/Jeep (GPW) where also light enough that 4 or 6 people could pick it it and carry it out of a bog.

 

[Vyscera]

vehicles are heavier, companies have learned what works better over the years. But there have always been wider tires, they are just more common.

 

[F4T XJ]

I'm still not convinced that wide tires are better for overlanding

 

[Glenn]

I'm still not convinced that wide tires are better for overlanding

That tells me you have never driven on ledge or stone...

 

[Overlanding Downunder]

Watched this video this morning from 4xOverland (Andrew St.Pierre White) and Andrew looks to have the same view on wide tires. I have no affiliation with Andrew I just watch a lot of Overland YouTube

I have started the YouTube clip where Andrew starts talking about wide tires.

I personally like the width of the tire that come on the vehicle. I buy tires with larger sidewalls to get a little more ground clearance at the diff pumpkin. I have found too wider tires can hit the suspension when hard turning.

 

[ManWithJeep]

Interesting point about the height being more important than the width! Makes sense though.

 

[F4T XJ]

That tells me you have never driven on ledge or stone...

I should have been a little clearer in my post rather than making a sweeping statement :-)

I was referring to longer distance trips where the terrain will be varied and let me say I'm not an expert I'm still gearing up for longer trips. Most of my trips are still in the 3,000 to 5,000 mile range although I have covered one 8,000 mile trip. During that trip I covered a varied terrain from snow, ice, gravel, sand, mud & rock, in terms of stone/ledge probably the most challenging was on the way to the Ferry for Africa we drove some trails in Murcia and Granada, Spain. There were plenty of times on that trip where I decided that a route was either A. To dangerous so had to turn back or B. Risked damaging the vehicle so looked for an alternative line.
For me an overland rig on long trips is always going to be a compromise, there is always going to be terrain that a dedicated trail rig would take with ease that mine won't be able to do, I just prefer less noise and resistance on the road and still not convinced that for the majority of terrain that going with a wider tire would offer a great enough advantage.

 

[TerryD]

Wider tires float better in mud and sand, but there are trade-offs. You have to have the power to spin them hard enough to clean them in mud and you reach a point where the drag in sand will overcome your cooling system working the engine to turn them.

From what I've seen, your popular sizes (31x10, 32x11, 33x10/12, 35x12 ect) are popular because they offer a good height/ width ratio. I also like to run the narrowest wheel I can to provide extra pressure to retain the bead seat. 31s on a 7" wheel, 35s on a 8" wheel.

Out west, where you drive on harder packed sand and "slick rock", tire selection doesn't seem as critical. In the Appalachians (apple-latch-un!) where I am, you might be on dirt road one minute, then hub deep in clay gumbo the next. I very happily wheeled on 33x10.5x15 Boggers for a couple years and I was very pleased with the way the tires performed in just about any situation I had them in. I had the power to clean them if need be in the mud and aired down, they flexed and gripped rock quite well. I don't know that you could go much narrower with a tire like that and maintain the bead seat on an 8" wheel at 10psi. I also ran Grabber AT2 31x10.5s on my Cherokee and in the milder conditions I used it in, I was very happy with their performance as well and I'm considering them for my Xterra in a 265/75/16.

These are my opinions, based on a decade or so of being around some very well built trucks and knowledgeable builders/ drivers and witnessing MANY different tire brands and designs in action.
In the end, go with what you feel looks and works best for you. I'll continue to get the popular sizes since they are generally cheaper and I've had excellent luck so far using this line of thinking.

 

[Big E]

My understanding: wide tires for deep sand/snow. Narrow tires for mud and harder sand or sand with a bottom. On the street wide tires give you less weight per square inch, less weight less traction in wet. Opposite for narrow. A light weight vehicle, Jeep small truck needs a moderate width to be safe. Heavy vehicle wider tires safe. I think most people like a certain look and don't care.

 

[Glenn]

Tires really are a personal choice, no size or width works for everything or everybody. Long distance road traveling is not the best suited for wide and heavy tires and while offroad, a narrow tire lacks in traction. Always a trade off somewhere...gimme my 12.50's anyday.

 

[Overlanding Downunder]

Tires really are a personal choice, no size or width works for everything or everybody....

I fully agree. One other thing I would like to add is Local/State/Federal laws.

In the State of Queensland Australia you are only allowed the following: (please check Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads for any changes)

Maximum tyre diameter increase 50mm
Maximum suspension lift 50mm
Maximum body block lift 50mm
The maximum total combined lift of the vehicle cannot exceed 125mm.
Ref: QTMR FAQ page

I know there is also a maximum Wheel Track measurement from standard. However, I can not find it at the moment. This is what we would need to look at if putting wider tires on.

 

[Glenn]

I fully agree. One other thing I would like to add is Local/State/Federal laws.

In the State of Queensland Australia you are only allowed the following: (please check Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads for any changes)

Maximum tyre diameter increase 50mm
Maximum suspension lift 50mm
Maximum body block lift 50mm
The maximum total combined lift of the vehicle cannot exceed 125mm.
Ref: QTMR FAQ page

I know there is also a maximum Wheel Track measurement from standard. However, I can not find it at the moment. This is what we would need to look at if putting wider tires on.

Well those strict regulations would surely persuade my decision...I would then choose a "SLIGHTLY taller and wider tire" with an aggressive tread.

 

[Matt_Whitman]

Not to brag but the video didn't show any terrain that our vehicles couldn't handle in 2 wheel drive. Pretty sure those old workhorses could handle much more serious terrain. Love those old rigs. Unstoppable.

 

[Mike W]

I am a bit surprised that the conversation is just about traction. IMO it is weight. How much did a model T weigh? I am guessing quite a bit more than my 7200 lb LR4. It may have been very simple and very low traction, but you could move it around physically by yourself a bit.