| ABOUT THE TESTING Don Alexander All terrain tires are used by a very large segment of the SUV and 4x4 truck market. Of those who actually drive off road, something over 95% of the driving is done on-highway, so factors like handling, responsiveness, wet and dry traction and noise are major considerations for most users of all terrain tires. But just what is a good all terrain tire capable of handling off road? The one thing we know for certain is that anyone who uses a daily driver for four wheeling off road has two concerns -- therefore, two important needs. They don’t want to get lost and they don’t want to get stuck. Flat tires and poor traction are two ways to get stuck, so good all terrain tire needs to have little chance of puncturing and good traction, given reasonable weather and trail conditions. In July of 2007, our company, SoCal 4x4 Productions, was approached by Hankook Tire USA to facilitate a media event for the launch of their new all terrain tire, the DynaPro RF10 Atm. They wanted journalists to experience the highway capabilities of the new A/T tire, but they really wanted to showcase the off road performance of the RF10. We certainly have the roads and trails in and around our home base of Big Bear Lake, California. With many miles of twisty, challenge paved highways and over 400 miles of challenging 4x4 trails, we didn’t have to go far to accommodate such an event. We decided to use a stock 4x4 SUV since the overwhelming majority of A/T tire buyers drive stock 4x4 SUVs and trucks. We have a 2005 Nissan Xterra Off Road to use as a project, but it was still completely stock, and it is exceptional on the road with really great off road capability. It is equipped with a rear diff lock, skid plates and other goodies from the factory. Hankook sent us three sets of tires, one for initial testing and two for the media event, which accommodated 20 journalists over a 10 day period (two per day so each writer had plenty of on and off road seat time. The event was a big success, generating lots of positive reviews, but more importantly, Malcolm and I learned just what a good tire the Hankook RF10 really is. Remember the plan to change tires, even twice for the media? Never happened. We did everything we could to destroy that first set of tires, just so we knew what to expect, High speed highway driving, high “G” cornering, wet, dry, off road on any trail that could be navigated by the Xterra, aired down to as low as 12 PSI and lots of nasty, sharp sidewall piercing rocks. Nothing! Not a nick or blemish on the sidewalls, little sign of wear on the treads. To make a long story short, we have used the same original set of RF10 A/T tires for several months since the initial testing. The journalists all drove on the same tires. Never a problem. We’ve since tested in all sorts of nasty stuff – ice, snow, mud, rock crawling – with some modifications to the Xterra (2.5 inch lift, more skids and rock sliders plus a which and winch bumper). Same tires, same result. No signs of wear and tear other than some minor tread wear from 7-8000 miles of use. Based on the quality of the Hankooks, we decided a comparison test was called for. We chose two other brands, the BFG All Terrain KO, the tire that created the all terrain tire market, and the Toyo Open Country All Terrain. We wanted to learn about traction and durability in as many conditions as possible, conditions more severe than sane person would avoid. Testing ice, snow, sand, mud, on rocks, climbs and descent would give us, and our audience, important information about all terrain tires in general, and theses three tires specifically. Of course this falls into the category of be careful what you wish for! After more than eight grueling test days and untold hours of preparation, we have test results. CONTINUED on Page 2 - click here |
| 4x4 All Terrain Tire SHOOTOUT |
| SoCal 4x4 Xterra during the Hankook RF10 Media Launch was completely stock! |
| The Hankook RF10 used at the Media Launch. |
| SoCal 4x4 Xterra was used as a support vehicle for the comparison test in modified form. |
| The Xterra was used modified before the 2007 SEMA Show where it was featured in the Hankook Tire display. |
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