Why buy something called a "mud" tire, if you're never going to drive in mud ?

Is that just a tire name for a particular style tread design ?

I've seen the difference between mud terrain and others, so I know what they look like. I guess I just want to clarify that "mud terrain" doesn't mean - just for mud. My initial thought was that I would not want mud terrain tires, because I rarely ever see mud. I off-road on all dry trails, dirt and rock, with occasional stream crossings. Are all the names that are given off-roading or all-terrain tires just names ? Is the tire compound on a "mud" tire different than on a "baja" tire or an A/T ? Unless one is just going for looks, choosing a tire has to be one of the most confusing things with all the choices out there.

Is there a link or site where one could go to read about the differences, pros - cons ?

your right. a mud terrain tire doesn't have to see mud. of course it will do better in mud that most tires (cause its a mud terrain and supposed to be good in it) but it IMO it gives better overall grip. in other words i consider it more of a trail tire. just like mr. clifford has toyo MT's be he does mainly rocks. MT's are better on the trail too, not just in the mud...this isn't saying that an all terrain can't perform very well though. many people have great success off road with all terrains.

In general a Mud Terrain tire will have a much bigger lug/tread pattern that is designed to clean itself out when travelling thru mud. This is beneficial to rock crawling as well as that means there is more surfaces that can potentially make contact with a rock face or thru loose terrain. They also generally have a more agressive side wall than an "All-Terrain" for those same reasons.

They are louder on the road than an AT. Those tires are marketed to people like us and also people that just want a tougher look on their vehicle. The AT's smaller tread designs lead to better wear and also a quieter ride while still providing you some sort of grip in an off road environment.

(Damn, reading this I kind of sound like a tire salesman or something. Which I'm not. )

This is all good info. I'm gonna need new tires before too long and, like MOG said, it's confusing trying to figure out what all the different names do.

my next set of tires will be the super dooper never get stuck tires.

In so cal i get everything thrown at me. mud, snow, rock, sand
A all terrain will do all those well. a MT will do all but sand better.

Im running 33x12.5x15 trxus MTs and so far so good.
strong flexy sidewall and they dont chunk up when spinning.

Ooooo, I want those too. Are they on the shelf next to the crawls-over-everything-never-looses-grip tires ?

So MTs don't do as well in the sand as ATs? All I have is sand and muddy sand.

i think the bigger tread isn't as good for sand as the smaller tread is.

I read an article about the Nitto Dune Grapplers in JP magazine yesterday and they were really bragging on them in the sand. You might wanna look at that if you have lots of sand.

I haven't heard of Nitto before, I'll check them out. Thanks.

^^seems like they're on the inside back cover of 1/2 the 4X magazines out there^^

If i was you and all i ran was sand and muddy sand. I would grab a set of BFG ats. great in sand and eh ok in mud. also a great tire for snow. aired down to about 15psi and you can go just about anywhere in the sand

I was looking the the BFG ATs today. I think I might get them. MTs look cool, but I'ld rather not be the dumb ass stuck in the sand because I had MTs that were digging 4 big holes.