WHEN THE RUBBER HITS THE TRAIL!
Pro Comp’s New Crossover — The Xtreme M/T — Through Two Countries, Four States and 12,000 Miles
AS MUCH AS WE LIKE TO SAY WE ARE OFF-ROADERS, the bottom line is that more often than not, we are pavement-pounders. Yep, it is sad but true. Whether we are heading to work or to the trail, our tires usually see more pavement than we would like. So when it comes to selecting a tire for our daily-driver/trail rig, there are both on and off-road factors to consider; weight, road noise and etiquette and longevity are a few that come to mind for street use. Also, in all our vanity, we must admit, aesthetics play a role. But what about trail ability factors? For example: highand low-pressure gription, carbon/rubber composition, sidewall strength, a traction-minded tread design, and last but not least, resilience to the brutal array of conditions we subject our tires to when we lock in the hubs. The perfect dual-purpose tire, that’s what we want, right?
These questions came to mind when we rolled into the Sacramento 4 Wheel Parts store last spring to pick up a set of Pro Comp’s new 33x12.5x15 Xtreme M/Ts (XM/T). Yes, by the time you read this, almost a year has passed since we mounted the XM/Ts on our test vehicle, the Two Week Taco. Instead of jumping out and ranting about how cool (or uncool) they are, we thought it would be prudent to get few miles under their steel belts, put the rubber to the trail — and the road so to speak. Thus is the impetus for this 12,000 mile tire test. It is a real test involving the things real people do with their rigs. We’ll get to the details of the tire in a minute, but first let’s talk about the 12k.
The 12,000-Mile Test Immediately off the rack, we rolled south from Sacramento on a 2800-mile trek down the Baja Peninsula, which included 800 miles of high-speed dirt, whoop-de-doos, sand and rocks. Next was a long haul to Moab (2200 miles r/t) for the 2007 Easter Jeep Safari and a week of slickrock ‘wheeling. For pure sand mania and dune running, (we call it testing.... or work), we made yet another haul across Nevada to the 124- square-mile sand mecca of Little Sahara State Recreation Area near Delta, Utah. This trip racked up another 1000+ miles. Back at the ranch, the M/Ts took on the mundane duties of stop-and-go traffic and the daily commute, hauled loads of crap to the dump, along with some granite wheeling in the Sierra Nevada, another quick trek to the Nevada desert and some mud running in the foothills. The XM/Ts even toted our cabover camper around for few weeks.
Overall, a good sampling of what we think a multi-purpose tire might experience. Baja Bashing, Slickrock and Sand Dunes So what did we come up with? Our immediate impression was, ahhh, we love the feel, sound and smell of new rubber. It was like driving on butter compared to the aggressive and semi-worn XTerrains we replaced. But the real test began when we yanked the t-case lever into 4-Hi near San Felipe, Mexico and headed to Zoo Road, a high-speed, whoop-de-do laced section of the Baja 250 route. At 15-psi with us pushing them hard through high-speed corners, the XM/T’s enhanced sidewall tread was over and searched for traction against the hard pack sections. Kinda cool! It was also one of the few times we’ve blazed the Baja backcountry without shredding a tire on a wayward cacti or desiccated bovine femur. With five days to play on Moab’s slickrock, the open tread pattern with its curf groove, a deep sipe that runs the width of the tire from edge to edge, enhanced our traction under a variety of air pressures. Sand: The Little Sahara dunes have just one small hill climb, 700-foot tall Sand Mountain.
While we didn’t race the alcohol buggies up the face, we did air down to 10psi and work our way up the side ridges and bowls. We turned some heads when we carved the last turn and the XM/Ts delivered us to the top where we parked next to the paddle-tired rails and quads. Yee-haw! Granite, Mud and the Daily Grind You can’t compare an Extreme M/T to the super “gription” of a SRC (Sticky Rubber Compound) competition tire. So we won’t. Due to the added silicon compound in the rubber, which should greatly enhance road life, the XM/T is not as grippy as say, the XTerrain. But it actually did quite well. The tight bead, soft sidewall and wrap-around tread design allowed us to air down to about 10-psi without losing a bead. At that psi, the XM/T was marshmallow soft, the sidewall tread provided additional traction and the Tri-Ply construction reduced the odds of damage.
Summary In reality, you can’t make a tire that is the best at everything: rocks, sand, mud, and the blacktop. But the crossover style of the Extreme M/T provides a good balance. After a half dozen long-haul road trips, twenty-plus days on the trail and 12,000-miles, we had burned through 6/ 32ths of original 18/32ths of usable tread. Check out Tire Composition 101 and the cut-a-way image for details on the XM/T’s construction, and keep your eyes on Off Road Adventures; we will be back for a 24,000-mile update... down the trail.
