Mud Tires & Mud Driving

As mud varies, some tips help to address certain conditions.  For instance slick mud with a hard bottom layer is best attacked with a narrow mud tires since a narrow mud terrain tire can cut through the top layer to find traction on the hard surface below.  When a wide mud terrain tires encounters the same mud in this situation, it tend to float or "hydroplane" on the slick top layer without reaching the hard surface below.

A wider mud tire tends to do better in the thicker, cement-like mud especially when the terrain varies below the surface.   It is this mud that wider mud tires will provide some flotation, much like driving in sand.  Wider tires also benefit from lowering the tire pressures providing a larger contact patch and conforming over the uneven terrain.  How much you air down depends on the size of the tire and the stiffness of your sidewall.  Common air-down recommendations for mud and the average mud tires is to lower tire pressures down to about 15 to 20 PSI.

Another mud tire mud tip deals with the tread pattern of your tire. Mud tires by definition are tires that have a larger lug and wider and deeper space (voids) between lugs. In mud, these wider, deeper voids should be designed to channel mud out of the tread and self-clean the lugs so that as they spin through the mud, the lugs come down clear of mud giving them better traction for the next rotation. With good mud characteristics mud tires generally grab onto anything it can hook one of its lug edges around, especially when aired down and channel the mud away from the center. Tread designs typically are what make or break a mud tire and vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer. If a tire is not well designed for mud, it may not self clean and will become clogged and packed with mud in the voids, essentially making them a slick, flat tire with next to zero traction. Tires that are more designed for street rather than mud are usually designed to place a larger patch of rubber on the road and a quieter ride at highway speeds with closer spaces between lugs. These road specific characteristics are more prone to clogging and have a significant disadvantage in the mud but actually benefit in sand where they tend not to "dig". Mud tires that have been designed specifically to perform well in mud tend to handle worse and have a higher noise level on paved surfaces where there is less of a contact patch on the road and typically a lack of "sipes" that aid traction.
  

Mud Driving Techniques Mud Tires

One of the first things to do when offroaders encountering mud is to check it out first on foot. Not necessarily by walking though it but get close and try to find the bottom with a long stick or object. If vehicles have been driving through this mud hole before, check the tire ruts below. The key is to find solid bottom and determine if you have something to get traction on.  Extremely soft mud or well abused mud may cause you to lose traction very quickly and become high centered on where tires have not been before, while the ruts go deep and sediment has created soft mud with little traction. You also want to look for objects like rocks, logs, sharp objects and anything that might damage or upset the vehicle or the tires.

As stated above, airing down is one of those basic tips that not only helps in mud but applies pretty much across the board as far as offroad driving goes.  However when it comes to mud airing down can be a double sided sword.  Airing down (reducing tire pressure) can help to gain traction when mud seems to be bottomless and traction is hard to find.  But on the flip side airing down in mud that has a hard bottom can sometimes reduce the traction since a tire aired up to higher pressures will have a sawing effect on the bottom.  Additionally reducing air pressure for mud means that hidden obstacles in the mud (tree roots, rocks, sticks, etc) can present the potential for more damage to your sidewalls.  Airing down also means that attacking these same obstacles might provide better traction as the tire conforms over the obstacles.  So it's a judgment call and more based on experience in specific situations tan anything else.  But since the drawbacks to airing down primarily affect sidewall damage, a better mud tire with a stronger sidewall helps to make the decision.

When choosing your line through the mud, your going to have a better chance if your line follows the high spots such as the berm or peak between the tire tracks of previous attempts through the mud.  It's usually these deeper mud tracks that have been worn down far enough that vehicles can become high centered.   It's also these tracks that you want to check out before going through an unknown mud hole.  On the flipside, it's these existing wheel tracks that may have been cut down through the soft top layer down to the firmer surface below where you find better traction.

Another tip that many times can be useful in mud is to move the steering wheel left to right from the center in a sawing action.  Many times this can help the front wheels find traction when a direct ahead line isn't providing traction.  When doing this, do not turn the wheel too far in either direction from your intended line as you can end up reducing any momentum.  Also always be aware of the direction your tires are pointing.  Your goal is to get through the mud so maintaining momentum is key.  If your tires ultimately don't point the way you want to go, they will be working against you. 

Choosing the the right gear is also important.  With a manual transmission and low range, you have to choice of different gears to run in.  One of the keys to getting through mud is keeping the tread clear.  To do that a mild to moderate amount of wheel spin is necessary.  Sometimes the lower the gear the less likely you will spin the wheels fast enough to clear the voids of the mud and the last thing you want to do is damage your engine by over-revving it.  So choose a high gear when you need wheel spin low range 2nd gear for instance.

Don't dig holes.  When forward momentum stops, you should stop.  The worst thing you can do is spin the tires and dig holes.  Now you not only have to contend with the mud but holes in the bottom of the mud hole and clogged tread.  When forward momentum stops, let off the gas.  Put the vehicle into reverse and back up a little.  Put it back into your forward gear of choice and give it another go.  Rinse and repeat (do it again).  You may find that each time you backup and go forward you gain a little distance.  This is progress.  When you spin your tires excessively it typically pulls hard packed mud off the bottom and embeds it in your tread.  This mud is harder to remove with tire spin. Offroaders.com

Mud driving is as unpredictable as the mud itself.  Different seasons, different terrain, different types of mud all make even the seeming smallest mud hole a challenge.  Having an understanding of techniques that help get you though mud as well as the right tires and the right equipment all help in each situation.   In the end a good set of mud tires with self-cleaning lugs will make a world of difference but always have a backup plan with good recovery equipment.