TREAD CAREFULLY

YOU'RE SPOILT FOR CHOICE WHEN IT COMES TO OFF-ROAD TYRES, BUT THERE'S PLENTY TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU PART WITH YOUR OUR EXPERT TEAM HAS COLLABORATED TO HELP STEER YOU TO THE RIGHT PURCHASE HEAD-EARNED.

- TRISTAN TANCREDI

BEFORE you bank your annual leave, plot a course for an off-road adventure and say good riddance to friends and (extended) family, you'll need to ensure your vehicle is up to the job you have in store for it. And the very first thing to spec up for any form of offroading - be it mild or wild - are tyres.

You wouldn't wear a pair of Cons to run a marathon now, would you? The list of accessories you can fit to a 4x4 vehicle is longer than a policy list come election time, but pare it back to the essentials and only a handful of accessories (and promises) remain. Tyres being at the very top of that list.

With a huge variety of 4x4 tyres on the market, the decision can be overwhelming when the time comes to swipe the debit card for a set - especially when it'll take a decent chunk out of your savings. Choose wrong and the result could be catastrophic, as using a tyre not designed for a specific purpose will limit traction and increase the likelihood of damage and puncture.

So we've tried to simplify things here, explaining why you need to upgrade your tyres, why stock tyres won't cut it, the different types of 4x4 tyres, key features to look for, and why running correct tyre pressures is crucial.

To dig a bit deeper, we also chatted to a couple of experts in the field: Jeff Moorhead, Product Manager at Maxxis Tyres Australia, and Jeff Newick, National Motorsport & Technical Specialist at Exclusive Tyres (Cooper®/Mickey Thompson). Plus we leaned on our expert team of journos - Dean Mellor, Ron Moon and Fraser Stronach - who share well over 100 years of off-roading experience between them.

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