July 2001 -- We
hovered around it as if it was some sort of life-altering lab experiment. It was
by no means a starched-white study room we were in. In fact, neither was the
subject. It was filthy, worked-over, well-used and run-to-the-ground.  | | With
the new Mud-Terrain KM (right), there is a significant increase in
traction due to the larger contact patch of the tread design. |
It stood upon its pedestal
like that of a typical abuse-proof BFG. The sidewalls were charmed with nicks,
gouges, low blows and cheap shots. Miles of rock-strewn throttle jaunts marred
the tread pattern. True, this was all typical
of a Baja-winning BFG, but this wasn't your typical tire. "Alright guys, let's
settle the score. What about this tire we've all showed up to see?" I said
to the two journalists beside me. Up until that time, our
experience with the vaguely familiar BFG Mud-Terrain T/A KM had been like a
first date with destiny. The anxiety and apprehensiveness ran so deep that it
seemed to shut down our opinionated uproars and tongue-tied our speech with a
coma. Personally, I was awe
struck. Flying into the half-million acre, weekend getaway of Barron Hilton, son
of Conrad Hilton, the founder of the Hilton hotel chain, was an endless glimpse
into paradise. The expanse of opportunity stretched north from the shores of
Mono Lake deep into the shadows of the Sierra Nevadas and just beyond the snow
shed of the East Walker River.  | | BFG
added a key component for the world of rockcrawling and desert racing.
These DiggerLugz, translate into an enourmous increas in sidewall
durability, stability and traction, while scaling rocks as well as ruts. |
A Paradise Of
Opportunity We were wined, dined and
waltzed into perfect position for the test of tests, the new BFG Mud-Terrain T/A
KM ("KM" stands for Key feature Mud). Although the vast
landscape offered the perfect opportunity to grind the tire's surface among
rocks, sand, silt, and mud, there were some in the group of off-road journalists
who just weren't entirely satisfied. According to their
straight-faced comments, it seems they'd just assume test a tire on the beaches
of the Bahamas beneath a sunshade sipping Margaritas. But, that's enough of
their lack of commitment and seemingly snobbish air. Upon Pedestal Of
Practicality Anyway, there we were
before the Vincent Van Gogh of rock crawling and desert racing practicality. The
tire just stood there upon its pedestal. Hell, any tire can be
placed upon a pedestal. Some would even be satisfied with leaving a test to only
the naked eye - just after a scuba dive on the coast of Tahiti.  | | The
DiggerLugz performed more like mountain goat hoofs when put down upon
the rocks. On the off-camber silt climbs, they performed like cleats,
carving out a path to the top. |
The tire we were looking
at had just returned from the Best In The Desert Tonopah 300 a few days earlier,
where it was mounted on the Ford Stock Mini truck of Deputy Steve Williams.
Photo Galleries -- Gallery
1 -- Gallery 2
-- Gallery 3
-- Gallery 4
The tire is also said to
have garnered a class win at last month's SCORE Baja 500, which was hailed by
many to be the roughest of Baja races. Tread Pattern Much of the new
third-generation Mud-Terrain appeared to be quite the same as the old at first
glance. In fact, the tread patterns looked nearly identical, until we compared
the two of them closely. The lead and trail of the
old tread was rounded at the edges. The new tread is rectangular, expanding the
footprint for a substantial increase in traction and durability. The dual tread
radius helps alleviate stress wear and uniformly applies traction throughout the
contact patch of the tire. "Our goal was to
develop a tire with superb off-road traction for all conditions - mud, rocks,
dirt and sand, balanced by good manners on the pavement," said Scott
Dishman, marketing manager for BFGoodrich. "We've done that."  | | Rod
Hall and crew carved out an interesting and very useful course, which
served well for the testing of the KMs. |
Due to these improvements
alone, the tire is said to wear more evenly than its predecessor as well as
provide a much quieter and more comfortable ride. Lugging The Weight On
The Shoulder The introduction of the
All-Terrain KO in 1999 unveiled BFG's attractive and purpose applied sidewall
lugs. On the new Mud-Terrain KM, which is slated to roll into the showroom early
August 2001, BFG increased the ferocity of these sidewall lugs and gave them the
name DiggerLugz. These lugs extend down the
face of the sidewall, providing excellent traction during off-camber ascents in
any terrain and armor the lower half of the shoulder with a dominant claw-like
appearance. Claw-like? That's exactly
how the DiggerLugz performed on a number of obstacles. Rocks were scaled with
greater confidence using the sidewall approach. Loose dirt and most certainly
the off-camber silt climbs were little challenge to the tire's new addition. A
soft, easy blip of the throttle rendered a methodical claw to the top. You can
actually feel the lugs lugging the weight of the rig up the hill.  | | The
Jeep TJ Wrangler has got to be the ultimate rock rig. Set up with a set
of Mud-Terrain KMs, they were impressive in their stock form. During
testing, the tires remained inflated to 20 PSI. |
Why don't the sidewalls
extend the entire length of the sidewall? Simple. Besides being what attaches
the bead to the tread, the sidewall serves as an important dissipater of heat
during high-speed driving, whether it is on the street or flat-out on a graded
dirt road. It is the Mud-Terrain KM's
ability to dissipate heat within this region that allows the tire to hold true
to its longwearing benchmark. Stuff The Ribs And
It'll Spit You Out Another unique design
borrowed from its predecessor are the ribs that are strategically placed within
the shoulder void. These ribs add stability to the shoulder, but the more
interesting purpose that these ribs serve is for the tire's namesake - mud. The ribs act as pry bars
when in the thick of mud, allowing air pockets to form between the tire and mud,
which helps fling the sludge from the tire so that it can adequately bite off
more traction the next time around. The Call Of The
Sidewall A quick stab to the
sidewall can kill a tire and most hopes for repair. The third generation
Mud-Terrain again borrows the prowess of its predecessor by including the
notorious 3-Ply TriGard technology.  | | The
new Mud-Terrains take a better bite of terrain. This was particularly
noticable in the silty climb. |
"I figured you were
just about finished when you backed down from that hill earlier," the
off-road racing legend and Special Forces driving instructor Rod Hall said with
a raised eyebrow. "How do you
figure?" I replied, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Well, you slid right
into that tree stump. It took a damn good stab at that sidewall. I thought you
were finished. But man, that's one tough tire," he said shaking his head. "I'd have to say so.
I'd been trying to punch a hole in that damn thing all day long but only then
did I find the perfect opportunity. I failed at my attempt at destruction, and
the tire prevailed," I admitted. "I am once again sold - not that I
wasn't before or anything." On The Edge With The
Devil At The Wheel In most cases, I'm easy
going on the throttle as well as the wheel. But when I had the chance to ride
alone in the stock Jeep TJ Wrangler, I mashed down on the throttle and steered
dead into every large rock within sight.  | | Four
Wheeler's Trent Riddle found himself on the wrong end of the Tow Strap
when he sank his TJ axle-deep in the goo. |
The sharper the rock, the
bigger the grin. The 60 MPH sidewall slides on the washboard roads resulted in
demonic laughter blaring from the left seat of the soft-topped TJ. But, the tire
maintained its directive without even a gasp for fresh air. The key phrase is
"maintained its directive." Not only did the rally race to the trail
head teach me something of the tire's durability, but it also taught me of the
tire's improved cornering stability while cutting through the washboard roads.
Although previous experience on the old Mud-Terrain was notably good, the new KM
boasted a cutting-edge improvement. Pocket Book Protector The KM comes equipped with
the same Rim Protector strip of rubber that the All-Terrain KO does. If you've
ever 'wheeled on the rocks without such an option, you're likely to have learned
either of two things. First, rocks are more
likely to ding and damage the rim. This can lend itself to cosmetic damage but
can also lend itself to loss of air or even popping the bead.  | | An
auto tranny made this nose dive quite a bit easier. |
Second, the Rim Protector
helps alleviate the entry of objects between the bead and the rim, which can
also lead to popping the bead. Sizes The elder and soon-to-be
outdated Mud-Terrain was only offered in 18 sizes, where the new KM is offered
in 25 sizes. Trends in the rockcrawling arena helped to change the molds at
Greenville, S.C., where a full-blown 37X12.50R17LT/D will be manufactured. Questions In the off-road racing
scene, BFG offers it's line of Baja T/As. These 37-inch, high-dollar beasts have
broken the 150 MPH barrier in the dirt and can take a deathly beating in the
process of high-stakes competition. At this level of competition, there is no
competition. The remaining question is: "Why isn't a full-blown
rockcrawling tire offered?" Hmmmmm?!?! Why would the
best-selling light-truck tire manufacturer hold out on larger group enthusiasts
who gather larger crowds, receive barrels more in money-making ink and boast a
larger customer base than off-road racing? It makes one wonder.  | | Special
thanks goes out to the dedicated crew of the Flying M Ranch. Brent the
Chef put the Frugal Gourmet to shame at every opportunity. Scotty and
Chis served it up with class, and Jack oversaw the memorable stay.
Without them, this meal wouldn't have been possible. |
In late 1999,
Sports-In-The-Rough combined forces with BFG and Warn to produce the first
large-scale effort at competition rockcrawling. Although BFG's combined effort
became the quantum leap for an entire genre of automotive competition, the
manufacturer did not take part in its overall success. This was due in part to
the popularity of bigger tire sizes but also to tires that offered increased
void between lugs and more aggressive shoulders and sidewalls. An Answer BFG is fighting back with
a strategy that overwhelms the single use tires of the rockcrawling arena, where
a tire serves one purpose - to crawl the rocks (or ford through the mud for that
matter). The new KM's approach is tried and true. It sells. It works. It will
stand the test of time, torture and the treacherous stretches of Baja and the
rocky crags of the Rubicon. It is no fad. It is BFG quality. And to top it off,
it's a fine-looking tire to boot. The answer: More contact
patch, which produces grip-tight traction. More aggressive shoulder and
sidewalls shrug off despair and climbs like a gummy-hoofed mountain goat when
climbing sideways.  | | Another
thanks to the BFG crew for their hospitality, hard work and continued
dedication to the sport. |
The Scoop According to half-hushed
sources that find it difficult to be silent when pressured for an
industry-shaking answer, it is hereby predicted that BFGoodrich will toss their
tire in the rockcrawling ring of competition. Will it be the KM? Yes.
But, it appears that there will be some money and more than likely a competition
tire on next year's agenda. As for this year, keep your eyes on the rocks.
They're on the prowl.
Benefits: - Maximized traction and
steering control in deep dirt, mud and sand.
- Improved wheel and tire
protection from off-road hazards, especially during aired down situations
- Aggresive good looks.
- More even wear.
- Reduced road noise.
- Exceptional bruise
resistance under the tread and in the sidewall.
Features: - DiggerLugz (upper
sidewall traction bars) and tread-clearing shoulder void bars.
- Rim protector.
- DiggerLugz upper
sidewall traction bars and bold sidewall graphics.
- Improved high-void
tread design with larger footprint, interlocking tread elements, and
advanced compounding.
- Dual tread radius.
- Computer optimized
tread.
- BFGoodrich Tires
TriGard construction - innovative 3-ply polyester carcass.
- Single strand beads on
all dimensions (singel wire wrapped continuously).
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