Review – Hankook DynaPro Mud Terrain Tires

About 46,000 miles ago I purchased a full set of Hankook DynaPro M/T's in 265/70/17. Now the Mud Terrain DynaPro's are an immensely aggressive tread designed tire which often are a bit thicker lugged than the usual mud terrain tires. Despite that, these were my first set of mud terrain tires on my truck and although I admit I was hooked on the aggressive looks. I was concerned I would get that awful tire howling around town on the tarmac. Boy was I impressed and surprised!

Not only was the noise level of these tires nearly non existent for me I was very impressed by the on road manners considering the tire looks as though it wouldn't have any at all which would be reasonably acceptable considering the nature of the tire. I am sure it is impossible at best to design and create a tire that performs ideal in any environment it may be used. Tire compounds for street and dirt are entirely opposite ends of the spectrum for one not to mention tread patterns, their shapes, and even depths, contribute to all effect the behaviors

A tire needed to shed sand or clear mud will require deep and equally wide tread and will be rather rough and loud on smooth tarmac as the contact surface of the tire is minimal. On the other hand, a street tire designed for a smooth ride, agility and aggressive maneuvers but otherwise a more quieter ride would muck up quickly leaving your wheels spinning in a rut if not a deeper hole altogether.

So while the DynaPro M/T's are good on the tarmac, where I found them to fall short is in a panic stop. They do tend to offer that heavy, military style, Hollywood action movie truck studdering and smokey slide a bit more than I care to feel.. however attention grabbing and impressive on film it may have looked.

They also may contribute to a little less MPG on top of the lift of the truck, no shocker there but for my style of driving, this 23 year old 4.0L OHV used to put down an average 20-21 MPG with the original tires. As of now, I have to emphasis "trying harder" to get 17.5 MPG, re gearing is in its near future.

I have seen all sorts of concrete from San Diego to LA, mud, sand, and oh yea.. 30 inches of water for 70+ yards of a water crossing I wasn't expecting to do once, let alone twice. The only use I have not been able to accomplish as of yet is one of snow. That is a must do despite hearing often complaints of some backdoor clenching sliding situations having had happened. Maybe mud terrains aren't the best in the snow performance wise, again I will have to see for myself soon to clarify.

Overall, I've enjoyed the Hankook DynaPro Mt's enough that I will be ordering a new set, plus an additional set to complete a matching off-road trailer with two interchangeable spares between the truck and the trailer.

Let us know your experiences with Hankook tires or other brands below in the comments.