BF Goodrich Trail Terrain is an all terrain tire designed for mostly on road use, that’s why the tire is less aggressive from it’s older brother the KO2. Nonetheless, it still offers wild sidewall lugs which are great off road, but of course durability is no the same.
Being a tire engineer, from my perspective, the BF Goodrich Trail Terrain offers amazing steering response on dry roads with powerful lateral traction values. The tire is also one of the quietest and most fuel efficient tires that you can get in all terrain category but the tire could still use some wet traction. The tire is great on snow and has 3 peak mountain snowflake rating.
Measurements Info
BF Goodrich Trail Terrain, the tire comes in 44 different sizes which go from 15 to 22 inches rim sizes. (FYI, only one size is available in 15, 235/75R15).
The tire is available in T and H speed ratings and if I talk about load range, it shows up in either XL or SL.
So with smaller load ratings, the tire’s weight range is also small, it goes from 30 lbs to 46 lbs.
Being an all terrain tires, this tire does no offer enough tread depth as all of it’s sizes get to have 12.5/32″.
Mostly AT tires get to have above 15/32″. Its significant because with more tread depth the tire take more time to wear. Nonetheless, all of the BFG Trial terrain tire sizes get to have 60k miles warranty.
All of them are also branded with M+S & 3PMSF (3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rating).
Tread Design
The BF Goodrich Trail Terrain although provides a very similar sidewall lugs compared to it’s bigger brother BFG KO2 (compare both here), the tire is very different in the rest of the tread areas.
Let’s start things from it’s shoulders.
Tire features staggered shoulder lugs having traction scoops, but it does not make proper blocks as the outer ribs are continuous.
They have sharp cuts in them, sure, this is what provides shoulder blocks, but they are joined towards middle.
The rib has zigzag wavelike sipes on it which are full depth, and other than this it makes sharp biters.
These ribs provide 2 outer longitudinal channels which contains the central blocks within.
Let’s move towards the middle section.
Here the BFG Trial Terrain offers 6 main ribs which run in pairs creating 3 columns.
These blocks also have full depth siping on them, though its not as interlocking.
The rubber of the tire is very smooth and soft and it splits open these ribs apart because of the siping slits.
Furthermore, the tire can not provide traditional stone ejectors as there are no gaps between the shoulder blocks, but it does feature triangular stone ejectors hidden inside the grooves (just like the ones seen on KO2).
Compare BF Goodrich Trail Terrain T/A with others
- Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail.
- Pirelli Scorpion All-Terrain Plus.
- BF Goodrich KO2.
- Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3
Durability
When it comes to durability of the tire,
BF Goodrich Trail Terrain, follows the traditional construction with 2 ply polyester casing, 2 broad steel belts which covers the tread area, and a single ply nylon reinforcements.
This type of construction is a usual case with all terrain tire, anything above although would be better for a slightly more rugged tire, but for this one it would be overkill.
As this tire is designed to mostly serve on roads.
For Your Info: The toughest tire ever in the AT category is actually BF Goodrich KO2, review it here:
https://tiredriver.com/bf-goodrich-ko2-review/
On Road Performance
When it comes to off road tires, they are not as capable of providing on road performance as say all season tires, but they are still good enough.
But then again all tires aren’t created equal and this goes especially for the AT tires where each tire comes up with a lot of variables which make them either better suited for either smooth tracks or rugged trails.
Let’s see where this tire lies.
Dry Grip
Grip is directly proportional to friction which depends on how much rubber of the tire get to meet with the road (mostly in the middle where most of the tire pressure is deposited).
Now when it comes to BF Goodrich Trail Terrain the tire offers 3 pairs of ribs in the middle, and they are very closed up together, so decent contact is made with the ground.
Moreover, all of them have full depth sipes which allows the blocks to open and close, enhancing friction.
Dry handling
Dry handling depends on shoulders of the tire. The more the shoulders meet with the road the better, that’s because while handling, most of the tire weight is being put there, so contact patch there is crucial.
The good thing here is that the BF Goodrich Trail Terrain presents you with continuous running rib with a lot of biters, hence its dry handling times come out with very impressive numbers.
This also goes for it’s steering response.
Steering Response
With continuous ribs on sides, the tire offers superior lateral forces while cornering.
This is further enhanced by the tire’s structure. The BFG offers a very well rounded tire (contact patch), so there is a very little lag between steering input and the tire’s response.
Wet Performance
When it comes to wet roads, the BF Goodrich Trail Terrain is not going to meet your expectations.
Here the culprit is the tire’s sipes, and the overall tread’s composition, the two major areas of wet performance, let’s discuss them both.
Wet Traction
On wet roads, when the tire’s rubber meets, it pushes water outwards, but some of it still gets left behind and it’s up to the sipes to clean it off.
Now the problem with BFG Trail Terrain, is that although its sipes in the center are not interlocking in design, meaning they are simply lateral and it’s very hard for such sipes to clean off when things are directional.
But does that mean it would perform well in the handling area? Well, don’t keep your hopes there either.
Although on sides, the tire does offer interlocking sipes, the continuous design of it’s rib don’t allow them enough flexibility.
It’s also doesn’t not allow proper water evacuation, which has to do with hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning
The faster the water is removed from the tire, the better the tire gets here. But with closed up shoulders, the BFG Trail Terrain does not offer water a path to leave out (sideways).
So overall wet traction gets limited.
Ride Comfort
Ride comfort in tires is largely influenced by their noise production and bump absorption abilities. And the BFG Trail Terrain stands out in these areas.
Its construction features a spongy internal makeup, consisting of two-ply polyester and a single ply of nylon, coupled with a top layer of softer, silica-rich rubber. This combination enhances ride smoothness by effectively absorbing road imperfections.
Additionally, the tire ranks as one of the quietest in its category of on-road oriented all-terrain tires. This is attributed to several design features:
Continuous Running Shoulders: The tire has continuous shoulders, which play a significant role in noise reduction. The primary source of tire noise often comes from air entering the shoulder voids and hitting the tread walls. The continuous shoulders in the BFG tire effectively minimize this noise at its source.
Rounded Contact Patch: The tire’s contact patch is rounded, which helps in evenly distributing the vehicle’s weight across the tire surface. This distribution reduces the intensity of the noise produced while the tire is rolling.
Variable Pitch Pattern: The tire employs a variable pitch technology, which varies the geometry of the lugs. This variation creates different tones that can cancel each other out, thereby reducing the overall noise level.
So overall, the BFG here is a standout choice for those prioritizing comfort in their tire selection.
Winter Traction
Performance of the tire is judged on snow, by measuring the stopping stability, handling and acceleration, in both shallow as well as deep snow, and ice as well.
BF Goodrich Trail Terrain focuses on winter traction a lot and is 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rated.
The full depth sipes of the tire are very efficient on snowy roads.
While is mixture of softer rubber is very hesitant to freeze up comparatively.
Tread Wear
Tread wear is analyzed by looking at the tire’s composition and structure.
And looking at BF Goodrich Trail Terrain which stays below 50 lbs in weight with single nylon cap plies, and having a softer rubber composition, takes a lot of time to burn off.
Moreover, it’s composition also includes a good Kevlar mad polymers and these really help make its rolling resistance levels pretty low.
Though they could have further improved it’s tread wear by offering slightly more depth, though it’s still good enough. The tire also comes with 60k miles warranty.
Off Road Capabilities
Off road has a lot of variations, mostly in the form of terrains, so let’s talk about all one by one.
Mud traction
Mud is all terrain tire’s biggest enemy, as they don’t do so well here, and BFG’s boy here is no different.
In fact, it’s very bad here, I don’t recommend you take these tires there.
Though the tire has staggered shoulder and it’s lugs are the same as it’s bigger brother KO2, the tire is a mud trapper.
That’s because it’s continuous shoulder rib have no gaps to let mud escape sideways.
Sand Traction
Sand is a very different terrain where you need a perfect combination of digging and the forward momentum.
BF Goodrich Trail Terrain provides better efficacy as it offer more rubber exposure with the soft sand, and it’s thicker sidewall lugs make things better as they flex more when tire is pressured down.
The tire is already pretty soft (so it can endure winter temperatures), so further making them softer by airing them down make things super great.
Traction on Rocks
The BF Goodrich Trail Terrain although has a very similar looking sidewall lugs, & they provide good flexing, its overall less aggressive shoulders lacks in lateral traction.
But other than climbing rocks, both tires are simply great on gravel with their cut/chip resistant rubber. Both are equipped with triangular shaped ejectors which are very efficient at removing stones from grooves.
What’s the verdict?
The BF Goodrich Trail Terrain is a good overall all rounder tire, very silent and smooth on the roads, as it provides very decent ride quality.
But on road I am personally impressed by it’s fuel consumption, as it offers one of the best.
Other than that, the tire although lacks a little on wet roads, on snow it shines and is awarded with severe winter rating symbol of 3PMSFR.
