All-terrain driving demands tires that can handle a lot of situations, and both the BF Goodrich Trail Terrain and the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 deliver exactly that. But which one will bring you better performance results? Let’s compare and see.
Being a tire engineer, from my perspective, the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 supplies superior wet and dry grip and has a better tread life in comparison, though both tires have the same miles warranty. The BFG Trail Terrain on the other hand, does better with fuel on pavements, and off-road it yields better results on rocks, sand and mud.
Tire Sizes
The Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 comes in 16 to 20 inches rim diameters, having following specs.
- Speed ratings: S, R, and T
- Load ratings: SL, C and E
- Weight range: 30 to 60 lbs
- Tread depth range: 12/32″ to 16/32″
- Warranty: 60k for P-Metric and Metric sizes (Excludes LT Sizes).
On the other side, the BF Goodrich Trail Terrain comes in 44 sizes in 15 to 22 inches. They have following specs.
- Speed Ratings: T and H
- Load Ratings: XL and SL
- Tread depth: 12.5/32″ on all
- Weight Range: 30 to 46 lbs
- 60k Miles warranty
Tread Appearance
The BF Goodrich Trail Terrain has staggered shoulder blocks and slanted sidewall lugs with deep biters.
The shoulder blocks don’t divide up (as you see conventionally). They are part of a continuous rib with traction notches throughout.
The ribs on each side of the tire form circumferential channels that divide the central blocks.
In the middle, the compactly packed blocks provide strong biting power with sharp offset edges and full depth siping that splits the blocks all the way to the base.
Although the tire does not have traditional stone ejectors, it does have triangular ones strategically placed in the grooves.
Overall, the tire has a less open, on-road oriented design and seems to prioritize on-road traction.
The Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 3 also has an on-road aligned design, that provides reliable grip in all seasons on highways.
The shoulders of this tire are compact and connected by a continuous running rib underneath, which is the main source of the tire’s direct steering capabilities.
These lugs are staggered and have notches towards the inner side, as well as deep thunderbolt lightning siping.
Furthermore, you see 3 longitudinal channels in the middle, with the outer ones being slightly broader and the inner one having a curved path.
These channels are made with continuous running ribs that consist of blocks with various biting edges, and interlocking sipes, with a micro zigzag structure.
Moreover, the outer edges of these fat central blocks have powerful snow vices and full depth notches where the sipes join them together.
Dry Traction
When it comes to driving on paved roads, there are several factors that contribute to optimal performance and I’ve discussed them all below one after another.
Dry Grip
All-terrain (A/T) tires usually struggle to attain dry traction due to their aggressive design, which doesn’t always provide sufficient grip on the pavement, but in case of these two over here, that’s really not the case.
This is because both tires have a very on-road aligned structure (as discussed in their tread section), offering a great contact patch along with biters, which get to offer great directional gripping abilities.
Though out of both, the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 gets to show shorter braking distance (on tests), mainly because of it’s more streamlined lugs arrangement.
They are aligned longitudinally, and are attached to each other from underneath, so as the tire rolls (straight), they get to offer superior “directional” traction.
BF Goodrich Trail Terrain on the other hand, can’t form as consistent of the rubber to road contact, as its lugs are divided up laterally, and they break that connection more often.
Dry Handling
Tire handling gets to own the major chunk of overall traction, as here, there are two main things involved, lateral grip, and steering response.
For lateral grip (which depends on the shoulder meet up with the road), both tires offer similar traction with their continuous running outer ribs (Dueler A/T has it’s lugs joined up from underneath).
Though with a lighter structural weight the Bridgestone Revo 3 still gets to be tiny bit better, as it offers faster steering response.
I discussed it more in, do A/T tires slow you down.
Wet Traction
Wet traction has always been a big question mark when it comes to all kind of off-road tires. This is because these tires need durability, and so their tread compound has to be stiffer. And with harder tread composition you get to see limited wet grip.
Luckily another factor here is hydroplaning resistance, and its a real game changer.
Let me discuss them both, starting with the grip.
Wet Grip
So why wet grip is compromised with a harder tread compound? Well, that has to do with sipes.
Sipes are tiny slits which expand as the tire meets with the road, and this way, they slurp water particles in them and clear off the path. So they need flexibility to move, and with harder compound that gets hindered.
That’s why although you see ample sipes on both tires, you still see a limited traction values on both.
Though Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 still does better thanks to it’s superior resistance to hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning
Aquaplaning, also known as hydroplaning, occurs when a tire is unable to clear water from its tread quickly enough, and it begins to float, resulting in a loss of traction.
That’s why BF Goodrich Trail Terrain with packed up shoulder lugs don’t allow water to escape laterally (with it’s continuous running shoulder ribs).
Because of this more water hangs around behind in the middle (area of the tread), and the sipes have to do the extra work.
That’s why in case of overall wet traction, I am going to go with Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3.
Tread Noise
Both tires are actually pretty great at offering a quite ride. Though still, I am going to go with BFG Trail Terrain on this one. Let me explain why.
First off, understand that noise is just air particles hitting the walls of the tread. And since that air mostly comes in through the outer grooves (as the tire rolls), the BFG Trail without any gaps there, prevent that, killing noise at it’s source.
Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 on the other hand, allows more air to get in, though its still pretty quite as it’s offers amazing pitch sequencing.
I’ve explained it all in more detail in: Are all-terrain tires noisy?
On-Road Vibrations
Absorption of the road irregularities is also a main factor when it comes to ride comfort. And here again with a softer tread compound, the BF Goodrich Trail Terrain takes a larger piece of the pie.
With a pliable tread, the lugs soak up the vibrations of the road in a much better way.
Whereas the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 with it’s stiffer tread composition isn’t able to produce similar results.
Durability
Off-road tires must possess an enduring quality to withstand the harsh conditions and treacherous objects that they encounter. And let me tell you the sidewalls, in particular, are susceptible to punctures and cuts, the most.
Though both of these tires are rated equal in this section, as they both come up with just a single cap ply of nylon on top of 2 steel belts and 2 ply polyester casing, supplying 2 ply sidewalls.
Still if you wish to pick one over the other, the BFG Trail Terrain is a better pick, as it offers thicker sidewall lugs.
Fuel Efficiency
The BFG Trail Terrain, comes in 2nd when it comes to fuel economy in all-terrain tires.
If you wondering, the Firestone Destination A/T2 (review) comes on top.
So why is that? Well, this has to do with two things, weight and the tread structure.
On average, the BF Goodrich Trail Terrain is lighter, so all its lugs get to bear less pressure on them as the tire rolls.
Moreover, with packed up lugs (especially on shoulders), blocks stay firm and don’t waste the energy in to bending. This energy is instead consumed in to the rolling of the tire.
The Dueler A/T on the other side, is lacking but only by a very small margin.
Winter Performance
The performance of a tire in snowy conditions is evaluated by considering all the key “maneuvering” variables, such as grip, handling, and so on, as well as different types of terrains, such as ice and fluffy snow.
And considering all, although the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 lacks overall, it’s still a pretty great tire to have and does not disappoint.
Let me put it in this way.
It’s the best tire option you can get on snow without having 3 peak mountain snowflake rating, unlike its competitor.
It’s in-groove notches combined with thick sipes (joining up those notches), chew the snow particles very effectively, and make yield amazing grip.
BF Goodrich Trail Terrain on the other side gets to be efficient with it’s interlocking central structure grabbing the snow particles in the grooves, and making snow to snow contact with it.
Moreover, it’s sipes are also full depth and they split open the lugs offering extra traction.
Rugged Terrain Traction
Off-road tires should have strong self-cleaning abilities and durability to perform well on various terrain types.
Rocky Terrains
On rocky terrains, tires need durability particularly on the sidewalls, along with a ton of biters.
Out of both tires, the BFG Trail Terrain comes with interlocking structure in the middle, allow the tire to grip in all directions, so it would not slip either longitudinally or laterally.
Moreover, you also get a lot of notches on the shoulder ribs, staggered outer edges and thick sidewall lugs.
The notches provide superior climbing abilities, (even though the rib is continuous), and the staggered edges + sidewall lugs account for increased contact patch adding to the tires overall traction values.
Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo although has ample biters in the middle, they are still not enough to outer-perform it’s competitor.
Same goes for it’s outer edges, it has sharp shoulder edges, and good enough lugs, they are still not as biting as the Trail Terrain T/A.
Read more on: Are all terrain tires good on rocks?
Muddy Tracks
On muddy terrain, a tire’s ability to clear the mud from the tread is very essential, along with it’s ability to scoop the ground backwards (to generate forward momentum).
When it comes to mud evacuation, both tires rally lack, especially on deeper terrains. Their designs aren’t bald enough to allow for thick clay to easily pass through.
Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 has continuous running longitudinal ribs hindering the mud sideways passage, and Terrain Terrain T/A has its packed up shoulder lugs (doing the same).
Though still if you have to pick one, I’d go with BF Goodrich Trail Terrain. Let me explain why.
The tire basically comes with aggressive enough outer edges. It’s shoulder lugs have thick mud scoops in them, and the sidewall lugs are slanted and have biters in them.
Both of these paddle the tire’s way out of thick mud in a better way (relatively speaking).
On Sand
Sand is a unique terrain that requires tires with a large contact patch, smaller structural weight and a softer tread compound.
With larger contact patch, the tire gets to float better, and with lighter structure, the tire is not so prone to sink in to the soft terrain.
Considering all these factors, it can be explained why BFG Trail Terrain is so much better here, especially on an incline traction test.
The tire comes with thicker sidewall lugs which spread out and enhance the tire’s footprint drastically. Moreover, with continuous outer ribs, and a softer compound it further adds to that.
On the other side, the Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 comes with sharper outer edges, that’s why even though it’s weight is overall lighter (by a smaller margin), and it has decent sidewalls, it still can’t outperform the BFG.
Conclusion
Let me conclude all of the things I’ve discussed, though it’s not recommended to leave any of the above, if you are not in a hurry.
The BF Goodrich is a better tire to have off-road. It yields superior traction on sand, rocks, and muddy terrains.
Moreover, the tire is also very gripping when it comes to snowy terrains, though overall I’d rate both tires equal here.
Other than this, fuel usage is better on BFG, along with comfort, both in terms of noise, and bumps absorption.
On the flip side, the Dueler A/T Revo 3 features superior dry and wet grip on pavements, and has a better tread life in comparison, though both tires have the same 60k miles warranty.
