Thunderer Trac Grip Review

The Thunderer Trac Grip is a decent budget pick in the mud-terrain category, yet the tire never disappoints you in both off and on road worlds, its huge lugs scoop it’s way out through thick mud and dirt filled tracks, and the solid reinforced foundations underneath them, ensures highway stability.

In my professional opinion as a tire engineer, the Thunderer Trac Grip is a great overall budget pick. The tire does great on dry roads in terms of both directional grip and handing, but lacks in wet environments. And it offers good enough tread life, and off-road performance, though could use some help in the winter performance section.

Available Sizes

The Thunderer Trac MT comes in a total of 32 sizes in 15 to 22 inches rims. They have following specs.

• All have similar speed ratings of Q.
• Load ratings range from C and go all the way up to F.
• Tread depth varies in between 18.4 to 21/32″.
• Weight: 45 to 77 lbs.

Tread Design

The Thunderer Trac MT is a great looking mud-terrain tire, where there’s a lot going on. Let me break it down for you.

It’s central portion comes with 2 ribs, which have (almost) L-shaped lugs in them.

These blocks have full depth zigzag slits, off-set edges, and solid reinforced foundations.

Moreover, they are also attached to each other with stone ejectors underneath, (so you get debris ejecting properties, along with stability).

Speaking of self cleaning, the lugs form a very spacious structure.

They prominently form 3 longitudinal grooves, connected to each other with just as wide lateral tread voids.

Though, these gaps are still not the widest on the tread.

The widest tread voids are seen on the shoulder lugs, where other designs of stone ejectors are embedded.

These shoulder blocks although carry a lot of similar-to-the-middle features, they are fatter, and have thinner siping slits in them.

Moreover, they form very aggressive sidewall design.

The blocks aren’t staggered, yet each of the lug is serrated on itself. So they create powerful biters on the outer edges.

And complimenting those are it’s star shaped sidewall lugs.

Together both features provide tremendous bite on rugged tracks with lowered air pressure.

Durability

When it comes to mud terrain tires, durability is a big one. But with more durability comes more weight which limits other things such as on road traction, tread wear, noise and so on.

So with that in mind the BF Goodrich KM3 kept the tire’s durability slightly below average.

But the tire still get to have 3 ply polyester carcass and 2 broad steel belts on top.

It’s just there is just single ply reinforcement of Aramid on top, which is also considered the cap ply.

So the tire gets to be pretty light in weight while still providing you with 3 ply sides, yet you still don’t get any miles warranty.

Dry Traction

Americus Rugged MT is a very decent tire for pavements, in terms of traction. The tire although comes with a pretty voided structure, all its lugs have solid reinforced foundations underneath.

Besides, these foundations, the central lugs are very streamlined towards moving on a straighter path.

The are part of 2 longitudinal ribs like you mostly see on less aggressive tires.

Same goes for the tire’s handling abilities which highly depends on the shoulder lugs.

And with comparatively bigger tread blocks there, the tire offers a decent connection with the road while cornering.

Moreover, the foundational supports on these lugs as well, account for stability and greater overall response times.

And adding to that, is the tire’s lighter weight which does not create too much maneuvering inertia, allowing the tire to have a good enough under and over steering balance.

Noise

Although a lot of sources exists when it comes to on-road tire noise, the air still contributes a majority of share.

That’s why mud-terrain tires with such balder structure, are so loud, as they allow air particles to freely move in form all directions and hit the tread walls, generated unwanted noise waves.

That’s why the Thunderer Trac Grip MT with its highly voided design allows for significant air movement, which generates a lot groove resonance.

Though the tire does offer decent pitch sequencing to dampen noise levels, so comparing other famous MTs, it’s not that bad after all.

FYI: Pitch sequencing, also known as variable pitch technology, is basically the crafting of the tread blocks in a way, that the air particles hitting them could generate different frequencies/tones at different areas, cancelling out noise.

Wet Grip

Although wet grip is hard to achieve for mud tires, I have no complaints with the Thunderer Trac Grip MT, as it’s features an all-weather rubber compound, enriched with silica, allowing for a good deal of elasticity.

This enables the sipes to open and close smoothly, siphoning water particles off by sucking them in their slits. Though there’s still a little room for improvements, as siping design isn’t ideal on the central lugs, causing larger braking distances on tests when compared to other MTs.

These sipes may seem interlocking they are actually only on the outside of the tread, as with wear you come to know that they are straight all the way down to the base.

(Interlocking sipes such as seen on its shoulder blocks basically flex in a better way, allowing for faster water removal capabilities.

Hydroplaning

Hydroplaning occurs when a tire loses grip on standing water, as a layer of it comes in between, so this means besides water clearance with the sipes, the grooves as just as important for wet traction as well.

Though, typically, hydroplaning isn’t a concern for tires with high void ratios, as their spacious treads allow for rapid water displacement.

So the Thunderer Trac Grip MT with an expansive void ratio, and generous grooves running both length-wise and width-wise, you get a decent resistance to aquaplaning, ensuring the tire remains grounded at high float speeds, (the maximum speed at which a tire can travel over pooled water without lifting off, or say floating.

Tread Life

Tread life heavily relies on a tire’s weight and rubber compound, which explains why MTs typically don’t last as long as ATs and often lack warranties.

The Thunderer Trac Grip MT is no exception. Its softer compound and heavy 3-ply polyester casing contribute to increased rolling resistance, which accelerates tread wear.

But that only goes for smooth pavements, as it’s cut resistant rubber offers a good enough treadwear performance on all sorts of off-road tracks.

Off-Road Traction

Though marketed as mud terrain tires, the Thunderer Trac Grip MT performs admirably in a variety of off-road conditions, including rocky trails, sand, dirt, and gravel. Let’s dive into the specifics.

Muddy Tracks

Mud is arguably the most challenging terrain, demanding efficient self-cleaning abilities. That’s why less aggressive off-road tires lying in all-terrain or even hybrid category are susceptible to getting stuck here.

Having said that the Thunderer Trac Grip MT is although a great mud tire, it still doesn’t quite measure up to premium options, in its category.

And the culprit is it’s sidewall lugs design. Each of its shoulder block is although serrated on itself, they lack proper mud scoops, which basically efficient paddle on the muddy trails.

Rocky Areas

The Thunderer Trac Grip MT is a greater rock climber with its gripping chunky sidewalls which come in to action, especially with reduced air pressure PSI, while its wide central groove bite in to the rocky surface.

The central lugs feature a random placement of tread ribs, creating a well-rounded mix of traction and grip in all directions.

Sand Grip

When driving on sand, skillful handling is crucial, along with a lightweight and “paddling” tire that minimizes digging and prioritizes forward movement.

That’s why the Thunderer Trac Grip MT stands above average in the crowd of famous mud-terrains, with it’s very lightweight structure, softer compound and thick enough sidewall lugs.

The sidewall lugs spread out to ensure tire would not sink, while it’s lighter structure helps to that.

Moreover, its softer compound aids its blocks to providing scooping effect with the ground.

Snow Performance

The Thunderer Trac Grip MT may not have a 3-peak mountain snowflake rating, but it can still hold its own on deep snowy terrains.

Though its a big fat no, for ice and hard packed snow.

Basically the tire lacks in providing ample biters for snow grabbing/gripping, so couldn’t grip as well on hard snow, but with it’s swooping lugs, it efficiently scoops up the snow and create forward momentum with it.

Key Takeaway

The Thunderer Trac Grip M/T tires prove to be a reliable and budget-friendly option for off-road enthusiasts and those seeking better traction in various conditions.

The aggressive tread design, self-cleaning properties, and versatile performance of these tires, make them suitable for almost all terrain types, including of course deep muddy tracks.

Though the tire could use a little help in the on-road traction department. But looking the tire’s price tag, and the performance in other key areas, I think one can very easily ignore that.