The Yokohama Geolandar MT is a beast of a mud-terrain tire that delivers amazing traction on rugged tracks and still shines on highways as well. Let’s see if this tire is right for you.
If I were to give a brief overview of the tire: Geolandar MT offers average dry and wet traction compared to other popular mud-terrain tires. However, it excels in winter grip and tread life. Additionally, it yields impressive results on sand, mud, and rocky tracks.
Sizes Facts
The Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003 is available in 37 sizes, ranging from 15 to 24 inches, with the following specifications:
- Speed ratings of Q.
- Load ratings from C to F.
- Tread Depth Range: 17 to 21/32″.
- Weight Range: 30 to 80 lbs.
Tread Design
The Yokohama Geolandar M/T combines features from its first generation and the Toyo MT to create a unique and versatile off-road option.
This tire’s tread design includes four distinct columns with two central ribs and prominent shoulder lugs along the edges.
Its middle section features two unique lugs with sharp offsets and chamfered edges, creating numerous biters.
Despite its softer compound, the tread blocks are supported by reinforced foundations, ensuring firmness during braking and handling and adding stability on highways.
For wet conditions, it has an increased number of full-depth sipes compared to an average M/T, reducing slippage.
Its spacious shoulders create the widest tread voids with robust stone ejectors, enabling excellent self-cleaning off-road.
The lugs are staggered from their outer edges and have a slanted pattern on the sidewalls, forming thick lugs there.
Side Note: Make sure you compare Yokohama Geolandar MT with Cooper STT Pro, before digging in to the performance section below.
Street Performance
Among popular mud-terrain tires, the Yokohama Geolandar MT ranks above average due to its stiffer tread compound, which ensures a firmer rubber-to-road connection.
Its lugs, particularly in the shoulder area, balance oversteering and understeering well.
The rigid rubber build prevents excessive movement or bending of tread blocks, maintaining steering sensitivity.
The central lugs are more closed up, and their combination of a harder compound and interlocking structure results in one of the best braking distances in tests compared to other MTs.
While Yokohama’s claim of a 5-foot shorter stopping distance than the Toyo M/T may not be entirely accurate, there is some truth to it.
Wet Performance
Wet performance highly depends on sipes, particularly in case of mud terrain tires.
These tires although offer multiple pathways (or grooves) for water to gush out quickly, thanks to their balder structures, they can’t clean off the remaining water effectively (from those siping slits).
In other words, while most water go out through grooves, the left-behind moisture has to by soaked up by sipes, which are really missing on Geolandar MT.
Plus the little sipes it does offer aren’t as effective as they aren’t allowed to be flexible enough to breath water particles in (and back out as the tire rolls over). And this is not only due to their structures, but from rubber’s stiffness as well.
Tread Wear
The Yokohama Geolandar M/T excels in mileage among MT tires. It features a dual compound with optimized ribs for even wear, and its lightweight design reduces rolling resistance (up to 80 lbs).
Its deep tread voids, up to 21/32″, contribute to its longevity, taking longer to wear down to the 2/32″ legal limit in the USA.
Our testing shows that with proper rotation and pressure maintenance, the Geolandar M/T can last up to 40,000 miles.
Snow Performance
The Yokohama Geolandar M/T isn’t an ideal candidate for hard packed up snow, yet there’s aren’t any complaints when it comes to fluffy/deep snow traction.
The tire may lack intricate features to grip on to ice, but it’s thick elongated lugs supply amazing paddling on soft snow, scooping stuff backwards, and generating forward momentum with it.
The slanted shoulders and the lugs on sidewalls provide most of the shoveling here.
Sand Traction
The Yokohama Geolandar M/T excels on sandy terrain due to its silica-rich, soft top rubber layer, lighter overall structural weight and thick sidewall lugs. These features increase the tire’s contact area with the sand, improving traction.
The relatively lighter tread of the tire (compared to other MTs), prevents the tire form sinking, while with lowered air pressure the sidewall lugs expand out to aid that.
Speaking of pressure, the tire also features powerful rim locks which ensure confidence inspiring drive on sand, allowing you to lower the inflation pressure to the maximum without worrying.
Mud Performance
Although designed for muddy conditions, the Yokohama Geolandar M/T is not the top performer in this category compared to other MTs.
While it offers decent traction, it falls slightly behind other well-known mud-terrain options. Its central lugs are very interlocking, impeding mud expulsion.
The tire lacks thick mud scoops and paddling sidewall lugs, crucial for moving through deep mud.
Rock Traction
On rocks, you need toughness, as its the most puncturing terrain out there. Moreover, you also need powerful biting ability in all directions (to help with the climb). Both of these are features are pretty great on Yokohama Geolandar M/T.
The tire features 3 ply sides, keeping it safe from sharp rocks, and it’s combination of lateral and longitudinal groove provide a great combination of grip in all directions.
Though the tire’s lateral traction is its primary weakness, especially when it comes to climbing rocks in wet conditions.
Noise
While Yokohama prioritizes ride comfort with its Geolandar AT and RT tires, this trend does not extend to the MT model.
The tire’s highly voided shoulder design allows air particles to move freely and strike the walls with full force, generating noise.
Additionally, it is less capable of absorbing bumps on and off the road effectively compared to others. Despite good responsiveness on paved roads, its stiffer compound does not sufficiently absorb vibrations.
Verdict?
The Yokohama Geolandar M/T tires confidently claim their place as a top choice for off-road enthusiasts who value a blend of performance, design, and technology.
These tires feature an aggressive tread pattern that highlights their ability to handle various terrains, including mud, snow, and rocky landscapes.
When compared to other mud-terrain tires, their tread longevity stands out the most.
However, in terms of impact comfort and noise, the Yokohama Geolandar M/T falls short. Although mud-terrain tires and comfort rarely go hand in hand, the Yokohama could benefit from improvements in these areas compared to its competitors.
