MagicMtnDan
FRF Addict
Here's the inside story from Gene Martindale, "Ford SVT lead test driver. Martindale has played a critical role developing and refining the Raptor's off-road driving dynamics and knows the truck's limits and capabilities about as well as anyone on the planet."
Text and Gene's quote from Pickuptrucks.com
One of the only compromises that Ford had to make developing the Raptor was the tire choice. The Raptor ships wearing BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A 315/70R17 tires with massive sidewalls and deep tread for maximum traction on sand or rocks and ride comfort on the road, but they're not the optimal choice for rain-soaked trail conditions.
"We thought about mud tires for the Raptor," Martindale said. "They work awesome in mud, but they sucked at the trade-offs. They were horrible in grass. They were horrible in sand. They were horrible on the pavement. They were horrible in snow. They only worked in the mud, whereas the BFG All Terrain worked everywhere, though it's biggest weakness was mud. It's kind of a bummer but for those who use the Raptor in the mud, they'll put on MTs."
Also from the article:
After completing our turn steering the Raptor, we were treated to a hot lap with Martindale at the wheel in a Raptor equipped with Mud Terrain tires. The difference in performance was amazing with a race-experience driver in the left seat and rolling stock that shed mud like water at low speeds. If we owned a Raptor in the Midwest, we'd keep a set of MTs on hand to swap them out like summer and winter tires.
Source: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/05/second-drive-2010-ford-f150-svt-raptor-62.html
Text and Gene's quote from Pickuptrucks.com
One of the only compromises that Ford had to make developing the Raptor was the tire choice. The Raptor ships wearing BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A 315/70R17 tires with massive sidewalls and deep tread for maximum traction on sand or rocks and ride comfort on the road, but they're not the optimal choice for rain-soaked trail conditions.
"We thought about mud tires for the Raptor," Martindale said. "They work awesome in mud, but they sucked at the trade-offs. They were horrible in grass. They were horrible in sand. They were horrible on the pavement. They were horrible in snow. They only worked in the mud, whereas the BFG All Terrain worked everywhere, though it's biggest weakness was mud. It's kind of a bummer but for those who use the Raptor in the mud, they'll put on MTs."
Also from the article:
After completing our turn steering the Raptor, we were treated to a hot lap with Martindale at the wheel in a Raptor equipped with Mud Terrain tires. The difference in performance was amazing with a race-experience driver in the left seat and rolling stock that shed mud like water at low speeds. If we owned a Raptor in the Midwest, we'd keep a set of MTs on hand to swap them out like summer and winter tires.
Source: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/05/second-drive-2010-ford-f150-svt-raptor-62.html
