Ran cheap all-terrains for 3 years, then got real mud terrains and I feel dumb
I put 40k miles on a set of no-name all-terrains because they were $140 each and I thought mud terrains were just for show. First trip out on the new tires at Hollister Hills last weekend, I walked up a rutted climb in 2wd that used to have me spinning all four. Was I the only one who waited way too long to stop cheaping out on tires, or did everyone else figure this out sooner?
That spinning on all fours thing is the real tell. People think 4wd is some magic fix but it only helps when the tires can actually grab something. Once you've got real bite, you start noticing how much you were fighting the truck instead of driving it. The wild part is how it changes your whole line choice too. You stop picking the easy way around stuff because you trust the tires to hold. It's not just the climb you walked in 2wd, it's all the dumb little decisions before it.