What makes a MT an MT, or an AT an AT? Is there some kind of guideline or regulation somewhere, or is it just how the company decides to market it?

Clearly you can typically eyeball a tread pattern and know if it's an all-season highway tire, an AT, or an MT. With ATs filling the gap between highway and MTs there are examples at either end that are pretty close to aggressive highway tires or the more tame MTs.

I'm not even sure where duratracs, "commercial traction" fit in. Appearance wise they seem to be between ATs and MTs with plenty of strength for heavy loads. Basically, for work trucks in any terrain.

We all know what to expect with an AT, for example, but could a company just decide that their highway tire is aggressive enough and re-market it as an AT in hopes to increase sales? Could BFG decide to phase out their MTs and re-brand their ATs at MTs?

 

The tire market as of today has a varing degree of both ATs and MTs. There are a few ATs that have made it into the "grey area" and a few MTs that are also in the "grey area". While others have gone to naming their tires (Goodyear MTR = Maximum Traction Radial not Mud Traction Radial)

Examples of the "grey area" tires: Goodyear Duratrac, Mickey Thompson MTZs, Cooper STTs, etc.

Basic Definitions:
All Terrains - All Terrain tires or AT are a compromise. All Terrains are an attempt to offer good performance both on road as well as offroad. The ALL TERRAIN TREAD is intended to performs well under a variety of conditions found offroad while still offering acceptable on-highway performance. This is accomplished by using a tread pattern design where the lugs are tighter together than a more aggressive mud tire's tread. The result is usually a quieter ride on the street than a mud tire due to its lesser aggressive tread pattern. When compared to a street tire, All Terrain tires usually produce more noise. The payoff of an All Terrain Tire is that they performs well on a variety of terrains: rocks, sand, somewhat in the mud while still offering decent traction on the paved road. One drawback of an all terrain is that the tread design tends to pack with mud however some of the AT designs perform surprisingly well in muddy conditions. The AT All Terrain is typically the tire for the 4-wheeler who drives their 4x4 as a daily driver and will see minimal trail use and more on highway driving.

Mud Terrain Tires - MUD TIRES or MT (Mud Terrain) are as you might have gathered from the name, designed to perform most specifically in the mud. But when you look at the tread design of many mud tires, they generally perform well in other conditions such as on the rocks, in deeper snow, as well as in loose gravel and in the softer, constantly changing terrain of wooded trails. This is because mud tires are usually designed from a softer compound with wider gaps (voids) between the lugs, which grab onto anything it can hook one of its lug edges around, especially when aired down. Tread designs typically are what make or break a mud tire and vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer. Drawbacks of the MT Mud Terrain tire are they perform poorly on the highway especially in the rain where the wide lug pattern results in less of a tire footprint on the road. Even worse, the MT can be downright dangerous in icy conditions if not siped. The on-highway noise level can be considerably higher especially after they wear down with highway use.

 

very helpful thanks for posting

 

Thanks Tainter - good explanation, and probably good reading for all those who ask questions like "which MT should I buy because I drive mainly on the highway," the answer being "none, you want an AT."

If I read between the lines I think your answer to my question is there is NOT any kind of official defined distinction. The tire manufacturers do a pretty good job of categorizing their tires even though there is nothing stopping BFG from renaming their AT KOs to MT KOs (other than common sense).

 

I tried to give both ends of the spectrum. BFG already has the KM2s which took over for the MTs after they ceased production. AT KOs pretty much suck in the mud but not as bad as the OEM Dunlops on the Adventue/OffRoad packages. Plus BFG sells a butt load of AT KOs and prob wouldn't if they named them MTs.