There’s speculation around whether sand tires are necessary with all-terrain and other aggressive tread pattern tires. And with endless tire brands making leaps and bounds to produce tires that can perform in any condition, the question that arises is – are sand tires worth it?
Depending on your driving habits, of course. Sand tires are crucial in some uneven terrain and weather conditions where other all-purpose tires fail to compete. However, this isn’t to say sand tires are completely free of faults.
So, in the following article, we’ll discuss some of the pros and cons of using top sand tires to really put them up to the test.
Table of Contents
Advantages of Sand Tires
Sand tires have helped innumerable drivers during tough rides with their incredible features. Here are a couple of things that many motorists have praised when discussing the qualities of sand tires –
Traction
One of the things that encourages a driver to buy sand tires is their outstanding traction. Unlike other tires that claim to tread on the sand, actual sand tires have raised peaks as their tread pattern, enabling them to “dig” through sandy terrain.
This is different from the grip and release design of other tires, which eventually wear out tread depth a lot faster than sand tires.
Hot Weather Resistance
Sand tires are great for traveling the dunes and around areas with hot climates in general. Since sand tires are engineered specifically according to how they perform in gravelly and/or sandy terrain, they come with impressive heat resistance and protection from hot weather damage.
This is great if you live in warmer climates or want to drive across lands with excessive sand, gravel, loose dirt, etc.
Durability
Usually, sand tires are used to ride in the dunes, groveled lands, and sometimes even snow. These tires are manufactured to withstand a lot of heat, friction, harsh abrasion, weather damage, and force. Since they are required to endure so much, they are made with extremely durable material to carry out these features.
Due to the incredible durability of sand tires, they can be considered very reliable for long-term and heavy-duty use.
Inexpensive
Compared to high-end brands selling all-season tires at skyrocketing prices, sand tires are significantly cheaper and offer the same quality and features. Plus, sand tires are much more durable, which means they provide more mileage and, therefore, reliability for long-term use.
Disadvantages of Sand Tires
There are only a handful of disadvantages to using sand tires, and they all have to do with compatibility.
Sand tires are big and usually don’t fit every car, so not every driver enjoys its benefits.
Plus, if you don’t drive around in sand or gravel too often or live in a hot climate location, sand tires will not cause any significant changes. So, if you’re able to drive with regular A/T tires, there’s no reason to switch to sand tires except for more sand traction.
Conclusion
So, are sand tires worth it? With everything being said, sand tires are definitely worth it if you are on the search for added sand traction, heat resistance, extended mileage, and reliable tires.
We hope we’ve cleared any queries about what to expect from sand tires and that you can now consider if they’re good enough to try.