Mudding

Different types of mud require different driving techniques and equipment. Greasy mud with a hard bottom layer is best suited to narrow tires to allow them to cut through the top layer to bite the hard surface below. Wide tires in this situation tend to float on the greasy top layer without reaching the hard surface underneath. Regardless of what type of mud and what width tires are fitted, the tread pattern needs to have large lugs to allow the tire to 'clean' itself. If they don't, the lugs fill with mud and the tire becomes a 'slick' with little chance of getting traction. Road orientated tread patterns tend to have closely spaced lugs to put more rubber on the road and to reduce tire noise at highway speeds. When it comes to mud, road tread tires are at a significant disadvantage, whereas in sand they help avoid 'digging in'. Dedicated mud tires have large open spaced lugs to keep the tire clean. However, they handle worse on bitumen as there is less rubber in contact with the ground and in sand they tend to dig in.

Use a steady momentum to carry you through. Keep your speed up and use higher gears. Don't spin your tires, and don't stop till you're out of the deep sand. If your wheels start to spin, ease off the throttle just a bit and allow the tires to slow down and regain traction. If muddy conditions force you to drive in the ruts, know where your front wheels are pointed at all times. Your vehicle will follow the ruts, even with the wheels turned to the right or left. If you encounter a dry spot with the wheels turned, then the front wheels can regain traction and suddenly throw the vehicle out of the ruts, resulting in a loss of control and possible damage