GREENVILLE, S.C. – The BFGoodrich^® Krawler^® T/A^®KX, the tire that made a name for itself by winning seven out of a possible 10 major championships in 2002 rock crawling competition, is now available to consumers through retail outlets carrying BFGoodrich tires.

Initially, BFG is offering the tire in two sizes – a 35x13.50R15 and a 37x12.50R17, with the 17-inch dimension available in two versions.

In an innovative move that’s an industry first, one version of the17-inch tire can be ordered with about 50 percent of the tread area left blank, to be custom grooved by the consumer. This tire is intended for those who have customized their vehicles to meet the specific needs and conditions of extreme rock crawling and off-roading.

The other 17-inch version, like the 15-inch size, features a full tread design made up of huge, aggressive lugs for maximized traction. It can be run as-is, or “fine tuned” for specific applications.

“The response to prototype versions of the Krawler T/A^KX has been extraordinary,” said Scott Dishman, marketing manager for BFGoodrich light-truck tires. “We worked hard to develop the ultimate tire that would help provide drivers with the unique traction capabilities and exceptional durability they need in rock crawling. Given our success in competition last year and the overwhelmingly positive comments we’re getting from those who’ve had a chance to run the tire, I’d say our engineers hit another home run.”

In true BFG style of using competition in the final development phase for new products, engineers used feedback from those who tested prototype tires in a range of extreme conditions to refine the performance and durability of the Krawler T/A^KX.

Besides providing valuable technical information, teams running the Krawler T/A^KX were awesome in competition. They capped a very successful season by sweeping the top three spots in the Unlimited Class at the inaugural running of The SuperCrawl World Championships in Farmington, N.M., a by-invitation-only event, which attracted a field of 106 competitors.

Credit for the performance of the Krawler T/A^KX goes to the tire’s construction and design features, including:

“Just because the Krawler T/A^KX is now available to consumers doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped work on it,” Dishman said. “As far as our engineers are concerned, the process doesn't have an end point. We will use a version of the Krawler T/AKX as a development tire to continue exploring new concepts, and we’ll continue to use motorsports as a venue for testing them.”

As part of the on-going development program this season, BFGoodrich® Tires will be evaluating a 39-inch dimension as well as some different compounds and constructions.

BFGoodrich^® tires , made for people looking to take control of the driving experience, combine technological expertise with the experience gained in motorsports to offer a traction advantage for almost every type of vehicle and driving preference.