How many times have you been wheeling in the past 10 years and noticed someone on Yokohama GEOLANDAR tires? Never? The GEOLANDAR line was popular in the 80’s and 90s…but all but vanished from the offroad enthusiast market.On July 1, 2018, that’s going to change.
I was invited to attend the media release of the new Yohokama GEOLANDAR X-MT G005 series at Johnson Valley CA, home of the famous Hammers trails. This area is well known for its brutal terrain and challenging wheeling. What better location to put this new Extreme Mud Terrain tire through its paces.
The GEOLANDAR X-MT boasts a highly aggressive tread pattern, excellent for rocks, sand, dirt and mud. It’s built to contend one on one with the other kings of the rock crawling market, including the BFGoodrich Krawler. Our test mules ran the 40×13.50R17LT size on a variety of built rigs. I piloted the well-known GenRight Terremoto with Tony Pellegrino keeping a close eye on me…from the back seat <wink>
Our test covered much of the GenRight KOH Experience course. The GEOLANDER X-MT tires handled every mistake I made…carrying too much speed into a washout, tagging rocks, missing turns and taking optional lines, and generally just overdriving my skillset (I’m a crawler, and 600+ horsepower and suspension to match shows my driving weaknesses). The GEOLANDAR X-MT didn’t care…traction was excellent, directional stability pulled me back on the lines easily, and the tires found plenty of traction when I failed to read lines on the rocky climbs. Honestly, they almost made me look like I knew what I was doing.
We tested in the 8-10 psi range…the tires easily wrapped around obstacles and found traction. The high void ratio allowed the X-MT lugs to hold onto edges and pull the tire up and over. That same open design allowed them to excel in the sand, similar to a paddle tire. Sidehills were no issue either, the center tread design helped control any issues there. The new GEOLANDAR X-MT boasts the following:
- Open design tread blocks, designed to offer optimal traction, controlled crawling and easy self-cleaning…combined with aggressive sidewall and shoulder lugs, they should offer excellent sidewall protection
- Triple-density polymer compound for long wear and cut resistance
- New GEO-SHIELD construction with a 3-ply construction and extra thick sidewalls
- Computerized tread pattern to minimize noise and maximize comfort for those trips between trailheads
Testing was with the 40×13.50R17 and Yokohama is keeping them big for the GEOLANDAR X-MT. Available sizes will cover 17-20 inch wheels and 35-40 inch diameters…and yes, there are 42’s coming. Also coming are 38″ and 40″ tires for 22″ and 24″ wheels. Stickys?? YES…but availability may be limited initially to the race programs.
I was impressed with what Yokohama brought to the terrain, and look forward to seeing them hit the market and the enthusiasts. Watch for the new GEOLANDAR X-MT on the trails and I suspect you’ll be impressed as well.
A week after this photo was taken, Cameron Harris placed first at the Old School Rock Crawl in Legends Class with his Yokohama GEOLANDER X-MT tires….congratulations!
The GEOLANDER X-MT tires made short work of every obstacle.
Yes, there is some serious void ratio on the X-MT’s
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