Mastercraft might not be one of the first names that comes to mind when you’re looking for all-terrain or mud-terrain performance for your light truck, Jeep, or SUV, but it probably should be. The Mastercraft Courser MXT is a rough-and-tough mud-terrain tire that can stand up to the worst conditions and the worst punishment you can put it through. It’s designed for top-notch performance in mud, sand, loose dirt, or snow and is M+S rated for mud/snow traction. Let’s take a look at some of what you can expect with the tire in this Mastercraft Courser MXT review:

Features and Benefits

Here are just some of the features that make the Mastercraft Courser MXT a standout performer among mud-terrain tires:

• The tire contact patch is optimized to put the most rubber in contact with the road
• Aggressive off-road tread with wide grooves and void ratio for easy ejection of mud, dirt, stones, and debris so there’s always a clear section of the tread to dig in for traction as the tire turns
• “Side-biter” lugs wrap around from the tire’s shoulder onto the sidewall for lateral traction that can claw your way out of ruts (and also protects the sidewall from damage)
• Heavy-duty, damage-resistant tread compound for resistance to damage
• Scallops in shoulder lugs serve as “mud scoops” to bolster traction
• A dense network of sipes is designed to provide hundreds of extra biting edges to chew through snow, slush, mud
• Sipes are extra-deep – even with 50% treadwear, 80% of sipes are still functional
• The tire is pre-drilled for easy installation of studs in case of severe winter weather
• Can be used aired-down for rock crawling over stumps, roots, and other obstacles
• The outlined white letter sidewall looks great on a variety of trucks

Pros and Cons

So, is this Mastercraft mud-terrain tire the right choice for your ride and budget? Before you decide, let’s take a look at the tire’s strengths and weaknesses:

PROS:

• Rugged, damage-resistant tire for rough use
• Unbeatable traction in mud, sand, and loose dirt
• Studdable for icy winter conditions
• Durable casing and tread compound stands up to abrasions, cuts, and punctures
• Good performance on wet pavement

CONS:

• Noisy on pavement
• Handling can be sluggish on dry pavement
• Is not backed by a limited manufacturer tread life warranty
• The tire is not very fuel efficient

SimpleTire’s view on Mastercraft Courser MXT tires

Mastercraft is a private brand from Cooper Tire, one of the most trusted American tire manufacturers since 1909. The Mastercraft Courser MXT is good at what it does, and that means delivering dependable traction in very difficult conditions. The studdable tread design is a nice bonus since metal or plastic studs are pretty much the only thing for it if you’ve got to get through icy weather (remember that studded tires are not legal in all states and are only legal during certain months in others – check your state laws to be sure). The scalloped shoulders and side-biter lugs are a great feature for getting out of deep mud or ruts, and the extra-deep 3D sipes continue to deliver traction even as the tire wears down.

As for the Cons listed above: it’s not surprising that the Mastercraft Courser MXT would generate a lot of tire noise. With mud-terrain tires (which are more at home in mud than on asphalt), tire noise often goes with the territory. The same goes for this tire’s handling and responsiveness – sluggish performance when cornering or maneuvering isn’t uncommon with the off-road tread of mud-terrain tires. Off-road driving means subjecting your tires to more damage, so it isn’t surprising that the Courser MXT is not covered by a mileage warranty. Then again, if you’re opting for a tire like the Mastercraft Courser MXT, you probably know that already and know what to expect - this is a tire that excels when it comes to traction and control in rough offroad use.

Vehicles the Mastercraft Courser MXT is a good replacement tire for

While not used as original equipment, the Courser MXT is a good replacement tire for vehicles like the:

• Chevrolet Silverado 1500
• Ford Bronco
• GMC Yukon
• Jeep Wrangler
• Nissan Pathfinder
• RAM 2500
• Toyota 4Runner