Jamie Ma, chairman and CEO of Federal Tire North America LLC, has shaken up his light truck tire lineup. The results are something a little... different.
He is in the process of replacing the entire Couragia LT line with next generation tires under a new name, Xplora. The company also recently introduced its first rugged terrain tire, the Xplora R/T, to its U.S. and Canadian distributors in Big Bear, Calif.
The latest member of Federal’s light truck tire family fits between the traditional all-terrain tire (some off-road limitations) and the mud-terrain tire (less on-road comfort), said Ma.
The Xplora R/T is available in five 10-ply, Q-rated sizes: 35x12.50R17LT 125Q; 37x12.50R17LT 129Q; 35x12.50R18LT 123Q; 33x12.50R20LT 114Q; and 35x12.50R20LT 121Q.
“In a year, we are going to have 22-inch sizes in the Xplora R/T line,” said Ma. “If our competitors are doing it, we will move on it as well.” That includes possible 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certification.
Vehicle applications include the Chevrolet Silverado/Colorado Series; Ford F-Series; GMC Canyon/Sierra Series; Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee/Wrangler; Nissan Frontier/Titan; Ram Pickup; and Toyota Tacoma/Tundra.More for Xplora
Ma said Federal will introduce another light truck tire, the Xplora A/T, in 12 months. That will give the company an eight-tire lineup — without a highway terrain, or H/T, tire.
“In this lineup, we don’t need it because we have an Xplora XUV cross-utility and SUV tire. The Xplora FX is basically our high performance truck tire, and then the MTS is our ultra-high performance truck tire.”
MTS is an unconventional mud-terrain sport tire, although Ma also refers to MTS as “motor truck sport.” Federal invented both terms, he said.
Federal also has more conventional Xplora M/T and X/T (extreme mud-terrain) tires. That leaves the all-purpose terrain Xplora A/P, “a mix between the A/T and a highway terrain.” ■
