The off-road wheel company sells tires, too.
Website: www.fueloffroad.com
Head on over to Fuel Off-Road’s website and you’ll notice the popular aftermarket wheel company catering to its namesake is vertically integrated, selling tires, too.
For example, this wheel and tire combo is all Fuel, D769 Wheels wrapped in Fuel Gripper M/T rubber.
Reading reviews, Fuel Off-Road has been selling tires since at least 2019.
Naturally, Fuel wheel shoppers are going to need a new set of tires and, seeing Fuel sells that too, wonder if they’re any good.
Here’s everything I know about Fuel Tires.
First, a little about the company.
According to Fuel Off-Road,
“Established in 2008 by MHT Luxury Alloys, one of the most trusted and time-tested names in the business, Fuel Off-Road has been capturing the attention of off-road enthusiasts with our cutting edge designs, fitments, and technological advancements.”
Compton, California-based MHT Luxury Alloys was sold to Denver, Colorado-based wheel conglomerate “Wheel Pros” in 2019.
A quick browse through Wheel Pros website shows they own many wheel and tire heavy hitters including Motegi Racing, KMC Wheels, American Racing OTR, Rotiform, and TSW.
Based off a photo of a set of Fuel Gripper A/T tires on eBay, it looks like Fuel Tires are made in Taiwan.
It’s not uncommon for niche tire brands that only make a handful of tire models to partner with a larger tire manufacturer, often overseas in Southeast Asia, to make their tires.
For example, Taiwan is home to Maxxis Tires, one of the largest manufacturers of affordable off-road tires, itself a subsidiary of China-based Cheng-Shin Tires, the ninth largest tire manufacturer in the world.
Fuel Off-Road tires model lineup
Fuel Off-Road offers three variations of its Gripper Tire.
- Fuel Gripper X/T- 20″-30″ sizes
- Fuel Gripper M/T- 17″-28″ sizes
- Fuel Gripper A/T- 17″-28″ sizes
Notable Key Technologies
- 3-Layer Carcass Design (Gripper X/T)
- Special Rubber Compound- ensures airtightness, improves durability, and impact resistance (Gripper X/T)
- Special airtight formula-ensures tire tightness (Gripper A/T)
Warranty
According to Fuel Off-Road’s FAQ,
Fuel Off-Road tires are manufactured with proprietary compounds to provide maximum performance on and off the road. Fuel tires do not have an implied tread wear expectancy or warranty, as conditions and usage varies among users.
It’s worth mentioning if you check the specs of each tire, it seems like certain sizes of their A/T tires have a mileage warranty between 50,000-55,000 miles so, if you do plan on purchasing that size, I’d confirm with Fuel (via their contact us form linked here) or whoever you’re buying them from if a mileage warranty actually exists.
Are Fuel Tires any good?
The one thing Fuel Tires have going for them is the price, they are marginally cheaper than Tier 1 and Tier 2 options for your A/T, M/T, and X/T needs.
But, is that slightly cheaper price worth it?
There aren’t many reviews for Fuel Tires online but it’s fair to see reviews are mixed. If you’re researching Fuel Tires, it would behoove you to read the reviews from simpletire.com, source linked below, as they seem to have the most honest reviews from verified purchasers.
One thing that most reviewers can agree on is Fuel Tires are aggressive looking and overall look excellent.
“I was amazed how great the truck looked when I picked it up,” Steven D Hull mentions on Simple Tire, commenting on his Gripper A/T purchase. “It really looked tough. I drive on the tires for about 500 miles before returning them. Again, they look awesome.”
There are reviewers who have had some luck with Fuel Tires.
“Currently, my Gripper ATs have 50,000 miles and would appear to have five to ten thousand miles left on them,” says Drew on Simple Tire’s Gripper A/T review page. “They’ve been great, awesome traction on and off-road and in wet conditions.”
“Saw mixed reviews and worried about getting them,” says Billy Tyler on Simple Tire’s Gripper A/T review page. “Nevertheless, I was little strapped in the money department, so I went ahead a bought fuel grippers a/t… Great grip in winter snow. Drives great on wet and dry pavement too! Very little noise!”
In contrast, the handful of negative reviews are hard to ignore.
“These tires are not good,” says Dylan on Simple Tire’s Gripper A/T review page. “I took a chance buying them because they were a bit cheaper but they are absolute cheap c***. The tires pick up every single rock and fling them at your truck…”
“Normal in town driving on a sunny dry day, No worries, “says Layne Darou on Simple Tire’s Gripper A/T review page. “Wet conditions? Better hang on, these absolutely suck on wet pavement and are even worse in winter (terrible for a winter rated tire). And to top it off, they won’t balance… Ever… I strongly suggest you run clear of these seriously heavy and brutal excuses for tires.”
Hull, who I mentioned likes Fuel Tire’s aggressive looks, went on to comment how, “…the humming noise at both low and high speeds, along with the weight of the tires killed it for me (handling was terrible, plus shaved about 5mpg off my average). I could have saved several hours / days of my precious time had I been able to find a review like mine before taking the plunge.”
Based on everything I’ve read, I find it hard to recommend Fuel Off-Road tires either way.
If you’ve got a lot of disposable income to throw at a set of tires, I’d say it’s worth the risk as, despite the hard to ignore negative reviews, there are a lot of positive ones.
Chances are, Fuel Tires are actually OK.
But, if you’re looking for an off-road tire and are on a budget, despite the budget price, I’d throw my money at a more established tire brand, one that at least has a tire warranty.
Sources for reviews:
www.amazon.com/fuel-tires
www.simpletire.com/brands/fuel-tires
www.google.com/shopping
