Gmade MT 2202 Off Road Tire
Gmade MT 2202 mounted up on the Axial Wraith Spawn.
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With the past few reviews focused on the 1.9” range of tires, I wanted to switch things up and get back to the 2.2” crawler tire world.
Searching through my collection of 2.2” off-road and crawler tires, I found a set of Gmade MT 2202’s off-road tires tucked away in the rear of a storage bin. Unlike the majority of 2.2 tires which feature large, chunky lug patterns, the MT 2202’s have a much more conservative look. Standing tall at 5.6”, these tires look to be a well-rounded off-road tire rather than a crawler specific tire. In the past I’ve been surprised with the crawling performance from tires similar to these, so I was optimistic that testing these on our local sandstone rocks would yield good results. |
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First Impression
Removing the MT 2202 tires from the packaging, right away I noticed their high level of quality. The rubber compound feels soft, but not as soft as many crawling-specific tires. Looking into the details on Gmade’s website, this tire is described as having their “Super Soft” tire compound, and this may be so when comparing this tire to their other offerings, but they are noticeably firmer and less “sticky” than other tires I’ve worked with. Regarding the tire construction, the tread pattern is detailed and crisply molded. The tire bead is squared off on the inside and firm, indicating the mounting process onto beadlock wheels should be simple. The tire carcass is firm, but the heavily notched sidewall lugs allow for adequate flex in the tread. |
The MT 2202's look sharp on the Wraith.
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Like many off-road tires, the tread pattern is a reversed copy from the right side to the left side of the tire, making this a non-directional tire. The molded company name and lettering is also identical on each side of the tire; this layout simplifies the mounting process in that you cannot mount this tire backwards or on the wrong side.
As I prepared to vent the tires with three 3mm holes, I kept thinking I had seen this tread pattern on another tire in the past, but I couldn’t quite think of which tire. After I finished venting the tires and reinstalling the factor foams, I headed back to the tire bin to see if I could find a match. With a bit of rummaging I found a set of Losi Hammer Rey 2.2” tires modeled after the Nitto Trail Grapplers which have a very similar tread pattern. I have run the Trail Grapplers on my U4 Rock Racer in the past with excellent results, but the MT2202 felt to be a bit softer in rubber compound and have a thinner sidewall.
Looking through the wheel rack, I selected a set of black Vanquish RC 2.2" beadlock aluminum wheels with 475 SLW hubs and a pair of 215 gram ( per pair ) brass weights for the front wheels.
As I prepared to vent the tires with three 3mm holes, I kept thinking I had seen this tread pattern on another tire in the past, but I couldn’t quite think of which tire. After I finished venting the tires and reinstalling the factor foams, I headed back to the tire bin to see if I could find a match. With a bit of rummaging I found a set of Losi Hammer Rey 2.2” tires modeled after the Nitto Trail Grapplers which have a very similar tread pattern. I have run the Trail Grapplers on my U4 Rock Racer in the past with excellent results, but the MT2202 felt to be a bit softer in rubber compound and have a thinner sidewall.
Looking through the wheel rack, I selected a set of black Vanquish RC 2.2" beadlock aluminum wheels with 475 SLW hubs and a pair of 215 gram ( per pair ) brass weights for the front wheels.
Time to get to work.
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Testing Setup
The Axial Wraith Spawn was ready to go with the new tires mounted. The factory foams allowed the tires to slightly flex while sitting on the workbench, with just a slight bulge at the bottom edge of the sidewall. Not too bad for an OEM foam, but I would be watching close on the side-hill performance. The rest of the crawler was double checked to make sure the links were moving freely and the shocks running smooth in their travel. Powering the Wraith was a Hobbywing AXE 540 crawling ESC and motor, and while it had done quite well it the past, it was staring to run a little rough at lower speeds. It was on my radar to replace at some point in the near future. |
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Badrock Ridge
With the tires mounted up a ready to go, I headed out for a late afternoon run up on the sandstone at Badrock Ridge. Driving up the first slabs of rock, I noticed that the MT’s were a quiet-running tire that moved across the trail smoothly and without the loud groaning and popping noises usually heard from super sticky and knobby crawler tires. This was to be a shakedown run to develop a first impression of the tire before any serious evaluation. In my experience, I feel a number of runs are needed just to get a feel for how the tires handle on the truck, especially when seeing just how far you can push the limits on steep climbs or side-hill traverses. This also allows for the tires to break-in and have the surface abraded by the rock. |
Looking good on the trail with the MT2202s.
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With the mindset of keeping things basic, I followed the trail along smooth rock transitions and smaller chunky sections all while avoiding any steep climbs.
The first thing that surprised me was the MT’s traction on smooth rock. The MT’s rubber compound isn’t ideal for crawling, so I figured they would start to slip when the rocks became steep, but the tread pattern creates a large contact patch to the rock and they pulled the Wraith along without any problem. I held off from approaching a few of the really challenging lines, like Miller’s Joint, knowing that I would try them once the tires had a chance to scrub in and most likely a change of foams.
Two hours later, I was pleased with the level of performance I was seeing with these tires. For what looks to be a general purpose off-road tire, they were holding their own on the sandstone rocks.
Heading back to the trail system two more times that week, the tires had scrubbed-in nicely, but the foams were starting to fail. The Wraith is a fairly heavy crawler at 3500 grams, and I had anticipated the OEM foams were going to need upgrading.
The first thing that surprised me was the MT’s traction on smooth rock. The MT’s rubber compound isn’t ideal for crawling, so I figured they would start to slip when the rocks became steep, but the tread pattern creates a large contact patch to the rock and they pulled the Wraith along without any problem. I held off from approaching a few of the really challenging lines, like Miller’s Joint, knowing that I would try them once the tires had a chance to scrub in and most likely a change of foams.
Two hours later, I was pleased with the level of performance I was seeing with these tires. For what looks to be a general purpose off-road tire, they were holding their own on the sandstone rocks.
Heading back to the trail system two more times that week, the tires had scrubbed-in nicely, but the foams were starting to fail. The Wraith is a fairly heavy crawler at 3500 grams, and I had anticipated the OEM foams were going to need upgrading.
OEM foams struggling to support the Wraith on this side hill.
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Foams
Swapping out the foams to a set of Proline Racing two-stage foams was an obvious choice, and right away these tires improved in their side-hilling performance. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, two-stage foams are pretty much a standard upgrade for just about any tire focused on rock crawling. In less demanding situations, such as casual trail driving, I feel the single-stage foams would be good enough for these tires. Unfortunately they were just not holding up to the abuse from this trail. When I removed the foams, I could see the edges were already breaking own with a layer of eroded foam covered the wheel. |
The Prolines were a tight fit, but I was able to get them into the tire. Right away the tires felt much better with good support around the sidewall and down to the wheel while still remaining pliable around the tread. It was time to attack a few of the technical sections and Badrock and see just what these tires could do.
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Trouble on the Trail
Unfortunately half-way through the testing at Badrock we hit a snag, but not with the tires; with the transmission. Of all the crawlers in my fleet, the Wraith has been by far the biggest money pit. I had recently upgraded the transmission to a Super Shafty complete “drop in” unit in hopes that it would run smoother than the well-worn OEM unit. At $200, the SS unit is somewhat spendy, but it seemed nice and was simple to install. During the install, I was struggling to get the correct pinion gear mesh and I couldn’t figure out why. I would set the mesh, and then as I rotated the spur gear, it would suddenly bind. Looking closer, I found that the spur gear didn’t run true on the transmission; it wobbled. The gear itself seemed fine, so it was most likely the shaft it was mounted on. I boxed up the transmission and sent it back to SS, asking them to look it over. They reached out to me on the phone and said not to worry about it, and just set the mesh a bit loose and it won’t bind. While not really stoked about that being the solution for a $200 transmission, I didn’t fuss and just asked them to send it back and I would pay for shipping. |
Castle 1900 kv Slate motor with Copperhead 10 ESC paired with TGH 2.Low transmission.
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After a month of waiting, I emailed SS to see what the status was on the transmission. I received no response. A few more emails over the period of another month and still nothing. Finally I sent a letter over to the same address I sent the transmission to, and still nothing. I also reached out on IG with a direct message, and yet again nothing. Seeing that their website is still up and running, I guess they simply planned on ignoring me while keeping my money and the transmission. I got the Super Shafty indeed. This left me with a Wraith in need of another transmission.
One morning I awoke to a text from a friend in Colorado with a link to the Team Garage Hack 2.Low transmission. The note was to purchase immediately (like right now) and discuss later. Come to find out these transmissions can sell out in minutes due to their low production volume and high demand.
The 2.Low transmission isn’t cheap, retailing for $210, but it does have one special feature; 30% overdrive! Unfortunately it’s not a “drop in” transmission. I had to flip around the axles to work with the output rotation direction, but this did allow me to move the motor forward on the skid and slightly improve the balance of the truck.
I figured that while I was reworking the transmission placement on the skid, I may as well throw a bit more money at the Wraith, so I selected one of Castle RC’s new Copperhead 10 / 1900kv motor and ESC combos. I’ve been running the Copperhead 10 ESC in my Vanquish and absolutely love it, and I found the combo on sale for $165, so ordered one for install.
During the installation process of the transmission, I removed the Vanquish overdrive ring and pinion gear, then reinstalled the factory ring and pinion ratio from Vanquish. At this point the front and rear axles have an identical ring and pinion setup, with the only overdrive coming from the 2.Low transmission itself.
One morning I awoke to a text from a friend in Colorado with a link to the Team Garage Hack 2.Low transmission. The note was to purchase immediately (like right now) and discuss later. Come to find out these transmissions can sell out in minutes due to their low production volume and high demand.
The 2.Low transmission isn’t cheap, retailing for $210, but it does have one special feature; 30% overdrive! Unfortunately it’s not a “drop in” transmission. I had to flip around the axles to work with the output rotation direction, but this did allow me to move the motor forward on the skid and slightly improve the balance of the truck.
I figured that while I was reworking the transmission placement on the skid, I may as well throw a bit more money at the Wraith, so I selected one of Castle RC’s new Copperhead 10 / 1900kv motor and ESC combos. I’ve been running the Copperhead 10 ESC in my Vanquish and absolutely love it, and I found the combo on sale for $165, so ordered one for install.
During the installation process of the transmission, I removed the Vanquish overdrive ring and pinion gear, then reinstalled the factory ring and pinion ratio from Vanquish. At this point the front and rear axles have an identical ring and pinion setup, with the only overdrive coming from the 2.Low transmission itself.
The performance gain from the TGH transmission is impressive.
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Back Out on the Trail
With the foams upgraded, new TGH 2. Low transmission, and Copperhead 10 ESC with 1900kv motor combo installed, I headed back out on the trail and Wraith felt much more capable. The Wraith now easily climbed features which it severely struggled with before, and the low-speed control of the new ESC and sensored motor made this truck a real pleasure to drive. I spent a few days on the trail to develop a feel for the Wraith with all of these changes before I started to focus back on the MT 2202’s. There is no getting around the fact that these modifications to the Wraith can only shine a positive light on these tires, so it’s important to take this into consideration when reading the following performance comments and opinion. |
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Back to Badrock
It was good to get the Wraith back out on the trail to resume the evaluation of the MT 2202 tires, and the cooler temperatures of the fall season was a welcome change from this summer’s intense heat. Starting off on some basic sandstone features, the Wraith smoothly climbed up and over just about every obstacle in its way. The traction from the tires was good on the rougher sections of sandstone, but on smoother areas where water erosion is more prevalent, they stared to struggle. |
Upgrading the foams greatly increased the side-hill control with these tires.
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On the first outing with the OEM foams, the heavy weight of the Wraith placed a stout load on the tires, causing them fold under the wheels in steep side-hill conditions. Even though the tread would conform to the rock’s surface, the tire would squirm around the wheel and slide off the rock easily.
Now that the Proline two-stage foams were installed, the truck drastically improved in side-hill traction and stability. One of the clearest examples of this improvement could be seen when the Wraith would descend a steep rock slab while steering around obstacles.
You can see in the photo where the tire is holding up nicely with the upgraded foam, but there is a bit of sliding where the tire’s lugs weren’t quite sticky enough to completely grip the rock. It’s in these instances where a softer, stickier rubber compound would hold much tighter to the rock’s surface and prevent the truck from sliding.
During this descent I had to account for a bit of slippage on the rock, so I swung wide on my lines giving the Wraith some leeway to work around a few fissures in the rock. This slippage was minimal, but it needed to be accounted for. Luckily the large surface contact area of the tire patch made for a slow and predictable slide on the rock.
Now that the Proline two-stage foams were installed, the truck drastically improved in side-hill traction and stability. One of the clearest examples of this improvement could be seen when the Wraith would descend a steep rock slab while steering around obstacles.
You can see in the photo where the tire is holding up nicely with the upgraded foam, but there is a bit of sliding where the tire’s lugs weren’t quite sticky enough to completely grip the rock. It’s in these instances where a softer, stickier rubber compound would hold much tighter to the rock’s surface and prevent the truck from sliding.
During this descent I had to account for a bit of slippage on the rock, so I swung wide on my lines giving the Wraith some leeway to work around a few fissures in the rock. This slippage was minimal, but it needed to be accounted for. Luckily the large surface contact area of the tire patch made for a slow and predictable slide on the rock.
Working our way up the east face of Korhale. The MT2202s were impressive on this climb.
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Valley of Korhale
The Valley of Korhale is a short and deep valley slicing between two massive sandstone formations at Badrock Ridge. This hidden crawler’s oasis features a number of steep sandstone walls rising up from a soft bed of red sand, dark soil, and a small cluster of desert plants. I’ve grown quite fond of this section and spend hours trying to solve the more challenging ascents. Starting on the east face of the Korhale, this wall of sandstone is a blend of smooth, nearly polished surfaces and rough, crumbling, flaking slabs of sandstone rock found higher up on the wall. While not as steep as the west face of the valley, it still presents a difficult climb. With the Wraith starting head on from the bottom, the overdrive from the front tires quickly walked up the wall and settled in the rear tires once they touched the sandstone face. I backed off the throttle and allowed the truck to settle in, then slowly spun up the Castle motor and watched the Wraith begin to work its way up the face. |
The MT 2202’s were holding on just enough to keep the Wraith moving, but there were plenty of moments were I would lose traction and slide back a few inches before the tires caught again. Staying with my chosen line, I continued a slow and steady pace working towards the top.
When I reached the loose, flaking section of slabs, I thought these were going to give me some trouble, but the pulling effect of the overdrive along with the surprisingly solid grip of the rear tires on the firm rock below allowed the Wraith to pull up and over the features. I was impressed.
When I reached the loose, flaking section of slabs, I thought these were going to give me some trouble, but the pulling effect of the overdrive along with the surprisingly solid grip of the rear tires on the firm rock below allowed the Wraith to pull up and over the features. I was impressed.
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Switching over to the west face, things became much more difficult.
The west face is almost featureless with just a few small cracks and ledges at impossibly steep angles to grip onto. While I was able to crawl up and off the sandy bottom, I made little progress from there. The rock was just too smooth and steep for the Wraith to grab hold, and the rubber wasn't quite sticky enough to maintain any position for long. I spend a little over an hour searching for a possible line, but this wasn’t going to happen with the Wraith. |
The west face wasn't in the cards today.
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This section also proved to be too much for the Wraith.
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Technical Terrain
I started to see the real limitations of the MT2202 when the Wraith was confronted with chunky, steep technical terrain. In these areas at Badrock Ridge, the Wraith’s geometry and heavy weight proved to be too much of a burden for the tires to overcome. Getting the front tires up and onto rock slabs was doable, but I just couldn’t find a way to get the rear of the truck up and over. The front MT 2202’s just couldn’t grip tight enough to the rock surface and hold the truck’s weight, resulting in the Wraith sliding back down to the rock shelf. |
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Working my way down a few of these chunky sections, the tires were able to hold the rock surface well, with the weight of the Wraith pushing the lugs into the rock and causing the open-cell layer of foam to conform to the shape of the rock.
In these instances I felt comfortable crawling around the sides of large rocks, allowing the truck to lean deep into the downward slope while still maintaining complete control. Finishing up at Badrock, I cruised through a few sections of sand and loose rock, and the MT2202’s did very well in these situations. The wide contact patch of the tire and large sidewall lugs were able to dig into the loose surface with no need to ramp up the throttle. |
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30% overdrive to the rescue!
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Final Thoughts
The MT 2202 is a well-rounded off-road tire. I’m hesitant to consider this a rock crawling tire because the rubber type and tread pattern isn’t specifically tailored for crawling, but as a general-purpose off-road tire, it crawls pretty darn well. The fit and finish of the tire is executed well with attention paid to a clean mold design and attractive tread pattern. In my previous experiences with a wide range of products manufactured in Asia, I have noticed that Korean products tend to have a distinct quality edge over their Chinese counterparts, and these Gmade tires continue in that trend. |
During the course of this review, I sent over a few emails to Gmade in Korea with questions about this tire and how they approach tire development, but unfortunately never received any kind of reply. So other than what's listed on their website, there is little more I can share with you about the company.
With this evaluation wrapped up, I will be moving this tire over to the 2.2” rock racer tire bin for use on our local track. I believe they will be a better fit for our new U4 track and I look forward to running them on the Lasernut soon.
With this evaluation wrapped up, I will be moving this tire over to the 2.2” rock racer tire bin for use on our local track. I believe they will be a better fit for our new U4 track and I look forward to running them on the Lasernut soon.
Gmade MT 2202 2.2” Evaluation Results
Technical Rock: 22/30
Large Slab ( Slick Rock ): 16/20
Tire Construction Quality and Appearance: 18/20
Rubber Compound: 15/20
Tread Life: 5/5
Versatility: 4/5
Total Score: 80/100
Technical Rock: 22/30
- Looking over the tread design, it’s no real surprise that these tires struggled in the steep, technical rock formations. The low-profile lugs had difficulty in catching on the rock’s edges. On the more moderate sections of the trail, the 2202’s performed relatively well.
Large Slab ( Slick Rock ): 16/20
- Unlike their struggles on technical rock, the 2022’s have enough of a contact patch to provide traction on the steep and smooth surfaces at Bad Rock Ridge. If they had selected a softer, stickier rubber compound, these tires would have performed much better in this category.
Tire Construction Quality and Appearance: 18/20
- Gmade has done their homework when it comes to tire construction, and these are about as good as it gets when considering the quality of the mold, well-formed tire beads, and highly detailed tread pattern.
Rubber Compound: 15/20
- We found these tires to be a bit harder than we would have preferred, resulting in some slipping on the smooth, large slabs. Overall, a softer compound would help in just about every aspect of this tire.
Tread Life: 5/5
- These tires will last quite a while on just about any terrain.
Versatility: 4/5
- It’s a great off-road tire, only lacking in technical climbing ability.
Total Score: 80/100
Pros
Cons
Specs
Test Crawler
- Excellent price point compared to other offerings.
- Surprisingly well rounded off-road tire.
- Very good attention to detail and craftsmanship.
Cons
- Rubber compound is a bit hard for crawling; it lacks the stickiness of other brands.
- Struggles on steep technical terrain.
Specs
- Gmade MT 2202 2.2” Off-Road Tire
- Part Number: GM70524
- Weight: 114 grams per tire.
- Rubber Material: Super Soft Compound
- Directional: No
- Size: 5.6” ( 143mm ) x 2.0” ( 52mm )
- Retail Price: $25.00 per pair.
- Purchase Source: A Main Hobbies
- Contact: http://www.gmade.net/
Test Crawler
- Axial Wraith Spawn
- Castle Copperhead 10 / Slate Combo ( 1900 kv )
- Savox Black Edition 2290 SG Servo
- 3s 1600 mAh lithium battery
- Vanquish upgrades throughout
- Team Garage Hack 2.Low Transmission