Mudding
Have you ever seen a big muddy pit and wanted to drive through it , spinning your tires and making the mud sling everywhere ? Do you embrace your car being caked in layer upon layer of dirt ? Then you might be into mudding .
Mudding , also known as mud bogging , mud slinging or mud racing , is a type of off-roading that centers on getting dirty . In its simplest form , mudding just means driving through its slimy , grimy namesake .
Mudding is tricky for the simple fact that you don ' t always know what ' s hidden under the mud -- rocks , tree trunks , anything you can imagine . There are also many types of mud , from thin and soupy to thick and slimy . In fact , driving in two different kinds of mud can be as different as driving on sand and ice . Each type of gunk presents its own challenges and requires variations in your driving technique .
This brand of off-roading hinges on maintaining and controlling your speed : You want to drive fast enough so that you ' ll make it through without stopping or sinking , but slowly enough so that you can manage any hidden obstacles beneath the mud . And if you do come to a stop , getting moving again in mud is difficult because it is hard to gain traction on such a slippery surface . If you ' re not careful , you might wind up spinning your tires and digging yourself deeper into the muck .
The key to mudding is maintaining a steady speed the whole way through . How fast you drive when mudding really depends upon the type of mud you ' re in and your vehicle . The important thing is to assess the terrain and make a safe judgment about your speed .
While you can go mudding with just about any tires , specially designed mud terrain tires are the best . Mud terrain tires have extra large lugs , or the part of the tire treads that sticks out , with wider and deeper spaces in between them . This arrangement keeps mud from getting stuck in between the lugs , allowing you to maintain traction .
Mudding is so popular that there are even mudding competitions . Organizations like the National Mud Racing Organization , the American Mud Racing Association and the Championship Mud Racing Organization have been holding mud racing competitions throughout the United States since the 1970s . With competitive mudding , the object is to see either how far you can drive through a muddy pit before getting stuck or how fast you can drive the entire length of the pit .
Mud isn ' t the only type of ground that you can sink into ; sand can get you stuck as well . Read on to find out the basics of scaling sand dunes with your off-road vehicle .
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