The Cepek brand of tires and wheels is rich with off-road history and legend. Back in the early '60s, company founder Dick Cepek was one of the first off-road gurus to have a special tire manufactured for off-road enthusiasts. He was also one of the first to open specialty shops to sell trail gear and performance parts. It's been a number of years since we've run any tires with the "DC" logo on them, so it was a little nostalgic for us to test the Dick Cepek Radial F-C II.
The F-C II is an all-terrain tire the company calls its "hybrid," designed as a cross between an all-terrain tire and a mild mud-terrain tire. The F-C II, with its deep and wide tread voids and sharp shoulder lugs, features a slightly more aggressive tread pattern than the average all-terrain tire. Through our rigorous testing, we found that the tires were quiet on the highway while providing good off-road traction on many terrains and in many conditions.
The F-C II is available in...
The F-C II is available in 30- to 40-inch sizes (overall diameter), 15- to 20-inch wheel sizes, and load ratings of C, D, and E. We found the FC-II's traction in wet and muddy conditions very good. The tire was able to hold its track at high and low speeds, and the wide tread voids helped the tire self-clean nicely.
The quality construction and...
The quality construction and features of the F-C II tire are impressive; overall, we really liked the on- and off-highway performance. We were even more impressed with the tire's exceptional quietness at highway speeds. Each tread block of the tire is siped, which helped hold the tire to the asphalt during our wet-weather testing, and the cross-ply sidewall belting seemed to help the truck's handling while providing a comfortable ride.
Testing the F-C IIs in deep...
Testing the F-C IIs in deep sand, we aired the tires down to 14 psi and found them to have excellent floatation and traction. The three-ply sidewall belts allow the tire to deflate easier, giving it a wider footprint than tires with heavier sidewall belting.
The tread pattern of the F-C...
The tread pattern of the F-C II is designed with deep and wide voids between the tread lugs. The depth of the voids is just under 3/4 inch, which means there is a lot of meat (rubber) on the tire, which should help its longevity and mileage rating. The voids between the tread blocks measure 1 inch at the widest point and 3/4 inch at the narrowest. These wide voids give the tire a more aggressive bite, additional traction, and better self-cleaning.
The tire's overly thick tread...
The tire's overly thick tread blocks offered greater puncture resistance and traction while wheeling over sharp and jagged rocks. We couldn't punch through the tough rubber carcass, and the "DC" styled Sidebiter lugs (sidewall lugs) definitely gave the tire added traction and protection.