Corner Travel Index ™ or CTI measures a vehicle’s maximum axle/wheel articulation at the four corners of the vehicle, often referred to as “flex”. The CTI is used in the off-roading industry to quantify the axle/wheel articulation in order to compare the performance potential of a wide variety of vehicles and vehicle builds. CTI totals the articulated wheel travel of each individual tire on the vehicle (in inches) and multiplies that total by 10 (ten).
A vehicle with a higher CTI offers greater axle/wheel articulation and therefore greater potential off-road performance over extreme terrain and obstacles. A vehicle with a higher CTI will maintain more constant wheel contact with the ground while traveling over extreme terrain and obstacles. This ensures that all wheels deliver torque or traction to the ground surface maintaining the vehicle’s ability to move.
One of the most common questions is how does this relate to the RTI ramp that most wheelers are familiar with? And while there are a whole slew of reasons when comparing the two as far as difference go, the most substantial is consistency and measurement standards. Is there a “My RTI score was x so what will my CTI score be?”…the short answer is no, since the methods for achieving an RTI score vary.
It’s amazing that every vehicle, even with similar branded lifts, may measure differently just because of the way it may have been installed and specific vehicle options that may be in place.
If you have the chance to have your vehicle (it does not have to be a jeep!) indexed, I highly suggest doing so. It will show you exactly how your vehicle behaves as it relates to its suspension components and body armor…you might be surprised and find a couple of small changes that will make your vehicle perform at its best!
We are kind of like that Farmers Insurance commercial…turns out we know some things because we have seen some things!
For more information and much more detail about the CTI calculations, check out:
https://metalcloak.com/article-282
Written by Corey Osborne, the Metalcloak CTI Master. Corey and Jessy Greenland travel around the country 11 months out of the year, setting up the CTI trailer at various off-road events and testing suspension. We do thousands of CTI suspension tests, each year and help people find problems with their rigs.
