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Toyo Open Country AT3 is an all-terrain tire that has capacity in various fields. No doubt, Toyo is a trustable all-terrain tire maker. Their versatile product line-up is mainly covered by 4 different tires. Each tire has been designed for specific usage. However, Toyo Open Country AT3 is the superstar of Toyo’s all-terrain tires line-up. Let me explain how good it is! Grass, gravel or dirt, Toyo Open Country AT3 won't let you down. This tire is dope for hunting. As a former Bridgestone engineer, from my standpoint, Toyo Open Country AT3 is the most complete tire in Toyo’s line-up. This multi-functional tire will satisfy you with a wet grip and impress you with absolute traction on snow. It can meet all of your expectations for off-road driving. Besides that, highway driving is not an issue for them. Toyo Open Country AT3 is a quiet and comfortable tire. Not a superstar in noise reduction cases, yet, highly acceptable for this traction level. Table of ContentsDry PerformanceThe dry performance of all-terrain tires can be evaluated under three different layers. While one of them is related to traction, the other two dimensions are highly important for efficient handling. Dry TractionAll-terrain tires are mainly built for traction and the dry traction is the easiest one to reach. In that case, Toyo Open Country AT3 has alpha-plus design features. Due to its increased lateral grooves and perfectly optimized contact patch, Toyo Open Country AT3 has a unique dry traction capability. However, in my point of view, the real game-changers for this section are cornering stability and steering response. Cornering StabilityCornering stability of all-terrain tires sometimes can be tricky. Well, this issue is caused by the various sidewall designs. Depending on the internal tire construction(LT or Passenger Metric), cornering stability show an alteration. LT sizes of Toyo Open Country AT3 have solid and though sidewalls. Therefore, they can stay steel while cornering. So, you’ll get a smooth cornering with LT sizes. Regarding passenger metric sizes, things are a bit different. As some of you know, Toyo Open Country AT3 doesn’t have a 3-ply sidewall which might intimidate you. If we were living in the 80s and using the bias tires, you might be right. However, the radial tires have different that mainly focus on decreasing ply quantity while preserving durability and toughness. Luckily, while I was working for a Bridgestone, I had a chance to cut this tire off and examine the internal structure of Toyo Open Country AT3. Even though Open Country AT3 has a 2-ply sidewall, the thickness of each ply is almost twice of average all-terrain tires. Hence, its sidewalls are strong as buffalo. This feature gives it decent cornering stability. No matter what size you’re using, Toyo Open Country AT3’ll provide trustworthy cornering stability. Though worth reminding, these are heavy all-terrain tires, it does not make sense to compare them with touring tires. Steering ResponseThe steering response of all-terrain tires can be annoying if you’re not used to them. This issue is caused by heavy-weight and the high void ratio of the all-terrain tires. A high void ratio is must for a loose ground traction. So, it’s not something that might push the background for manufacturers. In that case, Toyo Open Country has a huge advantage. You can clearly see the interlocked center section lugs. These S-shaped lugs have been tried in Toyo Open Country AT2 and god knows it works very well. However, Toyo enlarges the lug sizes for Toyo Open Country AT3. Naturally, the gap between the lugs increases. For this reason, the continuity of the center section drops down. So, compared to Toyo Open Country AT2, Toyo Open Country AT3 has a slower steering response. Moreover, some people think that this tire has a communication problem. This is totally caused by the wrong size selection. If you mostly spend your time on the road, you can buy p-metric sizes and decrease the weight of tires and get a quicker steering response. If you’re an overlander, you should go with LT sizes and I can confidently say that the steering response of Toyo AT3 will satisfy you. Note: Toyo Open Country AT3 has a reliable steering response. However, if this is your priority, I recommend going with P-metric sizes. Wet PerformanceDue to their stiff compounds, the wet traction of all-terrain tires sometimes falls short(hello Toyo AT2). Still, wet performance isn’t only related to traction. The hydroplaning resistance is also vital. It’s also known as aquaplaning resistance and it occurs at high velocity. Let’s analyze these two seperatly. Wet TractionWet traction is related to compound stiffness and sipe density. In that case, sipes are crucial. Think about mud-terrain tires. These tires generally don’t have any sipe. Even though their compounds are softer, due to their huge void areas, they can’t provide enough biting edges for solid wet traction. Regarding Toyo Open Country AT3, things couldn’t be better. Due to its relatively soft compound and the 3-D multi-wave sipes, Toyo Open Country AT3 provides unique wet traction. Hydroplaning ResistanceHydroplaning resistance is the water evacuation capability of the tires. If the tires can’t throw the water out of the tread, at high speeds, the water creates a layer between the surface and the tire. So, the driver loses the ability to brake or steer. Due to its wide lateral and horizontal grooves and open shoulder design, Toyo Open Country AT3 has an exceptional hydroplaning resistance. Note: Hydroplaning is vital for a safe ride under the pouring rain. However, it might occur even with the best tire. Maybe you can’t prevent it but if you know what it is and how to deal with it, you can easily stay on the safe side. Here is an extremely efficient guide about ‘How to Deal with Hydroplaning?‘ –> https://www.discounttire.com/learn/hydroplaning Winter PerformanceThe snow performance can be evaluated under three different layers. Light-snow, deep-snow, and ice. Since ice performance needs tons of sipes and fulfilled contact patch, I don’t recommend using all-terrain tires on icy grounds. Light-SnowLight snow performance is similar to wet traction. The only difference is the tires sometimes need a self-cleaning capability which Toyo Open Country AT3 has exceedingly. Due to its fluffy compound, lateral grooves, and 3D wave sipes, Toyo Open Country AT3 can handle light snow with ease. It might be a bit assertive but it may be the best all-terrain tire on the market. Deep SnowDeep snow is counted as loose ground. Hence, the tire needs a certain amount of void area to achieve solid deep snow traction. Since Toyo Open Country AT3 is an all-terrain tire, its void ratio is highly acceptable for deep snow traction. When you set eyes on Toyo AT3, you can see that this tire is designed to have the maximum amount of biting edges. In that case,
increases its biting edges and provides unique traction on ice. However, these features don’t make it unique in the deep snow. The real game-changer is more evenly distributed void areas. The ‘S’ shape one the center section can chew the snow with ease. Moreover, this shape also helps Toyo AT3 to clean itself with a little support from stone ejection blocks. Toyo Open Country AT3 is an alpha plus tire for deep snow usage. I strongly recommend it. IceIce traction needs a compact contact patch. Therefore, all-terrain tires generally don’t perform very well on the ice. Well, there are exceptions. Yet, these exceptions don’t have persistence. Regarding Toyo Open Country AT3, I think Toyo AT3 is one of these exceptions. Due to its robust shoulders and relatively compact tread, it provides decent traction on ice. The best all-terrain tire on ice is average. So, Toyo Open Country AT3 is a trustworthy option for icy grounds. Still, if you’re not an experienced driver, you better don’t use all-terrain tires on ice. Since I’ve received too many emails that ask for the best tires for ice, here are my favorites,
Note: Toyo Open Country AT3 is marked with 3PMSF(what it is?), hence it has severe snow rated. Though worth reminding, 3PMSF doesn’t cover ice performance. Tread LifeThe long-lasting tread mostly depends on rubber quality. Well, Toyo Tires is known for its unique compounds. Most Toyo tires provide outstanding tread life. Regarding Toyo Open Country AT3, things are similar. In that case,
Due to its unique compound and more evenly disturbed void area, Open Country AT3 provides a very satisfying tread life. WarrantyToyo offers 65,000 miles treadwear warranty for a p-metric and 50,000 miles treadwear warranty for LT sizes. The treadwear warranty is valid for 5 years. Moreover, you may try this tire for 45 days or 500 miles. If you don’t like it, Toyo takes it back without question. Warranty Document: https://www.tirerack.com/images/pdf/warranty/TO0315.pdf Road NoiseDue to their lug-type patterns, all-terrain tires tend to make noise. So, if you want a long-lasting tire and solid traction, you should sacrifice a bit from the road noise. The road noise is caused by the airflow going through the center section to the shoulders. Therefore, manufacturers try to narrow the gap in the center section and break the air flow. Due to its ‘S-shaped tread design, Toyo AT3 can reduce the noise perfectly. However, it has an increased lateral groove which means more airflow and more noise. Well, this feature is must for a better off-road traction. I take this trade the whole day long. Toyo Open Country AT3 is a slightly noisy tire. Yet, it’s still in the Top 3 among the all-terrain tires. Riding ComfortI liken Toyo Tires to Bridgestone. Both are willing to sacrifice a bit from ride comfort to increase durability. All-terrain tires naturally have a stiff compound. Well, otherwise the rubber tears apart under severe conditions. So, in my point of view, a bit stiff ride is acceptable. However, Toyo Open Country AT3’s compound is a bit stiffer than most all-terrain tires on the market. When you combine it with the highly beefed-up internal structure(two-ply polyester casing and strengthened steel belts), a harsh ride is inevitable. Toyo Open Country AT3 has a bit stiff ride. If the comfortable ride is your priority,
Off-Road PerformanceOff-road performance is the main duty of all-terrain tires. However, instead of all-round performance, manufacturers prefer all-terrain tires in one or two categories. For instance, while BF Goodrich KO2 is a beast for rock-crawling, it’s not a good pick for mud driving. Well, Toyo Open Country AT3 is a bit more versatile than most all-terrain tires on the market. It’s the good old jack of all-trade master of none.
DirtDirt is where it shines. Due to its compact tread and high self-cleaning capability, it can handle dirt with ease. Moreover, its high density of sipes increases its biting edges and improves dirt traction in a good way. Toyo Open Country AT3 is one of the best tires for dirt. Obliquely, hunting. SandThe best tire is the less aggressive one. So, big lugs and wide void areas don’t work very well on the sand. Especially, if the tire has a deep tread. In that case, Toyo Open Country AT3 has a big advantage. Its tread is shallow. Therefore, it doesn’t dig the sand deeply and this prevents sticking. Toyo Open Country AT3 has an extremely good design for sand driving. However, this tire is a bit narrow. Therefore, I recommend flotation sizes for sand driving. MudMud driving needs aggressive sidewalls, deep tread, and huge self-cleaning capability. Well, Toyo Open Country AT3 has it all but deep tread. So, in my point of view, it’s nothing more than an average tire for mud driving. Toyo Open Country AT3 can handle light mud, though, it’s not a good pick for a deep-mud. RockI know most people say this tire has a decent rock performance but I don’t think the same. Well, I use Toyo AT3 for a couple of months. The other three were perfectly durable but I cut the sidewall of one of them while parking. Well, I was using p-metric size, therefore, I can accept that. Yet, if I were you I didn’t take this tire to the rock crawling. On the other hand, it’s a trustworthy tire on gravel. It doesn’t hold any rock at all and provides consistent traction. If you face rock often, I recommend using the LT size of Toyo Open Country AT3. P-metric sizes might let you down. SizesMost tire sizes begin with modifier letters(P, LT, etc.) that identify the type of vehicle or type of service for which they were designed. Here is a perfect guide for reading tire size –> https://tireterrain.com/how-to-read-tire-size/
For Better Understanding: 215/55R17 94V SL BWL 215: Tire Width 55: Aspect Ratio R: Radial 17: Rim Size 94: Load Index V: Speed Index SL, XL: Load Range( LT sizes use C, D, E of F instead) OWL: Outlined White Letters BWL: Black Sidewall Toyo Open Country AT3 SummaryToyo Tires Toyo Open Country AT3 is the hero product of Toyo’s all-terrain line-up. We have been working in the tire industry for 5 years. Believe me, Toyo Open Country AT3 is exceptional.
We’ve analyzed Toyo Open Country AT3 in our previous articles. We are all agreed that it’s heroic. But depending on your operation, you might have a better option in the Toyo line-up.
From now on, I will compare all products on line-up individually with Toyo Open Country AT3. We hope it will help you to pick the right tire for yourself. Let’s launch it!
What is the difference between Toyo Open Country AT, MT, RT, and CT?Before we start the comparisons, we would like to give you brief information about naming. We believe it is crucial to know the naming system. It will give you a clue about our comparisons.
As a result, Toyo’s rich line-up will handle any sort of application smoothly. You just have to define your operation. Toyo will handle the rest! Toyo Open Country AT3 vs AT2Toyo Open Country AT2 is a good option if on-road manners are your priority We’ve made this comparison couple of times in our previous articles. Let’s see what Toyo changed between these two.
Toyo was aware of wet grip issues of Open Country AT2. In this upgrade, they mainly focus on wet performance. Well, they used a softer compound and support it with 3d-multi-wave sipes. These features are increased tire contact patch and grip capability significantly. In return, tread life is slightly decreased. Moreover, an increased but well disturbed void area enhances the traction on every surface. In addition to that, winter performance scale-up particularly. Yet, it causes a slight road noise increase. In summary, Toyo Open Country AT3 is a better tire for wet surfaces and harsh winter conditions. Moreover, it’s way much off-road tire due to increased durability and grip ability. However, Toyo Open Country AT2 has slightly better on-road manners. It’s quieter and has a longer tread life. We’ve compared Nitto Terra Grappler G2 with Toyo Open Country AT3 and Open Country AT2. I will leave both links below. It will help you to understand how we built our cause-effect relationship. Toyo Open Country AT3 vs RTToyo Open Country R/T is a durable tire. It can handle dry off-road conditions but have slight issue with wet surfaces I have been working in the tire industry for five years. I have to admit that. This comparison was even confusing for us. No worries, we’ve handled it very well.
Toyo Open Country RT can be placed somewhere between mud and an all-terrain tire. That category is called rugger-terrain(best ones). It’s closer to mud-terrain(best ones) but mainly built for severe off-road conditions. This characteristic causes positive and negative effects on riding quality. In summary, Toyo Open Country RT is a more durable tire. It’s also more capable to handle severe road conditions. It’s a better tire for towing and hauling. However, Toyo Open Country AT3 is a better option for mostly highway usage. Moreover, it overperforms Open Country RT with huge wet and winter performance. Toyo Open Country AT3 is a winter-rated tire with huge wet performance. I recommend you Toyo Open Country AT3 for on-road and mild application usage. Toyo Open Countr RT is a tire with strong sidewalls. We prefer it only if you spend most of the days on dry ground or under severe commercial conditions(Construction work, etc.). Toyo Open Country AT3 vs MTI'd buy Toyo MT just for his great looks Toyo Open Country AT3 and Toyo Open Country MT were built with different intents. That comparison is loud and clear for us.
As a mud-terrain tire, Toyo Open Country MT(vs Nitto Trail Grappler) will provide you huge traction on different surfaces but highways. The loved thing about this tire is it will not increase fuel consumption dramatically on the highway. Yet, it is wearing very quickly on highways. As an all-terrain tire, Toyo Open Country AT3 is an all-around tire. While it handles mild off-roads easily, it also offers huge on-road performance. Besides that, wet and snow performance are heroic. You can trust this tire in harsh weather. In summary, Toyo Open Country MT is a better tire for off-road usage. It also performs better in air-down conditions. However, Open Country AT3 has significantly better on-road manners. It’s better on wet surfaces. It can also handle mild applications as well as Open Country MT. In our point of view, it is not even fair to compare these tires. It is something like comparing a basketball player with a soccer player. We recommend Toyo Open Country MT for any off-road usage. On the other hand, Toyo Open Country AT3 will be on your service for daily driving. Toyo Open Country CT vs AT3Compact tread desing and durable sidewalls make Toyo Open Country C/T one of the best commercial all-terrain tire Commercial-grade(best ones) tires must have two characteristics. The first and more important one is durability. Tread life is coming right behind durability. Due to increased durability, manufacturers increase the compound amount and ply rate. Naturally, tires are becoming heavier and that harms gas mileage.
Toyo Open Country CT is a definition of a regular commercial-grade tire. High turn-up 3-ply construction increase sidewall durability. That feature ensures that you will not have a bad time while towing. Also, symmetrical design helps it for even wearing and increases tread life. The negative part of the symmetrical design is limited internal mobility. That feature causes poor riding comfort. Toyo Open Country AT3 steps ahead with huge wet traction again and again. None of the tires on this list can beat Toyo Open Country AT3 on wet. In summary, Open Country CT and AT3 have equally good winter performances. As expected, Toyo Open Country CT lasts slightly longer and is more durable but the difference is too little. Open Country AT3 has better a wet performance. It’s also a more comfortable and less vocal tire. Yet, Open Country CT can perform better in loaded applications. We recommend Toyo Open Country AT3 if you are not into heavy-duty business. On the other hand, Toyo Open Country CT is a trustable option. It has everything you expect from a commercial-grade tire. PriceThe tire market has a dynamic price policy. Hence, in my point of view, sharing tire price is pointless. Though, I’ve analyzed the top 10 brands of most popular tire brands. Here are the dealers with a reasonable price range, DiscountTire
Toyo Open Country AT3: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/toyo-tire-open-country-a-t-iii TireRack
Toyo Open Country AT3: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/toyo-open-country-a-t-iii SimpleTire
Toyo Open Country AT3: https://simpletire.com/brands/toyo-tires/open-country-a-t-iii While choosing dealers, I especially pay attention to reliability. All of the dealers on this list have 15-20 years of experience in the online tire business. Therefore, I can guarantee a smooth and fast tire buying process. ConclusionToyo Open Country AT3 is the most reliable and versatile tire in this line-up. It is not the best for specific usages but is above average in every usage. The below table will help you to make the best choices for your operation.
Take-Home Points,
A side note here: If you’d like to get local advice and find the best fit for your driving habits, location, and road conditions TireRack – Tire Decision Guide can give you masterpiece recommendations. Hope you guys enjoy this article. If you have any further questions, please write them below. We will answer it ASAP! Are Toyo Open Country at3 noisy?Comfort/Noise –In the past I've ran a number of the top 5 all-terrain tires on this truck including one mud terrain and I find the Toyo Open Country A/T III to be the perfect balance between comfort and off-road grit. They are a fairly quiet tire for such and aggressive tread pattern.
Are Toyo Open Country tires quiet?Toyo Open Country Q/T offers a quiet and comfortable ride even under extreme weather conditions or bumpy roads. Its amazing tread life and durability are surely a plus point to this tire.
Is Toyo Open Country at3 good in snow?As far as performance goes, the AT III does it all. The Toyo AT III has off-road traction, on-road wet, dry, and snow traction as well. It is not made to fare well in deep mud or snow, but it can get you through some rough situations. It has a long tread life and is very durable as well.
Are Toyo Open Country at3 good in rain?I have the Toyos on my truck and they do just fine on wet roads, gravel roads, dirt roads, muddy roads, rocky roads, steep roads. Zero issues. I had a couple sets of Coopers before these and they are excellent as well.
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