Toyo Open Country Tire Post-Mortem

[mdoyle]

I've been running Toyo Open Country MT 35/12.5/17 tires since I posted about them a couple of years ago; well here's the final verdict:

Not happy! Initially they looked really cool and while the road noise was not as bad as it could have been with other aggressive MT tires, what finally failed really hacked me off.

One tire developed a crack that ran between the tread blocks in a consistent ring that was inset from the sidewall about 2 inches. There were plenty of other cracks between tread blocks, but this one was almost like a belt inside was misaligned and worse yet- IT LEAKED, badly.

I did the regular tire rotation, and kept them at rated pressure (65 psi) which wasn't a problem since they didn't leak, until that one started. Then it was a daily battle while I looked for the best deal on a new set of tires.

Now I'm back to the stock TA/KO's and what a difference- incredibly smooth ride and so quiet. I really didn't realize how much I'd sacrificed to have a cooler looking tire.

Take it my opinion for what it's worth, aside from the personal preference at what you'll tolerate with road noise and ride, the Toyo's were a major disappointment when they started to crumble and crack all to hell. In the end they were like an old tractor tire that's been in the field for a dozen years, which shouldn't have happened over the span of several months.