All of us have benefitted from 21st Century tyre technology. While there are very few tyres available today that don’t work, there are some that deliver outstanding performance. For the off-roader, that usually means a mud terrain tyre that has aggressive tread blocks and large voids. When a milder looking all terrain tyre performs as well in most mediums as our mud tyres, we sit up and take notice.
Toyo’s latest Open Country AT II is one of those tyres. Designed as a jack-of-all-trades, the Open Country AT II works well on the pavement and in the dirt. As a jack-of-all-trades is usually a master of none, imagine our surprise when the AT II shined everywhere (except, of course, gumbo mud).
Most purchasers are impressed with the A/T II’s 50,000 mile tread life warranty (P-Metric sizes have a 65,000 mile warranty). We’ve found a high mileage tyre is usually a no grip anywhere tyre. Not so with these Toyos. The tread compound is relatively soft and supple, belying the tyre’s strong construction. Our LT 285/75R17 tyres were Load Range E tyres with 3-ply polyester sidewalls that wrapped around rocks, even when aired down just a little. Even at highway pressure, the tyres rode fine.
We don’t usually see snow here in Southern Utah, but two freak storms in two days dumped on our town. As there were no plows to clear the roads, they were a mess. We shifted into 4WD high the minute we left the garage and set out to have some fun.
Source: Four Wheeler Network
Published: 10 Feb 2014