Are New 315 Toyo Open Country MT's OK for the Malahat?

[B Point]

I will have a small sedan with dedicated snow tires but will the 80 Series with the Toyo MT's also be considered as ok to pass over the Malahat during the mandatory snow tire period? They look to be classified as "all season". I won't drive the 80 in the snow anyway but just don't want to be fined. Thanks..

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

I don't think the M&S rating is enough anymore. They need the snow peak rating too I believe. But @cruiserpilot owns these tires too, and may be able to give you a better answer. I know the duratracs I run are fine...

You moving to the Island?

 

[cruiserpilot]

I don't think the M&S rating is enough anymore. They need the snow peak rating too I believe. But @cruiserpilot owns these tires too, and may be able to give you a better answer. I know the duratracs I run are fine...

You moving to the Island?

I’ve run them for several years and they have M&S on them so I believe they meet requirements
I very rarely cross them Malahat in winter as I’m afraid of road salt.

On a cold, damp, quiet night on Vancouver Island you can hear a Land Cruiser rust....

 

[B Point]

I don't think the M&S rating is enough anymore. They need the snow peak rating too I believe. But @cruiserpilot owns these tires too, and may be able to give you a better answer. I know the duratracs I run are fine...

You moving to the Island?

Once I get the 80 shipped and registered I'll be in Cobble Hill. And as Cruiserpilot said, I don't want all that salt so for the most part I'll use another vehicle for running around. I'll have to check if the tires have an M&S on them....I don't think so. I'll probably bring rims and get proper dedicated snow tires there anyway. Right now the truck is in the shop. Full front end rebuild...knuckles, calipers, rotors and 100 pads.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Once I get the 80 shipped and registered I'll be in Cobble Hill. And as Cruiserpilot said, I don't want all that salt so for the most part I'll use another vehicle for running around. I'll have to check if the tires have an M&S on them....I don't think so. I'll probably bring rims and get proper dedicated snow tires there anyway. Right now the truck is in the shop. Full front end rebuild...knuckles, calipers, rotors and 100 pads.

Here is some info you might find helpful: Designated Winter Tire & Chain Routes

 

[PeeZed]

I drive 255/85/16 Toyot MT's that are siped by OK Tire in Duncan. They are very impressive in the snow as far as I'm concerned. They are only M+S rated, but with the sipping your control is improved.

Cruiserpilot can tell you how siping may not be beneficial depending on the terrain you're planning on using it for primarily, but overall those MT's are very impressive, at least from what I've found.

 

[B Point]

I drive 255/85/16 Toyot MT's that are siped by OK Tire in Duncan. They are very impressive in the snow as far as I'm concerned. They are only M+S rated, but with the sipping your control is improved.

Cruiserpilot can tell you how siping may not be beneficial depending on the terrain you're planning on using it for primarily, but overall those MT's are very impressive, at least from what I've found.

That's a nice tire on a 70 Series. Downright sexy on a set of Bradley's but maybe I've been in Japan too long..haha. I have a tire sipper here that I'll be taking back with me. I sipped a set of Kumho MT's that gave them a bit more use after getting stiff. I cross sipped (using the sipping blade backwards) some Geolandar I/T's that were stiffened and they were GREAT in the snow and ice aired down a bit. I don't do much (any) wheeling anymore so not too worried about blocks chunking out.

 

[B Point]

Here is some info you might find helpful: Designated Winter Tire & Chain Routes

Thank you. How is the old LJ? It's been a few years since I followed your posts about it.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Thank you. How is the old LJ? It's been a few years since I followed your posts about it.

Running great! Body is starting to show it's age tho.

 

[tweeek]

I'm pretty certain tires are required to only be m&s. Does not have to have the snowflake as a minimum requirement. I'd be pretty certain your toyos would be m&s and would be fine (legally anyway)

 

[B Point]

I'm pretty certain tires are required to only be m&s. Does not have to have the snowflake as a minimum requirement. I'd be pretty certain your toyos would be m&s and would be fine (legally anyway)

When I get the truck back from the shop I'll have to check if the M+S is on there. These are the new made in Japan Toyo's after they moved production back here.

 

[cruiserpilot]

If you have tires inside a vehicle not mounted, in a container then there shouldn't be an issue.
They might say 'You can't use them here', but they can't control what you do with them after that.
I've used 2 sets of JDM tires, one set was Grantrek winters, best winter tires I've EVER used on the
TransCanada Highway on a 60. Probably not legal, but no one checks.
If you have identical Toyo's that we sell here there shouldn't be an issue; has anyone ever actually
seen the 'DOT' emblem on a tire to confirm legality?

Subject change: Siping. Like OK tire does, really helps on slippery stuff here, and in winter. BUT,
the Toyo's took a s***kicking on the Dempster / Tuk trip this summer. The hard lava mixed with
blast rock granite just chunked them really badly. I've had to rebalance them and they still have a
bit of a vibe. After my spare tire broke off and I had to drive over halfway back to Tuk to find it,
(funny story!) I had a long talk with a tire guy in Inuvik. They stopped siping tires because of the
chunking and the really nasty rock. Now it's not like slow off road traction up there. It's hundreds
of kilometers of highway speed and lots of sideways movement and hard steering adjustments on
the fly just eats the siping away. So I'll probably swap to a non siped tire for the northern trips,
but still recommend siping for here. It does really help on the aired down off road stuff.
I've run my MT's as low as 12 psi fully loaded 6000+ lbs, they flex really well but never give it
up sideways. They perform really well.

 

[B Point]

If you have tires inside a vehicle not mounted, in a container then there shouldn't be an issue.
They might say 'You can't use them here', but they can't control what you do with them after that.
I've used 2 sets of JDM tires, one set was Grantrek winters, best winter tires I've EVER used on the
TransCanada Highway on a 60. Probably not legal, but no one checks.
If you have identical Toyo's that we sell here there shouldn't be an issue; has anyone ever actually
seen the 'DOT' emblem on a tire to confirm legality?

Subject change: Siping. Like OK tire does, really helps on slippery stuff here, and in winter. BUT,
the Toyo's took a s***kicking on the Dempster / Tuk trip this summer. The hard lava mixed with
blast rock granite just chunked them really badly. I've had to rebalance them and they still have a
bit of a vibe. After my spare tire broke off and I had to drive over halfway back to Tuk to find it,
(funny story!) I had a long talk with a tire guy in Inuvik. They stopped siping tires because of the
chunking and the really nasty rock. Now it's not like slow off road traction up there. It's hundreds
of kilometers of highway speed and lots of sideways movement and hard steering adjustments on
the fly just eats the siping away. So I'll probably swap to a non siped tire for the northern trips,
but still recommend siping for here. It does really help on the aired down off road stuff.
I've run my MT's as low as 12 psi fully loaded 6000+ lbs, they flex really well but never give it
up sideways. They perform really well.

Thank you for that Cruiserpilot. If these snow tires were new I would probably give it a shot but I think I will just sell the wheel/tire set on Yahoo Auctions and just take a set of rims with me in the car. Then I'll think of a dedicated set of all weather tires there.
There is always a compromise with sipping and I've sipped quite a few sets for guys over the years here. Some chunking out on sharp lava that we wheel on but the benefits always outweighed the demerits especially considering most of the tires I did were 5 or 6 or more years old and the rubber was just about petrified.
I'll have a little Nissan sedan for running around in on the island and I can put some winter tires on that and use for snow and ice. I don't trust any mud tires especially on a big fat 80 going down the Malahat....sipped or not. I've been spoiled with the JDM market "Studless" tires as we call them.........I lived up on the north island of Hokkaido and we got SNOW...like real snow. It was a well known rumour that the tires in Hokkaido were of a separate softer rubber compound. Whether it was true or not I always bought my tires from a dealer in Hokkaido even after I left and moved down here on Honshu.

 

[cruisedeisel]

Legal shmeigal

 

[cruiserpilot]

Since I’m a Toyo fan. Have the GSi-5 on our RAV4. We run them year round since it doesn’t weigh anything
and it sees barely 6000 kms per year. The truck studless would do, but I don’t drive the Cruiser in winter
So haven’t really looked at them but with new technology anything is better than MT’s in the snow

Winter Tires For Light Trucks, Cars, SUVs, and Crossovers

With Winter tires from Toyo, drive safety in adverse weather and road conditions like rain, snow and ice. Studdable and studless tires available.

www.toyotires.com

 

[Cornhole]

I commute during the week to Victoria. I run BFG muds, and all you need is the m+s rating on them. I’ve never been stopped or checked on the island other than mount Washington and they let me through. For how little it snows here it’s not worth putting on a dedicated snow tire. Most of the time the snow has melted by the time you head home at the end of the day. In saying that mt’s are great in fresh snow and slush but absolutely terrible on packed snow and ice. Just go slower, and don’t be worried about the extra fuel of running the truck in 4wd.

 

[burnz]

guys i do this on a daily basis. there are now designated winter tire only roads and the malahat is one of them, the cowichan hwy is another one. see the link above. they changed the sign at the bottom of the malahat THIS YEAR!. The sign USED to read " oct 1st to march 31st all vehicles must have m&s OR the three peak symbol" ........ well now they have taken the OR out of that sign. now it reads winter tire symbol only. Only on these designated roads is it a requirement. the only way around it is to carry chains if you dont want to splurge for a new set of winter tires. the fact that we have to use winter tires around here is almost laughable as anyone who has spent any time in AB or further east for that matter. but it is the new law FFS. by the way the cops were stopping peeps on the malahat last wed and checking for exactly this on your tires so.... have a box of chains if your not running the three peak and you will be fine. just my two cents.

 

[tweeek]

guys i do this on a daily basis. there are now designated winter tire only roads and the malahat is one of them, the cowichan hwy is another one. see the link above. they changed the sign at the bottom of the malahat THIS YEAR!. The sign USED to read " oct 1st to march 31st all vehicles must have m&s OR the three peak symbol" ........ well now they have taken the OR out of that sign. now it reads winter tire symbol only. Only on these designated roads is it a requirement. the only way around it is to carry chains if you dont want to splurge for a new set of winter tires. the fact that we have to use winter tires around here is almost laughable as anyone who has spent any time in AB or further east for that matter. but it is the new law FFS. by the way the cops were stopping peeps on the malahat last wed and checking for exactly this on your tires so.... have a box of chains if your not running the three peak and you will be fine. just my two cents.

Per Ministry of Transport; you do NOT need to have the 3 peak symbol. M+S is considered a Legal winter tire. See below link. They may have removed the OR From the sign but I'm guessing they didn't add an AND. 3 peak recommeded, M+S minimum 5o be legal. Period.

15 Seconds to Safety: How to Identify a Winter Tire | TranBC

This video shows you how to identify a winter tire in British Columbia.

www.tranbc.ca

And

What is a Winter Tire? The Inside Scoop | TranBC

What's the winter tire for you? Is it one with a mountain and snowflake symbol? How about M+S (mud and snow) tires? Here's what's recommended and required.

www.tranbc.ca

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

From a bunch of reading I did last year, I was under the same impression as @burnz. I wouldn't want anything less in snow/ice anyhow; even if it's just a few days a year.

 

[Deny]

Never been stopped for the M+S tires I have run in the past, but it has always been M+S or snow flake, or the 3 peaks to be legal. They may be changing it now, I don't know, but I do know from my sister who is the head accountant at Toyo Tire Canada and she says they are working on getting the MT snowflake or 3 peak rated, probably because all the confusion about it, or the fact they will make it mandatory to run more then just the M+S in the future. I have run the Toyo MT for the past few years and it handles pretty good on icy roads, but not as good as dedicated winter tire.