Tired of tire threads, too bad, these are great! - Toyo Open Country ATIII EV Thoughts

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

troopy27

troopy27

Joined
Jul 18, 2016
Threads
2
Messages
19
Location
West
Hey All!

Been a lurker and very avid user of the wealth of knowledge that this forum offers and decided I should add some value.

I've had the chance to test quite a few tires, and I believe I have found a pretty wonderful option for fellow 100 series drivers.

MASSIVE CAVEAT/DISCLAIMER/NOTE: Every person uses their cruiser differently, and on different terrains, and have different requirements for their tires. I wanted to provide my experience based on how I use ours, but there will of course be a better tire out there for a person who uses their cruiser in other ways.

The tire: 275/70R18 Toyo Open Country ATIII EV
(Note: this is a non-LT tire and EV specific)

Why I like it:
- True 33in OD
- Very light (~43lbs)
- Improved MPG by ~36% (from 12 to 16mpg)
- Improved noise (dropped interior noise by ~4dB from 71 to 67)
- Better ride quality, and wet grip. TBD on snow grip.
- Wear - we have ~5k mi on them and they look brand new. I may have found a tire that will last a full timing belt replacement!

Previous tires on our cruiser:
- Goodyear Duratracs (LT275/70R18) - these looked awesome on the truck, but were incredibly loud. They worked very well off road when we lived in SLC and were able to churn through the deeper softer snow especially off road, but lacked good wet grip. Very stiff and even dropping pressure to 15psi, ride quality on trails was rough. Very heavy tire and didn't wear very evenly (we did multiple alignments and I use a 5 tire rotation).
- Falken Wildpeak AT3W (275/65R18) - these were pretty decent tires, but also suffered from feathering on the shoulders of the tires leading to a lot of noise. They did work fairly well in wet, and snow. Only got ~30k mi before tread was swapping to the Goodyears. I think the Falken performance is well documented.
- BFG KO2s (LT285/65R18) - KO2s are really a popular tire. They are a beast in the snow, and wet is decent. I thought they rode pretty firm and made the truck feel harsh. But they were for sure ready for any terrain and wore really well. I just don't think I pushed my truck hard enough to warrant using them, and I missed the luxury ride quality it had on the stock tires.

Other notes on the ATIII EV's
- These are EV specific, but I think they work really well because of the focus on wear, tread noise, and efficiency. There also is a nod to the new Lexus GX550 Overtrail models spec'ing AT3 tires as OE.
- I have noted that they are light - however it doesn't mean they lack any off road capability. Airing down (~20psi) makes these ride really well off road and conform to the terrain. If you are doing serious rock crawling, they will likely be too soft for you, but for our use of daily driver, wintery weather driving, camping, and light off road exploration they are FANTASTIC! No punctures on ours, but we're only 5k mi in.
- Biased - but I really like how they look (Jury is still out on if the "aero wings" on the sidewall actually work), but the truck really has an OEM plus vibe to it.

Other tires I have evaluated (not on my cruiser, but on other trucks)
- KO3s, Falken AT4W, Cooper Discoverer AT3, Nokian Outpost AT, General Grabber, BFG Trail Terrain, Goodyear Wranglers, Nitto Recon Grapplers, Pirelli All Terrain Plus, Kumho Road Venture.

Final Thoughts:
- Tires are a big purchase, and you have to live with them on your truck for quite some time. There really isn't enough data out there for consumers to sift through (besides endless forum posts). Best one I have found is Tyre-Reviews - that guy is pretty great and shows data. Tyre Reviews. I hope this helps someone asking the endless "what tire should I get for my 100 series" question.

TL;DR: Toyo Open Country ATIII EV tires may have been designed for EV's, but wow, they made a pretty fantastic tire for 100 series owners who lean more to daily driver and weekend warrior. I also love that I can get a non-LT 33in tire to balance ride quality + comfort, off road performance, and efficiency (in that order - we all know 16mpg is still a pig ha!)


I'll update as we keep putting miles on. But let me know if you have any questions! Happy cruising!

IMG_7694.webp


cruiser photos.webp


IMG_4876.webp


IMG_7692.webp


IMG_7693.webp
 
Oh wow! I was not aware. Thanks for the heads up!

Looks like the AT III EV was not part of the recall and most of the recall was the LT tire size too.

Glad to know I’m in the clear but great info for anyone with Toyo or Nitto tires to check!
 
I'd be interested to hear how they do shedding gravel/small rocks. That and wet road traction two of my biggest concerns for my area and use. I'm always on the lookout for tires that can transition from daily driver use to mild offroad at my hunting camp, and I expect to be buying tires soon for whatever used truck or SUV my son ends up with in a year when he starts driving.

FWIW, I had Nitto Terra Grapplers (P-rated) on a 4Runner that were great riding on the highway but were terrible about hanging on to the pea gravel that is ubiquitous at my hunting camp. Had both TA/KO2s and then Falken Wildpeaks (both LTs) on an F-150, both were good at shedding gravel and had good wet road traction, the Wildpeaks were my favorite and seemed to last longer than the TA/KO2s without getting too noisy on the highway, and rode slightly more comfortably as well. It didn't hurt that I bought them for about $175 a tire before their popularity skyrocketed. Right now, I'm running Falken Rubitreks (P rated) on a 2000LC and after about a year and 7,500 miles I like them so far, they don't seem to hold gravel, have good wet traction, and they are comfortable and relatively quiet on the highway. It's a complete accident I have them, I asked my local tire store for Wildpeaks and they ordered Rubitreks, and since I picked up the truck after hours I didn't notice until I got home. I have a good relationship with the tire store and could have asked them to order Wildpeaks and swap them out, but instead I figured I'd give them a go. I run them at about 36 psi in the rear and 34 in the front.
 
BamaHoo said:
I'd be interested to hear how they do shedding gravel/small rocks. That and wet road traction two of my biggest concerns for my area and use. I'm always on the lookout for tires that can transition from daily driver use to mild offroad at my hunting camp, and I expect to be buying tires soon for whatever used truck or SUV my son ends up with in a year when he starts driving.

FWIW, I had Nitto Terra Grapplers (P-rated) on a 4Runner that were great riding on the highway but were terrible about hanging on to the pea gravel that is ubiquitous at my hunting camp. Had both TA/KO2s and then Falken Wildpeaks (both LTs) on an F-150, both were good at shedding gravel and had good wet road traction, the Wildpeaks were my favorite and seemed to last longer than the TA/KO2s without getting too noisy on the highway, and rode slightly more comfortably as well. It didn't hurt that I bought them for about $175 a tire before their popularity skyrocketed. Right now, I'm running Falken Rubitreks (P rated) on a 2000LC and after about a year and 7,500 miles I like them so far, they don't seem to hold gravel, have good wet traction, and they are comfortable and relatively quiet on the highway. It's a complete accident I have them, I asked my local tire store for Wildpeaks and they ordered Rubitreks, and since I picked up the truck after hours I didn't notice until I got home. I have a good relationship with the tire store and could have asked them to order Wildpeaks and swap them out, but instead I figured I'd give them a go. I run them at about 36 psi in the rear and 34 in the front.
Click to expand...


Oooo! I looked at the Rubitreks as they were the “quieter” version of the Wildpeaks. I’m glad you’ve had good experience with them. I may have to give them a look!

I had a chance to test wet this week. Super confidence inspiring. These do well even as the temp drops in wet too. I couldn’t get any wheel spin in the wet earlier this week acclerating from turns (maybe I need a supercharger ha!). And even coming out of the car wash the morning on a notoriously wet and slippery exit with VSC off, I didn’t get any slip. I am quite impressed.

I have driven it on gravel (CA/desert forest roads), but maybe not the same pea gravel surface you mention. What I really like about the Toyos is that the longitudinal traction and lateral traction match. So if you start to slide you can recover it with quite a bit of confidence. On the same surfaces I struggled to do the same with KO2s and KO3s (even though they are were strong for accel/braking).

Or do you mean stone retention? Like it getting stuck in the tread? I know the p metric tires have less void ratio as compared to the LT but haven’t had any issues clogging up the tread yet.
 
I have 2 sets of the tire on both of my landcruisers and it is great in most things but after 10k on the tire in the wet it slips some. I can get them to slip when I go fast around a corner in wet. This is my main critique. In snow they do great I feel. They inspire confidence in most areas except wet pavement after 10k.
 
Roonie said:
I have 2 sets of the tire on both of my landcruisers and it is great in most things but after 10k on the tire in the wet it slips some. I can get them to slip when I go fast around a corner in wet. This is my main critique. In snow they do great I feel. They inspire confidence in most areas except wet pavement after 10k.
Click to expand...
Oh cool! I’m excited to try out the snow this winter.

Do you have the EV version too?
 
I’m mostly intrigued how the 65k mile warranty would hold up against an EV, like a quad motor 1200 lb-ft torque, Rivian.
 
A quick update on something I’ve noticed with these tires - they roll really well. Besides being quiet, I can coast for way longer than I could before. I find that I can lift off the throttle and maintain speed for a lot longer than I expected. And this is still considering the brick of a truck we have for aero.

I also installed a traction control off switch and have been playing in the snow and wet - man they grip really well. Not easy to have them spin! Maybe it just means I need more power ha!
 
2000UZJ said:
I looked at these when I went AT3. I was very intrigued by the EV "design". I should have gone this route, but I do love the standard AT3's
Click to expand...
I think still a really solid option - before the EV's came out I was very much going the standard AT3 direction.
 
Funny this thread should pop up - I just went through a long search for a good 33" tire that wasn't E-rated and settled on this exact same tire, which were installed earlier this week.

PXL_20251202_172254217.webp


I only have about 100 miles on them so far but first impressions are positive. I have a ~3,800 mile trip planned for next February where I'll have the chance to test them on trails in-between lots of interstate and back road driving.
 
frinesi2 said:
Funny this thread should pop up - I just went through a long search for a good 33" tire that wasn't E-rated and settled on this exact same tire, which were installed earlier this week.

View attachment 4042688

I only have about 100 miles on them so far but first impressions are positive. I have a ~3,800 mile trip planned for next February where I'll have the chance to test them on trails in-between lots of interstate and back road driving.
Click to expand...
Your 100 looks awesome with them! And love the wheels too! Would love more of your thoughts after your trip! Where are you headed?
 
troopy27 said:
Your 100 looks awesome with them! And love the wheels too! Would love more of your thoughts after your trip! Where are you headed?
Click to expand...

Thanks! I have a few other minor upgrades planned over the next month or two that I'm looking forward to but tires were a major one.

The rough itinerary is:

- Start in Baltimore, MD
- Hit light trails in Cherokee National Forest (central-east Tennessee)
- Drive to Nashville to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway end-to-end
- Head to the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas via Lafayette, Louisiana
- Follow the Gulf coast down to Corpus Christi, spending some beach time on Mustang & Padre Islands
- Drive north through San Antonio trying to hit the Chisholm Trail Byway on our way to southeast Oklahoma
- Spend some time on trails & back roads in Choctaw Nation / Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma
- Head home via Hot Springs National Park, norther Kentucky, and West Virginia

It's about 12 - 13 days. A lot of driving but it should be fun.
 
Latest update on the AT3 EVs on the Cruiser:

- Tires work really well on this truck. I really love the look and how it highlights that OEM plus vibe.
- MPG dropped slightly to ~14.5 due to winter weather in the Midwest
- Snow and slush are no problem - it just churns through it
- These work notably better in the wet than the LT versions we have on our Rivian

side note on wear - I have ~6k mi on them so far on our 100 series, and they are measuring full depth and showing no signs of wear at all yet.

We have ~11k mi on our LT set on our Rivian and they have worn 1.5mm, and with a ~11.6mm useable tread life this would equate to ~80k mi of life under the Rivian, which is nuts! We got ~20k mi out of the stock Pirellis (the Pirellis are better for wet traction by notable amount on the Rivian), so getting anything over 50k would be huge for a big EV.

That just means I fully expect the tires on our 100 series to last at least until our next timing belt service! Super impressed by wear so far.

Note on LT vs P metric - The LT tread depth is 13mm and the P metric is only 10mm, so that plays into wear, but so far I have no delta to a new tire, so estimations for wear life cant be calc'd yet.

@frinesi2 - you'll have to update us on your travels after your trip in Feb!​

 
Last edited:
Thanks for posting, this sounds like the tire I should try next. I’m on SL AT4Ws and like them but wouldn’t mind trying something else. Looking for one size larger and AT4Ws jump straight to E-rated.
 
I’m on my third set of toyo at3 tires but this last set was manufactured in Serbia of all places. Thats a bit unusual.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom