Good timing as I just went on an long weekend trip. It's taken awhile to gather a spectrum of impressions with this covid business. Caveat my comments against my previous Falken AT3Ws, with a big change from 33s to 35s, and part of it has been trying to differentiate what is related to tire size and what are actual qualities of the tire. Also understand that my impressions for the Toyo's are of the most aggressive variety - Floatation 35x12.5s - which are even more aggressive in tread than the more typical LT sizes most people will run.
IMO, the Toyo's and Falken's are current crème of the crop in the AT tire segment, with the advantage of technology, being some of the most modern tires with Toyo's just released in 2020. Breadth of consistently high performance across all qualities, without any notable gaps, i.e. all terrain, is their forte. I continue to hold the Falken's in very high regard, and perhaps like that tire more for its added aggressiveness over the Toyo. As an early adopter of the Falken's and an advocate based on its performance, I would say my impressions were shared by the majority as that tire became more widely adopted.
Onto the review of the Toyo's
Noise - There is low level noise as expected with just about any A/T tire. It's about the volume of wind noise. Soft, unobtrusive, and in a low tone even on hard concrete pavements. Comparable to the Falken's which themselves were mild and very acceptable. Interestingly, the AT3s are a tad louder in middling speeds, while getting quieter at high freeway 70-85mph speeds, compared to the Falken's that go up in volume with speed. Different noise optimization perhaps, but I like this quality of the Toyo's as it's the long highway drives at constant high speed where the reduced noise is even more appreciated. I give a very slight noise edge to the Toyo's, understanding that the Falken's were maybe more amazing as they had more aggressive tread.
Vibration and Harshness - Immediate impressions is that Toyo's roll like butter, even with large AT tread blocks. Not unlike a highway tread tire. Very little weight added to the wheel to balance which is what I was hoping for with XL size 35s. From my research, Toyo's are at the top of the heap for roundness and balance with their proprietary construction techniques and it proved out with my examples. Large, and very large tires can be hard to balance, particularly with proportionately smaller wheels as the added wheel weights at the rim position only influence so much imbalance at the tread. Toyo's also behave very well on highway expansion joints and bumps with minimal shock translated, though that may be a function of how large these tires are, so my comments on harshness may be biased. Still, research shows vibration and harshness of these tires at the upper end of the competitive set.
Wet and Rain - Wow. Just drove through the first major rain of the season in SoCal and it was a proper rare deluge of cats and dogs. Wiper on max was not enough to keep large heavy drops off the windshield. These Toyo's just plowed through heavy rain and water at full highway speeds 70-85mph, without a care in the world. Just like the Falken's really. Where the Toyo's also stood out was the ability to maintain a high level of traction and grip on wet surfaces on mountain roads, with surprisingly progressive breakaway characteristics. Rain handling is exceptional.
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Snow - I went to seek snow up at 4,500 ft, but never found it as the rain was too heavy and was just not yet cold enough. Research of professional impressions show these to be class leading.
Braking - I had the unfortunate experience to emergency brake on dry surface in a deer incident (in SoCal??), full on ABS braking from 60-15mph before punting the medium size deer. (cosmetic damage to grill and bumper but all has been since resolved and deer scampered away fine). With Tundra BBKs, braking was confidence inspiring, straight, and strong. No qualms about performance here.
Handling - This is where 35s may compromise some of my ability to form an impressions. Initial turn-in feels soft as a result of the XL sized tire with large sidewalls and relatively higher COG. I've compensated by going from 35 PSI RCTIP to 38 PSI. Handling is strong and resolute after considering the damping affect of larger tires. Towing a 8k lbs travel trailer, with 5k lbs on the rear axle, these tires are stable, quiet, with no unexpected heat with a non-contact thermometer. I do air them up to ~42 PSI as I've done with Falken's for that extra edge in stability and handling. I have no hesitation that this tire will meet expectations for handling. In general, 33s are the sweet spot for handling and all around capability in my mind. Research has this tire as a top performer in handling, wet and dry, with excellent stability and good non-resonant feedback.
Ride Quality - Butter. Definitely so with 35s. At RCTIP, sidewalls even feel a bit soft that I went up in pressure. Part of this maybe my tire sizing. Falken's had great ride quality as well. I've always said that wide buldged tire fitments can be an advantage to ride as the sidewall geometry can be more compliant vs squared fitments of 275/285s and it shows here abain with a great comfortable ride.
MPG - Not apples to apples of course. I'm on 35s, but also re-geared with 4.3s such that gearing is practically stock again. No real aero impacting mods other than the tires and minor 1" lift. About 250lbs added with the significant items of LRA aux tank and sliders. Pleasantly surprised I can still hit 15MPG on the freeway with middling aggressiveness and average 75 MPH speeds. In easy driving, could probably touch 16+ MPG but I don't tend to drive like that.
Sidewall Lugs - Medium aggressiveness compared to other standouts on the market. These have milder side lugs compared to Falken AT3Ws or KO2s.
Rim Protector - No rim lip protectors. Compared to a descent ones found on the Falken's.
Off-road - Beast, but then again, what 35" wouldn't be? Airing down to 15PSI, provides huge footprints, traction, and floatation. One recent 100 miles off-road jaunt in Death Valley with flowing fast tracks, some parts with really harsh corrugations, no problem at all keeping a comfortable 40-50 mph with the family relaxed. Corning traction and breakaway were good and predictable. Sand, no issue again with great floatation and smoothing out of surfaces. I haven't seen the full spectrum of off-road surfaces yet, but it should be solid.
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More Toyo AT3 research can be had here. Particularly in the comments where Joe provides candid responses.
