When we realized our test vehicle for the Toyo Open Country M/Ts was to be a fullsize pickup with eight-lug wheels and no lift, we didn't hold out much hope for a good outcome. After perusing the available sizes, only the E-load rated LT265/75-16 would fit beneath our pickup's fenders and clear the big 31/44-ton brakes. With a load capacity of 3,415 pounds per tire, we figured there was as much chance of getting a good ride and killer off-road performance out of these tires as there was in getting Bree to tattoo our name on her rear. Man, were we wrong.
The Back Story
Magazine deadlines being what they are, we found ourselves in dire need of some 16x7 eight-lug wheels that could take punishment off-road, yet were built to true tolerances for a fair tire evaluation. After all, how can you test a tire's performance accurately if the wheel you mount it on is square? Pro Comp Wheels came to the rescue with five of its 16x7 black powdercoated Series 97 steel wheels. The wheels not only look great, but they're extremely durable and are built to specific tolerances, so there is virtually no runout. That means they roll round with no wobbles and vibrations.
The Tires
The Toyo Open Country M/Ts we tested were monsters, with thick, heavy sidewalls built for load carrying and a maximum pressure rating of 80 psi. Even still, we found the tires to be extremely civilized on the street. In fact, they're among the best-riding, quietest mud tires we've ever driven. There's only the slightest hum from the tread. We'd go so far as to compare the noise level with that of a BFG AT. On the street the handling is crisp and predictable. There's no play in the steering and cornering is sure and controlled. The ride is smooth with no perceived lug slap or harshness.
Off-road we toyed with the air pressure, first dropping it to 16 psi, then down to 9 psi, where it remained for the rest of our testing. It took a little while for the tires to start breaking in, but after a few miles at the lower pressure we started to see some sidewall flexing over obstacles. The tread of the load-rated tires doesn't really envelope obstacles, but the tread grips so well it doesn't really have to. Unfortunately, the dry Southern California climate prevented us from getting any mud testing in, but we were able to find plenty of loose dirt hillclimbs, moderate rocky boulder patches, and hard-pack ledges and granite slabs.
It may be a boring report, but we were pretty floored with the tires' performance in just about every terrain we ran them through. Keeping in mind that we were driving a long-bed pickup with only a weak limited slip in the rear, we were able to get farther into trails and areas than we were really comfortable with. Tire slippage on hard-pack surface and in rock really wasn't an issue. The tires just grip. Period. We had to really goose the throttle to get them to break loose and start spinning on hard pack and on rock.
In loose soil, the relatively narrow tires on a big, heavy vehicle offered very little flotation. We found that bringing our engine speed up to around 2,200 rpm and just letting the tires slowly spin and bite allowed us to climb to the top of most of the hillclimbs we attempted.
Bottom Line
The Toyo Open Country M/Ts are near the top for good all-around tires, and the Pro Comp Rock Crawler Xtreme Wheels are a proven staple in the off-road world. If we have any gripe at all about the tires it's their relative poor size availability for the Jeep market. With only 33, 35, and 37 versions available for the 15-inch wheel, many Jeep owners will be forced to add a lift and gears to run these tires. We'd like to see some more sizes become available in the future. We're sure Jeep owners will run then.