We often get asked which tires we would recommend, and because of that, we like to test the various offerings and give you guys real-world results. Up next on the docket is a set from Toyo Tires. Only this time it is their widely popular Open Country C/T. What does a street-looking tire with some aggressive sidewall do on all sorts of terrain? Let’s find out.

The truck we’re going to be trying these out on is a 2011 mega cab Ram that features compound turbochargers, a built transmission, upgrading tuning, and suspension mods that allow us to tow anything safely. We set out to build the “ultimate tow rig” and this is what we’ve come up with.

The truck faces just about every terrain possible. When we’re out on the open road headed to a race, sometimes we face the rough highways. When we’re back home, going off-road is inevitable. Like most areas, we’re facing a lot of rain this spring which allows us to test tires on wet roads. But how do they do? Let’s find out.

For the longest time, we thought that the Open Country C/T was a highway tire. We always affiliated it with a smooth tread pattern that was meant for the open road. Now that they are here, I’m not so sure.

Answering “Which Tires”

We heard about these tires quite a while prior to getting a set. We knew these were more of a highway tire than anything else but when they arrived, we were surprised. These tires look way better than expected. They have some serious tread, and the sidewall is surprisingly meaty.

Once we got them mounted and balanced, we hit the road. We were pleased that we couldn’t hear any road noise. Even with the radio turned off. For those of you who hate tire noise, these tires could fit in your wheelhouse. This tread pattern maneuvered in and out of traffic with no issues and managed to keep traction even making turns — probably too fast.

We whipped into the house and pulled into the yard to get a better look now that we had twenty or thirty miles on them and noticed the three-peak mountain snowflake 3PMSF (Three Peak Mountain Snowflake) symbol. That tells me that these tires feature the criteria to pass snow testing. These are what you would call severe snow service rated. We don’t get an astronomical amount of snow here in Missouri, but it is nice knowing that we have a tire that can handle it.

Setting The Open Country Apart From Other Tires

Answering the question of, which tires, the Open Country C/T is a commercial-grade tire that is supposed to offer strength, durability, handling, and traction — both on and off-road. Since the tires were installed, we have put almost 1,000 miles on these tires and I can assure you, they are up for the task. I really like that the tires offer an aggressive sidewall in any off-road scenario but the best part of it for me is they offer such a comfortable ride on the road.

The package as a whole is awesome. Per Toyo, these tires use a tougher cut and chip resistance compound, three-ply construction, and unique deeper tread grooves to ensure that these tires give you the traction and performance required in most off-road driving conditions. Other than mud, the most “off-road” that I’ve encountered since upgrading to these are some heavily graveled roads. When you think of gravel, especially with a nice truck, some worry about the damage that can be done.

Not much but it is something. These tight tread patterns are great for not launching big rocks but you could see a few smaller ones. Honestly, not too much to worry about.

we were pleased that rock-throwing from these tires is pretty low. We will not, however, say that they won’t throw rocks. If you’re into some really small gravel, once you hit the pavement, you will hear some dings. At some point, you almost have to expect that from any tire with a larger-than-tiny tread width, right?

When asking which tires, in the rock throwing category, these get an A-minus. Next, we move on to wet grass and mud. Tires that we have used in the past have kept us from ever having them again. We’ve been into scenarios where we have to get home but are literally hung up on wet grass. We won’t name names but there are tires out there that aren’t as good as advertised.

After finally getting some miles on these tires, minus the dust from gravel, these tires still look as good as new and aren’t showing any signs of wear so far.

When asking which tires, the Open Country C/T has earned yet another passing grade. We questioned their performance in mud with that highway-style tread, but believe it or not, they work really well. Now, we weren’t “bogging” and didn’t have the truck buried, but it was enough that we were able to see how these tires would react. We maneuvered through the tracks, never lost traction, and easily exited the property as needed. Once again, nice work, Open Country C/T.

Now that we’ve made it out of the mud, how do they handle wet roads? Regardless of where you live or whether or not you go off-roading, driving in the rain is inevitable. A tire’s wet road performance is very important. We are pleased to announce that the C/T’s have earned yet another passing grade. Even with the compound turbocharged 6.7-liter Cummins engine, these tires maintained traction in some pretty serious rain. The C/T does offer an aggressive tread pattern, but it also manages to still have a nice flat soft footprint that keeps these tires hooked to the ground even in the heavy rain. .

Per Toyo’s website, here is how they’ve rated these tires in tread life, winter handling, off-road traction, noise output, comfort, and fuel efficiency.

Take for instance an experience where, after a night at the dragstrip, it had rained but we still needed to get the truck and trailer home. Even with a full load behind us, these meats managed to take off, turn, and stop with ease. For those of you out there who use a truck, these are a solid option in our opinion.

Size, Availability, Pros, And Cons

If you’re interested in a set of Open Country C/T tires, they come is sizes ranging from 16-inch  up to a 20-inch. Sizes range from an LT215/85R16 all the way up to a big boy 35/12.50R20. All of these tires feature a Load E rating, which for the biggest tires, gives you a capacity of 4,080 pounds per tire.

Pros

• Great on-road handling wet or dry
• Minimal tread wear
• Surprising off-road traction in gravel, mud, etc.

Cons

• Size Availability

I don’t know about you but these tires look very aggressive on this truck and really fill out the fenders as they should.

Closing Thoughts

In my opinion, the Toyo Open Country C/T could tap into that “most popular tire” realm. It offers the rugged sidewall appearance, and the highway-style tread that gives us that smooth ride. They are also offered at a competitive price. When we use these tires, we think of your Nitto Terra Grapplers, Falken Wildpeaks, and Toyo’s Open Country AT-III.

The self-cleaning ability of these tires is a huge plus, too. This gives drivers better handling, grip, and traction on all surfaces as well as longer tread life. When talking about the demands of today’s light trucks and most four-wheel drive owners, these tires hit the mark. I can honestly say they delivered a swell performance thus far.

When trying to decide which tires, more information about Toyo Open Country C/T, or on any of their tires, can be found on the Toyo Tire website. For more tire testing, tech articles, product reviews, and event coverage stay tuned right here to Diesel Army. What are your thoughts on the Open Country C/T now? Do you think these would look good on your rig? Let us know in the comments below.