The all-season passenger tire Toyo Open Country A/T is one of the most successful models in the lineup of tires from this renowned Japanese manufacturer, designed for passenger vehicles with increased off-road capabilities. This model is intended for owners of SUVs, pickups, and crossovers who frequently drive off paved roads, overcoming complex terrain. This tire is produced in more than fifty sizes, ranging from 225/70R14 to the massive 325/50R22, indicating its potential use on the vast majority of vehicles with increased off-road capabilities.
Design of the Japanese tire tread
Considering the possibility of using the tire off paved roads, Japanese tire engineers used a tread with a symmetrical non-directional tread pattern, featuring an original S-shaped design. The non-directional tread structure provides the same level of traction and adhesion, both when moving forward and backward, significantly expanding the tire's capabilities for overcoming complex road sections. When driving on regular roads, the modern five-rib tread design with a wide central rib comes in handy, providing the tire with excellent directional stability.
The tread of this model consists of five longitudinal ribs, three of which are located in the central part, and the other two represent the shoulder areas. Each of the longitudinal ribs, including the shoulder areas of the tread, is essentially a separate row of massive blocks, characterized by massive sizes and the presence of a large number of angles and sharp edges.
One of the distinctive features of the tread is the presence of wavy lames on the surface of all its blocks. These tread elements have a dual purpose. Firstly, these lames create additional sharp edges, ensuring more reliable adhesion to slippery surfaces. Secondly, the wavy lames allow for more effective smoothing of road irregularities, thereby improving the comfort of movement. However, the lames of the Toyo Open Country AT are not only located on the surface of the tread blocks but also on the bottom of the drainage grooves, which also contributes to improved adhesion on snowy road sections.
The design of the shoulder areas of the tread also took into account the specifics of year-round operation off paved roads. Therefore, the shoulder areas have a reinforced design and represent two rows of massive rectangular blocks, spaced at a considerable distance from each other. In mud, sand, snow, and other unstable types of coverage, these blocks work like grouser tires, providing good off-road capabilities for civilian tires.
Toyo rubber compound
This model is equipped with a tread made of two layers of rubber compound with different densities. A special additional layer in the tread design allows for smoothing even significant road irregularities, providing higher comfort when driving. The tread layer is made of a rubber compound containing silicon-based elements. This allows the Toyo Open Country A/T tire to maintain its elasticity even at negative temperatures, ensuring a more precise fit of the tread to the road surface. As a result, high traction and adhesion indicators are achieved in any conditions. Additionally, the silicon-based elements ensured high resistance of the tread to wear, significantly extending the tire's service life.
Durable carcass
Thanks to the use of a spiral multi-layered design, the tire carcass has excellent mechanical strength and elasticity. As a result, the tire demonstrates high resistance to various aggressive influences, effectively smoothing even significant road irregularities. As is known, when driving off paved roads, the sidewalls are the most vulnerable part of the tire to punctures and cuts. Japanese tire engineers, when creating this model, took into account the specific conditions of operation and equipped the sidewalls with a special additional layer, reliably protecting the tire from aggressive influences.
Main features of the Toyo Open Country A/T tire
- The S-shaped off-road design of the symmetrical non-directional tread pattern allows for confident movement on any type of coverage;
- Excellent resistance to aquaplaning and good self-cleaning of the tread, thanks to the block scheme of its construction, abundant with numerous drainage channels;
- Massive tread blocks in the shoulder areas provide more confident overcoming of sections with deep snow, mud, and sand;
- A multitude of wavy lames, located not only on the surface of the tread blocks but also between them, provide additional adhesion in winter conditions.
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