Toyo RTs vs MTs in snow/ice

aheiser · Post by **aheiser** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 11:18 am

I've pretty well decided on giving Toyos a shot from all the recommendations and love for them that I've heard. I've wanted MTs for years but all the darn threads on here with people liking their RTs has me reconsidering. My truck sees offroad fairly commonly. I drive at least a few thousand miles per year of dirt roads, many of which end up muddy and snowy. However, it also pulls daily commute duty in the winter when the snow is piled higher than the WRX can handle. I have the challenge of leaving the house, driving through very deep snow for a few miles and then hitting the plowed pavement and higher speeds. Is the RT that much better on the slick roads than the MT? I've also considered the possibility of running a winter set and summer set, maybe with MTs in the summer and RTs or an AT in the winter? I'm not as excited about ATs in the deep snow, but they'd be better on the icy pavement.

Also, I've siped muds in the past. I'm sure that opens a can of worms but has anyone siped Toyo MTs to make them better on slick roads?

Post by **DamageWagon** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 12:20 pm

I stopped at Diesel Power Products a few weeks ago and talked for a while with Ash, one of their support guys. I would suggest giving them a call. Most of those guys are running cummins trucks on 37's, almost all of them run the Toyo MT. They like to play in the snow up there near Spokane a lot. He said they've had really good luck with those tires which is why they keep running them.

In my personal experience I've been very happy with the MT's. They can be a touch stiff but I have E range 34's. I haven't played all that much in the wet to give you a good review in that scope.

coder · Post by **coder** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 1:06 pm

On toyo's website they rate the RT's 4 and MT's 3.5 out of 5 for snow and icy and wet handling. I've haven't owned the RT's so I can't comment but I have had 2 sets of the MT's and they work well on snow and icy for an MT but don't expect them to performance like a dedicated snow tire.

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 4:11 pm

I'm on my 2nd set of MT's. We get our share of ice and snow here in Pa. On icy roads, I back off some. If you push it, that's when you get into trouble. In snow. The deeper it is, the better they work. Don't be one of these guys who think that they must run 60 psi in their tires all the time.

That's why some people will give a tire a bad rap in the winter. They have their tires over inflated for the load.

45 psi in the front and 35 psi in the rear empty.

04Ram2500Hemi · Post by **04Ram2500Hemi** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 5:30 pm

I always make sure my tires are siped too. That seems to help a bunch in the winter. But like Rusty said, you need to slow down and drive appropriately in the winter.

FirerescuePW · Post by **FirerescuePW** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:34 pm

I've had RTs for about a year. They handle well in rain and on dry roads. We didn't have as much snow on my side of the Keystone as Rusty, so I really haven't tested them hard. But what we did have was no problem at all for them.

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aheiser · Post by **aheiser** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:37 pm

Good input so far guys. I appreciate it. I've siped Goodyear MTRs before and I agree, I thought they did better in snow. No doubt, driving smart is a big part of it.

I'm finding that Toyos in general will be spendy. I stopped by the local Les Schwab. They carry all models in 35x12.50 in stock. But 5 tires installed, with their protection service, etc runs about 2400 dollars. Ouch. They did say they sipe though which is cool.

ETA: Just talked to Discount Tire. Much cheaper, at about 1900-2000 total but claim no one in town will sipe anymore because of warranty issues and squirm on the road with heavy trucks. Go figure.

Post by **DamageWagon** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:18 pm

aheiser wrote:Good input so far guys. I appreciate it. I've siped Goodyear MTRs before and I agree, I thought they did better in snow. No doubt, driving smart is a big part of it.

I'm finding that Toyos in general will be spendy. I stopped by the local Les Schwab. They carry all models in 35x12.50 in stock. But 5 tires installed, with their protection service, etc runs about 2400 dollars. Ouch. They did say they sipe though which is cool.

If i did it again, I would have bought the tires and done the rest myself. The Toyo MT (and RT I'm presuming because they are of the same construction, but different tread) are so well made that a lot of guys don't balance them and have no vibrations. I would buy the tires, some nice spoons, and install them myself. I bought the warranty and it was a waste. You just can't kill these things. If I pop one it will be cheaper to buy a new tire than t would be to buy the warranty on all 5 tires. Now calculate buying 5 tires at the cheapest place you can, and that's pretty much your cost. Maybe that's not feasible for a lot of people but that's my poem for Round 2.

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:20 pm

I paid about $400.00 a piece for mine.

aheiser · Post by **aheiser** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:22 pm

Awesome! I was thinking the same thing. Discount said it's more like 1700-1800 without free replacement (313-RT, 340-MT plus install, etc). For a truck I only put about 7000-8000 miles a year on, I'll probably get bored with them or they'll dryrot before they wear out tread-wise

Post by **DamageWagon** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:24 pm

Just get the MT haha. You can sipe them and still have them for years if you're only driving that much. I'm jealous, my tires are almost gone and I've only had them for 8 months. I need to stop driving so much...

yooper68 · Post by **yooper68** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:59 am

sorry I can't comment much on Toyo's as they are very difficult to buy around here for some reason (too many tightwad finlanders I guess).
I had a set of Toyo 55's on my old Ford for close to 10 years; they handled a load very well but rubber eventually got so hard they were worthless in all snow conditions.

However, I do know a lot of guys running Cooper Discoverer STT Pro's (a pretty aggressive mud tire). I have the older version - they do so well in snow that I quit putting my dedicated snow tires on about 3 years ago.
Many have their's siped; several local shops will even sipe new tires guys buy on-line...

My 2 cents is to run a MT tire and get it siped; but do your research 1st to make sure the tire isn't too loud (some MT tires really "howl" on bare pavement).

For hard packed snow and icy roads it comes down to how hard the rubber compound is in the tires. Just wish we could legally run studded snow tires in the UP for our 6 months of snow packed roads.

Yokohama has an interesting new MT that is supposed to be "quieter"

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:55 pm

My 1st set of MT tires on my PW was the 35" Cooper STT's. Really liked them. No complaints.

aheiser · Post by **aheiser** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:41 pm

I have to admit I've been tempted by the STTs as well. They seem plenty aggressive. My guess is that like you guys have said, tire pressure, driving behavior, etc probably makes more of a difference than MT vs RT vs STT.

Reloaderguy · Post by **Reloaderguy** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:53 pm

I have RT's. I run them at 35/30 and they seem to do pretty well in the snow. On black ice they can get slick like any rubber tire. The truck's nannies do a pretty good job keeping the truck straight.

Mule · Post by **Mule** » Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:13 pm

Are they studdable?
Because studs are amazing in snow/ice.

aheiser · Post by **aheiser** » Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:24 pm

Hmmm. That's a good question. I have no idea. I really contemplated doing a winter set with studs and a summer set without. Just like so much of CO, I always wonder what percentage of the time I'll be driving studs down dry roads. But you're right, they're sweet on an icy road.

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:48 pm

Reloaderguy wrote:I have RT's. I run them at 35/30 and they seem to do pretty well in the snow. On black ice they can get slick like any rubber tire. The truck's nannies do a pretty good job keeping the truck straight.

If you have to rely on computer nannies to help you. Maybe you shouldn't be driving.

The best year PW don't have nannies to baby sit us.

Reloaderguy · Post by **Reloaderguy** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 1:41 am

RustyPW wrote:
Reloaderguy wrote:I have RT's. I run them at 35/30 and they seem to do pretty well in the snow. On black ice they can get slick like any rubber tire. The truck's nannies do a pretty good job keeping the truck straight.
If you have to rely on computer nannies to help you. Maybe you shouldn't be driving. The best year PW don't have nannies to baby sit us.

Ever drive through a pounding storm on icy roads with Kendrick Lamar blaring while getting a blowjob? The nannies aren't always bad.

nts007 · Post by **nts007** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 8:27 am

You don't need nannies for that. Just set the cruise and enjoy!

RustyPW · Post by **RustyPW** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 2:17 pm

nts007 wrote:You don't need nannies for that. Just set the cruise and enjoy!

4X!!!!!!

coder · Post by **coder** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 2:29 pm

Mule wrote:Are they studdable?
Because studs are amazing in snow/ice.

Only Toyo's commercial grade M-55 and Open Country C/T tires are pinned for studs the R/T and M/T are not.

Post by **DamageWagon** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 2:56 pm

Well, if you consider how durable the MT tires are, you could probably just bust open a contractor pack of 10-penny nails in front of each tire and give em a few rolls over. That ought to hold you over for a while. When winter ends just grab some pliers and yank em.

TankerZak · Post by **TankerZak** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 6:24 pm

I had MTs on my diesel and RTs on my PW. With just 4WD (no lockers) the PW rocked the snow and ice waaaay better than my diesel 2011 duramax. No, is any of that the trucks? Not sure... both were 4wd only or 2wd both are similar weight. I'd attribute most to the tires, but I'll let you be the judge. Ymmv.

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nts007 · Post by **nts007** » Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:15 am

coder wrote:
Mule wrote:Are they studdable?
Because studs are amazing in snow/ice.
Only Toyo's commercial grade M-55 and Open Country C/T tires are pinned for studs the R/T and M/T are not.

I loved my hankook dynapro mt which are studable and they were awesome year round. I'll be buying a 3rd set of them before winter. The cooper st maxx were decent last winter and would have been even better if I had studded them. The nitto trail grapplers I have on are horrible and wouldn't risk my family's lives driving them on our winter roads. Honestly unless the mt is studdable then I would never run them all winter. I've pulled a lot of guys outta the ditch and many of them had mt tires including the toyos. But your winters may not be what ours are. Our roads are ice covered pretty much all winter. Toyos m55 is awesome studded through the winter. I would assume the ct would be a good all rounder. General tire a/t is also studdable but is also good when not studded. Remember when picking tires they are the only thing keeping you in contac with the road. Saving a buck shouldn't be a consideration

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