Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus vs Toyo Open Country AT3: Both of these tires are All-terrain tires and they provide equally balanced performance on and off the road. Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tire has narrow grooves providing more contact patch, and thus, it is more convenient for on-road drive.
Toyo Open Country AT, on the other hand, has a high void ratio due to wide grooves and therefore, has better off-road traction.
Examine the treads on these tires closely. They hold the key to knowing which to choose. In fact if you visit my "tread design" page, picking the right tire would never bother you.
Both of these tires are top-notch and are highly demanding because of their durability and build strength.
Table of Contents
Comparing Toyo Open Country AT3 with Pirelli Scorpion All-Terrain Plus
Pirelli Scorpion AT Plus
Toyo AT3
Pirelli Scorpion All-Terrain Plus has an aggressive design with relatively narrow grooves compared to its counterpart.
The narrow grooves help them a lot to perform exceptionally well in dry on-road conditions by increasing the contact patch.
A large number of deeper sipes helps a lot in evacuating water in wet conditions and provide greater hydroplaning resistance.
The higher contact patch helps it to perform better on ice by providing a much better grip as compared to its contender. The conical-shaped stone ejectors assist it to perform smoothly on a rocky surface.
The narrower grooves act as a hindrance in their performance for muddy and snowy conditions as these narrow grooves will not be able to remove mud/snow particles easily.
The polyester casing gives strength and provides a comfortable ride when moving at high speed for an on-road trip.
Toyo AT3 in comparison has a very symmetrical tread block pattern with relatively larger spaced grooves, giving an edge to its performance for an off-road comfy ride.
The wider grooves provide more grip in mud and snow by forcing them backwards effectively.
But these wider grooves and lower tread depth make them struggle a bit in icy conditions due to less contact patch.
The bolder stone ejectors provide better ejection of stones and pebbles from the tire by continuously removing them and lowering the risk of damage and puncture.
Two noticeable ply polyester casings along with high-strength steel belts provide greater built strength and increase its durability.
On-Road traction
AT plus has a minimal void ratio than its competitor, having more contact patch between the road and tire that causes the braking distance to be lowered.
More gripping of the tire helps it to do well for on-road dry conditions.
The deeper and additional number of sipes allow the tire to wipe out the water more effectively making it more reliable for usage in rainy conditions by resisting hydroplaning.
Both these characteristics make them one of the best and highly effective tire for on-road traction.
Toyo AT3 has comparatively wider grooves resulting in lesser contact patch, making it lose traction for on-road navigation thus increasing its braking distance due to a lower grip.
The presence of sipes does help in wet conditions by wiping water from the tread blocks making it quite reliable for navigation in rain.
Off-Road Traction Comparison
Mud Terrain
Pirelli Scorpion AT Plus due to the presence of narrow grooves (compared to Toyo Open Country AT3) allows mud and debris to get stuck between the void of tread blocks.
This blocks its performance to roll forward as the narrow grooves will not be able to remove the mud effectively in the backward direction.
This causes the tire to lose grip making it difficult to perform well in a muddy environment.
Toyo AT3 consist of wider grooves making it more reliable for mud and rough condition.
The wider grooves will assist it to remove the mud backward to provide a smoother forward motion without sticking the mud and debris in between the grooves.
The open shoulder design with wider stud grooves gives an edge to effectively remove the mud making AT3 one of the most reliable tires for such conditions.
Snow Terrain
Narrow grooves in AT Plus make it less reliable on soft snow.
These grooves cause the tire to lose grip as the snow will get stuck between grooves. In this way, snow will not be removed continuously making it less effective for soft snow navigation.
But these closely spaced grooves and more sipes allow them to perform better on an icy road by offering greater grip without any slippiness.
Toyo AT3 because of their wider grooves allow smooth navigation of the tire on soft snow by its continuous evacuating ability.
The wider grooves and shoulder stud grooves allow the snow to move out rapidly, resulting in a smoother flow in snowy conditions.
But when it comes to icy conditions, the lower contact patch cause it to lose grip making it more slippery than its counterpart.
Rock Terrain
Narrower stone ejectors are present in AT Plus in comparison with Toyo AT3 which causes small stones and pebbles to get stuck in the void between tread blocks, making it lose grip.
This further increases the risk of drilling of these stones inside the tire causing severe damage like puncturing or rupturing of the tire.
Toyo AT3 has much wider and bolder stone ejectors which assist it to remove the stones and pebbles effectively.
The pebbles/rocks aren’t able to get stuck in the grooves so the tire easily navigates through the rocks.
Its better-built strength protects it from trail damages like cuts and chips making it more preferable for such conditions.
Comfort:
The narrow grooves of AT Plus cause lesser particles of air to be trapped inside them causing the smooth flow of the tire as lesser particles of air strike back and forth, thus, generating low noise.
This leads to great comfort when moving with high speed during on-road navigation.
But this comfort falls short when the tire propagates through a rough surface.
The narrow grooves won’t be able to dampen the jerks when off-roading, compared to AT3.
Since AT3 has wider grooves, its comfort compared to AT Plus is less making it less reliable for the on-road drive.
Wider grooves indicate that more particles of air get confined between them generating more noise as a larger number of particles will move back and forth, therefore, creating more sound.
But for an off-road experience, this tire performs well as the wider grooves of the tire allow greater dampening of jerks and jolts, when the tire moves through a rough surface.
Durability and Treadwear:
The factor of durability is based on the rolling resistance of the tire.
The rolling resistance of AT Plus is greater, as more parts of the tire make contact with the ground, so more force is required to move the tire.
The greater contact patch indicates more wearing of tread blocks resulting in lesser durability compared to its peer.
It consists of a polyester casing to enhance its durability and navigation comfort.
Two high-strength steel belts stable the footprints and various nylon reinforcement plies provides high-speed on-road smooth navigation.
Wider grooves of AT3 compared to AT Plus allow fewer parts of the tire to make contact with the ground thus decreasing its rolling resistance.
Lower rolling resistance means wearing of tread blocks is also low. This signifies its durability a lot because of its better-built quality and strength.
It utilizes a durable two-ply polyester casing, providing a vigorous base for twins.
A single, nylon reinforcement ply is also added for further enhancement of the durability as well as to improve high-speed capabilities.
Price:
AT3 because of its commanding off-road performance and noticeable on-road traction is higher priced compared to AT Plus.
Because of its wider grooves performs better on off-road terrains and has a high durability factor, so it is slightly more on an expensive side.
AT Plus perform better on-road and is less durable than its competitor that’s why it’s slightly cheaper.
Quick Summary
- Both are All-terrain tires.
- AT Plus performs better on the paved roads.
- AT Plus performance on ice is greater because of relatively greater contact patch.
- Bolder and wider stone ejectors give an edge to AT3 to do well in rough terrain.
- AT3 has better durability, built strength, and mileage.
- AT Plus generates less noise compared to AT3.
