Open Country MT is a mud terrain tire while RT is a rugged terrain tire made to perform on and off the road. Both of these are all season tires that perform efficiently even in extreme winters.
MT performs well on mud and sand due to its more void ratio and RT provides good traction on highways. Want to know how RT tread wears out later than its competitor even with lower tread depth? Read the durability section then.
| MT | RT | |
| Tire type | Mud terrain | All-terrain |
| Usage | Off-road, all-weather | Off-road, on-road, all-weather |
| Tested size | 31X10.50R15LT | |
| Tread depth | 19.1 | 18.9 |
| Maximum inflation pressure | 50 psi | 50 psi |
| Maximum load capacity | 2270 Ibs | 2270 Ibs |
| Load/ speed rating | 109Q | 109Q |
Table of Contents
Tread Pattern
Toyo M/T
Toyo Open Country R/T
The grooves of MT are wider and are interconnected. This tire has a relatively smaller footprint due to its open tread design. Its design is aggressive and can be easily identified as a mud terrain tire.
Both of its shoulders have similar shaped tread blocks but the blocks of the right shoulder are faced towards upper side while the left shoulder has blocks facing towards bottom side.
Central part has hook shaped blocks placed in two rows. All the tread blocks have a single sipe running on them. Lateral and longitudinal grooves are connected and this feature helps a lot while moving on rough terrains.
Bold and longitudinal stone ejectors are placed between shoulder lugs while central part does not consist any emitters.
Toyo Open Country RT has a very unique and different tread pattern from AT. The grooves running around shoulder blocks are wide, giving the look of a mud tire.
While the central part has closely placed tread blocks (in the groups of 4), to increase contact patch.
Two different types of shoulder lugs are present each having a sipe on it. Half of the central blocks consist a sipe on them.
Lateral and longitudinal grooves are connected but not as of its competitor as the lateral grooves are narrower.
This tire also consists bold stone ejectors but only between the shoulder lugs, the ejectors are bold and long as of its counterpart.
On Road Traction
RT is the clear winner if we talk about on road dry traction due to its increased contact patch especially in central part, the closely placed blocks improve the grip of the tire but if we talk about handling then this tire lacks a little due to open spaces between its shoulder blocks that reduce the contact area of the shoulders with the surface.
The wet grip of this tire is also same as dry grip as due to increased contact area and presence of sipes but again talking about wet handling, it lacks due to the same reason that we have discussed earlier talking about its dry handling.
This tire is good at resisting hydroplaning due to its interconnected grooves but it can’t beat MT in this regard as the lateral grooves of this tire are narrower.
MT lacks on road due to open tread pattern. Huge spaces between the shoulder blocks and the central part, decrease its overall contact patch resulting in compromised dry/wet handling and grip.
But its wet traction is somehow better than dry traction due to presence of interconnected grooves and several sipes.
This tire is fabulous in resisting hydroplaning, the wide and deep grooves provide much volume for the water to pass away and the grip of tire stays firm with the road.
| MT | RT | |
| Dry on-road Grip | Low | High |
| Dry on-road handling | Low | Low- Moderate |
| Wet on-road Grip | Moderate | High |
| Wet on-road handling | Moderate | High |
| Aquaplaning resistance | High | Moderate-High |
Off-Road Traction Comparison
| MT | RT | |
| Mud traction | Moderate | High |
| Snow traction | Moderate | High |
| Ice traction | Moderate | Moderate |
| Rock traction | High | Low-moderate |
Mud Terrain
MT tire is made to move on mud, it performs very well on muddy tracks. The reason is its open tread design and higher tread depth. The wider and deeper grooves throw the mud particles backwards while clearing the path of the tire and interconnected grooves make sure that tire doesn’t get choked with heavy mud. Its open shoulder design help to evacuate mud and all of these features working together make this tire absolutely amazing in muddy terrains.
RT also performs well on mud but as its central part has closely placed tread blocks so they hinder its performance in heavy mud conditions. As there are very few empty spaces in the central part and tread depth is also relatively lower so it would be difficult for the tire to evacuate mud particles, resulting in loss of grip. Its handling is better than its grip due to open shoulders but it can’t beat its competitor as it has wider tread blocks placed in the shoulders which result in comparatively narrower spaces, so the evacuation ability is limited and this hinders its handling on mud. This tire can be easily taken on any mud terrain but avoid taking it in deep mud.
Snow Terrain
Any tire that is good on mud will surely perform well on soft snow. As MT provides sufficient traction on mud so it will do good in snow as well due to the same reason. Its open tread allows evacuation of more snow and as the vehicle accelerates, the tire throws the snow backwards clearing the way and helping the vehicle to move forward. But the open tread does not work on ice. As MT has lower contact patch so it won’t be able to grip on ice and the chances of slipping will be higher.
RT again lacks on snow as well, due to its lower void ratio but it can be used on light snow. Its handling is good on snow due to open shoulder blocks. But this tire performs very well on ice due to its increased contact patch and deep sipes. The contact patch helps to maintain the grip with the surface while sipes wipe away the water. On snow, MT wins the race while RT is the victor on icy roads.
Rock Terrain
Two things we have to look into a tire before taking it on rocky terrain, wider grooves and stone ejectors. No doubt MT has wider grooves than its competitor and the number of stone ejectors in both tires is almost equal. So here the winner is MT has wide grooves provide more biting edges and help the tire to crawl while stone ejectors toss off any stone/pebble trying to get into the grooves. This feature not only save the tread from being damage but it also helps the tire to continue its journey smoothly.
RT has same amount of stone ejectors as in its counterpart and they emit any stone particle from getting in the grooves but its grooves are narrower and contact patch is higher. Higher contact patch can help this tire while moving on small pebbles but it will hinder its performance while crawling on rocks as it decreases the biting ability of the tire. So, if you want to use your vehicle frequently on rocks/pebbles then MT can be a better choice.
Comfort
Discussing on road comfort we have to look for noise production and tire with higher void ratio produces more noise as it provides more space to the air particles to move in and collide with groove walls producing sound. MT in this aspect produces more noise due to wider grooves while RT produces less noise relatively, due to its higher contact patch.
MT is more comfortable tire off the road as the wider grooved tire works as an extra suspension for the vehicle and absorbs jerks by giving the feel of a lesser inflated tire, so as MT has more open spaces, it is comfier while travelling on rugged terrains.
Durability And Treadwear
Both of these tires are durable and they undergo tough polyester construction. RT has more contact patch so has more rolling resistance and more tread wear, while MT faces less tread wear. Company provides 45,000 miles warranty on RT that shows, it is more durable and it is also ranked as one of the most durable all terrain tires in the market.
Although MT has a higher tread depth so it should take more time to level with the grooves but still RT ranks higher in terms of tread life and durability. This is due to usage of more high-quality material in the construction of RT and another reason is that RT is expected to used more on road and less off road so its tread damages less compared to rival tire. So, durability of RT is higher than MT
| MT | RT | |
| Durability | Moderate | High |
| Treadwear mileage warranty | limited warranty | 45,000 miles |
| Trial Offer | 500 miles/45 days | 500 miles/45days |
To Summarize
Toyo Open Country MT is a mud terrain and RT is an all-terrain tire.
Open Country MT…
- Has higher void ratio.
- Has good hydroplaning resistance abilities.
- Performs well on mud and soft snow.
- Performs good in rocky terrains.
- Provides higher off-road comfort.
Open Country RT…
- Has higher contact patch.
- Performs well on the road.
- Has good grip on ice.
- Performs well on pebbles.
- Has higher durability.
