Choosing the Right Tyre for your SUV or 4WD

There is a huge variety of tyres available on the market, so how do you choose the right tyre to suit your needs?

Depending on what vehicle you own, how you use it, and where you drive, your ideal tyre choice may vary greatly.

If you drive an SUV or 4WD vehicle, read on to find out what tyre you should ask about when you see the team at Tyres R Us.

Driving Styles and Terrain

The ideal tyre choice for you depends on many factors. Where you plan on driving, your budget, and your vehicle type all factor into what tyres will work best for you. The team at Tyres R Us are more than happy to talk to you about your needs and expectations and match them up with the ideal tyre.

Toyo Open Country Tyres for Every Situation

The Open Country tyre range covers everything from highway and tarmac driving, through to extreme off-road terrains, even motorsports usage and endurance events.

The Open Country range is available in sizes suitable for larger vehicles such as CUVs, SUVs and 4WDs. Tyre capabilities range from excellent on-road manners with great wet weather performance, to low noise tyres for covering large distances, up to extreme 4X4 and off-roading.

Highway and Urban Use

Tyres designed for highway use typically have smaller and more numerous tread blocks designed to channel water out from under the tyres while on sealed roads.

Technology such as ‘variable pitch sequencing’ where tread blocks are arranged in spacing that slightly changes in order to reduce the hum associated with driving at high speeds.

Tyres designed for highway use are designed to handle high speeds for long periods of time without getting too hot.

Drone and road noise is a major contributing factor in fatigue, which is why Toyo has designed the Open Country Q/T and Open Country U/T to minimise noise as much as possible.

Q/T

The Open Country QT (or Quiet Touring) is a tyre designed for on road use for small to medium SUVs. The Open Country UT is designed to perform well on wet roads, with great aquaplaning resistance for safety, and low rolling resistance to aid with fuel economy.

U/T

When compared to the QT tyre, the Open Country UT tyre is a highway terrain-style tyre with a focus on durability. The UT is designed to better handle puncture, cut and chip damage at the cost of slightly increased road noise and slightly worse comfort.

The difference between the U/T and an all terrain tyre like the A/T II is that the tread pattern on the U/T is optimised for on road use, as well as wet weather conditions where aquaplaning is a concern.

Off-road Use

Tyres designed for off-road use will visually look very different to on-road tyres. They have large tread blocks, large voids between the blocks, and deeper tread.

A tyre that performs well off-road must feature a blend of being tough and flexible, with many high quality mud terrains having very flexible sidewalls with reinforcement plies to avoid punctures and sidewalls tears.

Exotic materials such as kevlar and nylon are used due to their flexibility, tensile strength and fatigue resistance.

M/T

The Open Country M/T is a mud terrain tyre designed to handle rough conditions, and rough treatment. Toyo has made the M/T a tyre capable of handling whatever you throw at it, from rocks and mud, through to sand and dirt.

The Open Country M/T will provide a less comfortable ride with more noise, when compared to the A/T tyre but when compared to mud terrain tyres from other companies, it’s regarded as a great well-rounded option that performs reliably off-road.

Mixed Use

Buying tyres specifically for use on sealed roads, or hardcore trails is all well and good, but a lot of us require our vehicles to be multi-purpose.

A tyre designed to function perfectly either on or off-road must make sacrifices, so when it comes to tyres, you can’t have one that excels at everything. Modern advances in tyre technology are making advances in this area when it comes to both tyre tread design, as well as tyre compounds.

A/T II

The most commonly fitted tyre in the Open Country Lineup, the Toyo Open Country A/T II is the second version of what was an exceptionally well received all-terrain tyre.

The A/T II is widely regarded as a top-tier tyre, by both 4WD owners who tour around the country, through to weekend off-road enthusiasts, due to the way it balances longevity, durability, on-road handling and off-road prowess.

The A/T II features a tread design that is self-cleaning, and has staggered and scalloped shoulder lugs that help increase traction off-road without needing to be aired down to the same levels other tyres need to be.

R/T

Previously, choosing between an all-terrain tyre and a mud-terrain tyre was purely based on how often you took your vehicle off-road versus how much road noise you could put up with.

With the new Open Country R/T, Toyo has opted for a hybrid design, combining the aspects of an aggressive all-terrain tyre and a mild mannered mud terrain.

The R/T features all terrain-style center tread blocks that are tightly packed, offering great road handling capabilities and steering response, while the outer shoulders are styled after an aggressive mud terrain, providing exceptional performance off-road with terrain-gripping side lugs.

Talk to the Tyres R Us Experts.

Come see the experts at Tyres R Us in Sunshine, Queensland. We are your local premium Toyo super dealer offering a comprehensive range of tyres to keep you moving, regardless of your vehicle or driving habits.

Talk to us about your vehicle and your needs today, and we’ll fit your vehicle with the right tyres for the job!

Visit us at 122 Munro Ave, Sunshine today or phone us on 03 9362 1611 to book your vehicle to see the team at Tyres R Us!