- A side note here: As a former Bridgestone engineer, I strongly recommend checking DiscountTire - Treadwell out. This is a tool that DiscountTire dealers use in the store. You can get recommendations based on value, performance, and local favorites.
TRIED & TESTED!
Toyo Open Country M/T and Nitto Trail Grappler are mud-terrain tires that are built in the same factory. Even though they’re built for off-roading, people prefer to use them due to their aggressive appearances. In this article, I’ll classify their usage depending on the different customer expectations. Let’s move on!
At a Glance
| Nitto Trail Grappler MT | Toyo Open County M/T | |
|---|---|---|
| Better for | Smooth and quiet ride for a mud-terrain tire, if you spend time on the highway | Beach driving and hunting |
| Pros | Long-lasting rubber, satisfying wet traction, great winter traction | Long-lasting rubber, wet and snow traction, quick steering response, fuel efficiency |
| Cons | Noisy and stiff ride | Noisy and stiff ride |
| Available on | DiscountTire: Check Price SimpleTire: Check Price Amazon: Check Price | DiscountTire: Check Price TireRack: Check Price SimpleTire: Check Price Amazon: Check Price |
As a former Bridgestone engineer, from my standpoint, both are trustworthy options for off-road. The difference between these two is the vest pocket. Nitto Trail Grappler MT has better off-road manners and winter capability. Moreover, it overcomes Toyo MT due to tread life. Although, Toyo Open Country MT has a more aggressive look and slightly wet grip.
I highly recommend checking the below pages out before making any purchase:
- DiscountTire Deals:
https://www.discounttire.com/promotions - TireRack Deals:
https://www.tirerack.com/specialoffers - SimpleTire Deals:
https://simpletire.com/tire-deals
Table of Contents
Durability
Mud-terrain tires are built to perform under the hardest conditions. Therefore, durability is the manufacturer’s priority.
Toyo Open Country MT has high turn-up 3-ply polyester sidewall construction. This feature increases impact resistance significantly. That’s the good part of Open Country MT. The bad side of it is weak compound. Soft compound tear-up and worn so easily. This tire is good for relatively small(Jeep, Rubicon) SUVs or light trucks.
On the flipside, Nitto Trail Grappler has 3-ply sidewall construction too. In a word, you don’t have to be afraid of punctures. Trail Grappler’s compound is stiffer than Open Country MT’s. Yet, if you don’t follow the rotation time up, you might not get more than 30,000 miles with these dudes.
Tread Life
I’ve explained most of the things above. Let’s get them over.
Nitto Trail Grappler has a more durable compound than Open Country MT. Well, it has a relatively better tread life. In that case, I would like to separate their tread life due to application.
First of all, although these tires are mud-terrain, I don’t recommend you to use them on heavy-duty loaded applications unless you don’t care about tread life.
For unloaded heavy-duty applications, Nitto Trail Grappler is a better option.
For mild operation, if your vehicle’s weight is less than 3/4 tons you can go either way. If it’s higher, I recommend you to use Nitto Trail Grappler.
Getting maximum wear life from a tire is related to you as well as your tire,
If you’d like to learn how to get maximum tread life:
Road Noise
Road noise is what most customers complain about. Well, noise reduction is not what I’ve expected from mud terrains. Yet, market needs are changing. People want a more aggressive look on their tires. So, they slide all terrains into mud-terrains. Thus, manufacturers are trying to make mud-terrain tires with on-road manners. This change has positive and negative sides. Well, low road noise is a positive side.
Yes, yes, I am talking about Nitto Trail Grappler. This tire is mute compared to other mud terrains. Well, I will keep BFG KM3 out of the equation, it’s exceptional. Trail Grappler has smaller center blocks with narrower void areas. This design is perfect if you wanna reduce noise.
Our second competitor Open Country isn’t that successful in that case. The design is cool. Yet, the angle of the blocks increases its noise dramatically. Well, these blocks will improve the traction in further sections.
Nitto Trail Grappler is the winner in this section.
A side note here: Even though some tires tend to make noise because of their tread patterns, it’s still possible to keep your tire noise down.
I’m leaving a perfect explanation below from DiscountTire for those who need it;
How to Keep Tire Noise Down? –>
https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-noise
Riding Comfort
Riding comfort generally aligns with road noise. Yet, absorption on bumps and vibration should be taken into consideration.
In that case, I think Trail Grappler is one step ahead. Toyo has larger blocks. It’s a wider tire. So, absorption ability is a bit less than its competitor. Moreover, while I was studying these two, I saw a couple of negative comments about vibration. Just for your information.
Most tire sizes begin with modifier letters(P, LT, etc.) that identify the type of vehicle or type of service for which they were designed. Here is a perfect guide for reading tire size –> https://tireterrain.com/how-to-read-tire-size/
Dry Performance
Dry performance is consists of 3 different dimensions. Dry traction, cornering stability, and steering response. Let’s value them one by one.
Dry Traction
Dry traction doesn’t have to be your concern if you are buying mud-terrain tires. Due to their aggressive tread pattern, both fellows have huge traction ability.
Cornering Stability
Open Country MT is one of the weightiest tires in its class. Well, strong internal construction always improves cornering stability. It’s trustworthy.
Trail Grappler is the other heaviest tire in the mud-terrain class. I’m not going to repeat myself, this one is also a very reliable option.
Steering Response
In my point of view, steering response is the crucial part of mud-terrain tires. These are heavy tires, when you fill them with too much air, steering might be challenging.
Luckily, both option has sensitive steering response. These are highly rigid tires and full-depth sipes on large blocks give it an ability to move together under horizontal forces.
Wet Performance
Mud-terrain tires don’t have too many sipes on them. Well, their contact patch is also very limited compared to all-terrains. These two attributions are fundamental to wet performance. Therefore, most mud-terrain tires fail on wet.
Fortunately, Trail Grappler and Open Country MT are decent tires in this case. They have softer compounds than regular mud-terrains. Hence, they have the superior wet capability.
I personally prefer Open Country MT on wet. It has narrower circumferential(kinda) grooves that can evacuate water better than Trail Grappler. Yet, both are reliable options.
Note: Hydroplaning is vital for a safe ride under the pouring rain. However, it might occur even with the best tire. Maybe you can’t prevent it but if you know what it is and how to deal with it, you can easily stay on the safe side.
Here is an extremely efficient guide about ‘How to Deal with Hydroplaning?‘ –> https://www.discounttire.com/learn/hydroplaning
Winter Performance
Deep snow and light snow traction aren’t a problem for mud terrains. Their tread depth is deep enough to grip deep snow. Moreover, Trail Grappler and Open Country MT have massive self-cleaning abilities. So, in that cases, let’s say they are equal.
Where they aren’t that successful are packed snow and ice. They suffer due to a lack of siping. Well, we are going back to the void area. Less void area always works better on compact surfaces.
Trail Grappler and Open Country MT are trustworthy tires in winter. Trail Grappler is the better option. Yet, I recommend not using them on ice.
Off-Road Performance
Off-road performance is where these two are shining. Except for sand…
Trail Grappler has more center block spacing. Well, that means better traction off the road. What I don’t like much about them is the sidewall tread pattern. It seems a bit soft in my opinion.
On the other hand, Open Country MT is a wider tire. So, the contact patch is bigger than Trail Grappler. This feature increases its grip ability. What I like most about them is the sidewall. They are maximumly aggressive and increase the traction on loose surfaces.
In summary, both are pretty trustworthy off-road options. I prefer Open Country MT due to the lovely sidewall design.
Here is the perfect comparison of these two. (BF Goodrich KM3 is included.)
Specs
| Toyo Open Country MT | Nitto Trail Grappler | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mud-Terrain Tire | Mud-Terrain Tire |
| Vehicle | Light Truck, SUV | Light Truck, SUV |
| Available Sizes (Rim) | 15”, 16”, 17”, 18”, 20”, 22”, 24”, 26” | 15”, 16”, 17”, 18”, 20”, 22”, 24” |
| Weight | 57 – 110 lbs | 59 – 111 lbs |
| Made In | White, GA, USA | White, GA, USA |
| Severe Snow Rated (3PMSF) | No (M+S) | No (M+S) |
| Warranty (P-metric) | N/A | N/A |
| Warranty (LT Sizes) | N/A | N/A |
| Prices | Check price section to see best possible prices | Check price section to see best possible prices |
Price
The tire market has a dynamic price policy. Hence, in my point of view, sharing tire price is pointless.
Though, I’ve analyzed the top 10 brands of most popular tire brands.
Here are the dealers with a reasonable price range,
DiscountTire
- Biggest dealer in the US. Founded in 1960
- 1000 stores in 35 states. You most probably find one on your parallel street
- Free rotation and balancing
- 5% off for DiscountTire cardholders on online purchase
- Highest rated online tire dealer in Consumer Affairs
- Almost all brands are available
- Delivery takes 2-4 days (30% shorter average waiting time when you book online)
- Frequent discounts and promotions
Toyo Open Country MT: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/toyo-tire-open-country-m-t
Nitto Trail Grappler MT: https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/nitto-trail-grappler-m-t
TireRack
- Fast and Free shipping
- Usually delivered in 1 day
- Joint venture with DiscountTire(their installers and dealers are on your service)
- Tons of installer options, they also help you to choose the best one
- Mobile installers in many areas, your tires will be replaced while you’re working in the office
- Tire test results and comparisons can be found on the most product page
- 4.6/5 points on Google rate
Toyo Open Country MT: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/toyo-open-country-m-t
Nitto Trail Grappler MT: Not available
SimpleTire
- Free shipping
- Delivered in 2 days
- Verified shops near you(for mount and balance)
- Mobile installation option
- 7 million customers since 2021
- 4.7/5 points on Google rate
- Top-notch customer service, you may even request a price match
Toyo Open Country MT: https://simpletire.com/brands/toyo-tires/open-country-m-t
Nitto Trail Grappler MT: https://simpletire.com/brands/nitto-tires/trail-grappler-m-t
While choosing dealers, I especially pay attention to reliability. All of the dealers on this list have 15-20 years of experience in the online tire business. Therefore, I can guarantee a smooth and fast tire buying process.
Conclusion
Nitto Trail Grappler and Open Country MT are leading the market with the BF Goodrich KM3. They are both trustworthy options. Yet, Trail Grappler has better on-road manners.
| Nitto Trail Grappler MT | Toyo Open County M/T | |
|---|---|---|
| Better for | Smooth and quiet ride for a mud-terrain tire, if you spend time on the highway | Beach driving and hunting |
| Pros | Long-lasting rubber, satisfying wet traction, great winter traction | Long-lasting rubber, wet and snow traction, quick steering response, fuel efficiency |
| Cons | Noisy and stiff ride | Noisy and stiff ride |
| Available on | DiscountTire: Check Price SimpleTire: Check Price Amazon: Check Price | DiscountTire: Check Price TireRack: Check Price SimpleTire: Check Price Amazon: Check Price |
Take-Home Points,
- LT sizes have stronger sidewalls. That feature makes them more durable. Yet, these tires offer a rougher ride. (LT vs P-Metric tires)
- XL sizes tend to carry more load and offer better handling. Hence, if you’ll go with p-metric sizes, they might be a better pick for hauling and towing( XL vs SL tires)
- Please pay attention to the load range and speed index. These metrics are essential if you expect decent tread life
- There isn’t a bad tire in the market right now, you should just know what to expect from tires
A side note here: If you’d like to get local advice and find the best fit for your driving habits, location, and road conditions DiscountTire – Treadwell Tire Guide can give you masterpiece recommendations.
I hope this article will help you to decide. If you have any further questions, please leave them below. Have a safe ride!
Guide Me Bruh!
This section contains my research and top picks. Depending on your need, you may choose a category and easily find the best fit for yourself. Remember, nobody knows your driving conditions and requirements better than yourself. You’re in the charge out here.
Start Here:
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