Toyo MT-Snow performance improvement?

[ToyotaJeep]

I have been a typical deep snow wheeler for a long time however I truthfully haven't been out in awhile.

I have a set of 37" Toyos that are getting older, lots of tread. Don't want to sell them, but I would like to maximize their deep snow performance for the next year or so.

I wil be using them on road some, and they are currently untouched.

Well aware that there are better tires out there, but what can be done with these for now at least? I was thinking of running them around with really low air on some dirt roads for an afternoon. Hope to break down the sidewall.

Other ideas other than sell them off and get some Iroks?

I know I am not the only guy who runs these....

[WILLD420]

I think the biggest problem is how hard the rubber is and how thick the sidewalls are on the shoulder of the tread. With that being said, I ran some Bias ply TSL's last year in some pretty deep stuff and as long as it had a bottom layer that you could build on, they did pretty good. The 2 guys I went out with were both running Pro-Comp M/T tires, one on 37's and the other on 40's. It was tit for tat on how they compared.

They were running regular beadlocks around 8 psi and I was running innner-air-locks at 5 psi. My tires were not broken in so there was a lot of wallowing around for the first half of the day but after they loosened up, I was hanging with anywhere they could go.

One thing that I think really helps is having a rounded shoulder on the tire. I think the square edge on a lot of tires tends to make a hard spot in the contact patch and break through where a rounded edge tire like a worn out swamper or an Irok tends to fold around a little better.

Best thing to do would be to do what you are planning. Air down low and go mob them a little. If they start to stink like hot rubber, slow down. You don't want to delaminate the liner out of them.

[ToyotaJeep]

I knew about the load range and sidewall stiffness. What I hadn't thought about was the square profile. There was a tire from the early 80's called a Grand Prix. Looked buff, should have been a wicked tire for deep snow. Absolutely the worst tire ever. Square and stiff as concrete.

I think I'll air them down and run around the neighborhood on dirt and see if I can get a better squat out of them.

Probably should sipe them as well.

[TimCubed]

The Toyos are to dam stiff to be a good snow tire, but you can sipe the hell out of them with a razor knife, may help some on the front and back of the tire, but you need to remove some rubber to get the center of the tire to crown up on the bottom to get the tire to cup and pull the tire vs flat and just slidin' on the snow. my .02

[86chevyjoe]

what size wheel are these 37s?

[RANGERROD]

The best way to improve those is sell them. I’ve never been impressed with those in snow. Especially the 37’s in 15’s

[86chevyjoe]

multiple guys I know run them in snow. 37s on 15" wheel. they all have them on 11-14" wheels and all of them are heavily grooved. look up goatpiss85runner on Instagram, he has awesome luck with them.

run them down the street with as little amount of air as possible (just before the sidewalls starts folding over on itself) until they get nice and warm. then groove them heavily with little #2 and #4 grooves, they will work good

[ROCK HUGGER]

Originally Posted by RANGERROD

The best way to improve those is sell them. I’ve never been impressed with those in snow. Especially the 37’s in 15’s

This ^^^^

I've had several buddies run Toyo and they are a great tire for most things but are horrible in snow. I've always wheeled circles around them and it drives them crazy. I would not ever want to run them in the snow.

[ToyotaJeep]

My tires are on a 15x10. I am moving them to my other vehicle and will likely go to a 12" wheel.

For where I am at right now, I am going to run them after I air them down and break the sidewalls down and go from there. I haven't wheeled with a group in a long time so I will just be holding myself up I guess.

I have actually have three sets of these. They really are the bomb for longevity and good wear etc. But they are not great for snow.

Fortunately, only one set is for wheeling the others are for DD rigs.

[ToyotaJeep]

Oh, and just for fun, how much better are a similar size Irok? Tire for tire? Are we talking twice as good or what?

I may let the moths out of my wallet and buy a set next fall.

[RANGERROD]

Originally Posted by ToyotaJeep

Oh, and just for fun, how much better are a similar size Irok? Tire for tire? Are we talking twice as good or what?

I may let the moths out of my wallet and buy a set next fall.

Check out 38-40” snow tire thread in snow forum. Personally I think an irok is hard to beat in the snow for a dual purpose tire. I run mtrs and they run circles around me.

I think the hypothesis of the square lug breaking through the snow vs the rounded off lug maybe true. Most of the guys I know run a baldish set of iroks in the snow and kick ass.

There are better “snow tires” but I run 50/50 on my truck snow and rocks and I’m thinking of going to an irok.

[TimCubed]

I have these for sale, I had them on 15x10 last winter they have maybe 200 miles on snow and maybe 50 miles on wet asphalt. 39.5x15x15 bias. They were just to much tire for a light flatfender.

[ToyotaJeep]

I think there is some truth to the rounded tread idea. It was pretty common knowledge back in the old days that the 40x17x15 Gumbo's were not as good as the 38x15.5x15 tires. the 40's worked, but not as good. I remember when I put those horrible 40x17 Grand Prix's on thinking I was the cats meow. What a learning experience. I ended up running some new 38's on the front and 50% 38's on the rear due to my college budget. When I dropped the air, there was no comparison. I ran a few more sets of the 38x15x15 tires with good success. Then I kinda quit wheeling as much as I live in feet of snow etc. I would like a set of the 38's. That was a good size tire and worked well in all conditions.

[ToyotaJeep]

Originally Posted by TimCubed

I have these for sale, I had them on 15x10 last winter they have maybe 200 miles on snow and maybe 50 miles on wet asphalt. 39.5x15x15 bias. They were just to much tire for a light flatfender.

You can PM me a price if you want. Probably not the best size for me, but I'd take a look I suppose.

[TimCubed]

PM on the way, I bought a grooving tool and did a little grooving just on the center lugs as recommended on this snow forum, which helped. There is zero wear on there tires.

[86chevyjoe]

Originally Posted by ToyotaJeep

Oh, and just for fun, how much better are a similar size Irok? Tire for tire? Are we talking twice as good or what?

I may let the moths out of my wallet and buy a set next fall.

the only similar size irok is bias and way shorter than the toyo. if I still had a start i'd post up some pics of guys wheeling toyos. like I said, check out goatpiss85runner on instagram

[ToyotaJeep]

I will look into that. I don't have instagram. At this point I'm going to run them and start with just pulling the cores and driving around the neighborhood at a slow pace and go from there. I have never grooved tires before but I suspect that they'd work better. I do some road driving though so that is a concern.

[53HHwillys]

I run a 37 Toyon on my Willy’s and love them in the snow. Check out rcjeepers on youtube. I tow a trailer on most of my snow trips and do just fine

[MTblazer87]

I ran 35" toyos on 15x10 rims and they did okay on my K5. They probably needed siping and more break in time. I switched to 36" Iroks which was a world of difference in snow and even in Moab on the same 15x10 rims. overall I was happier with the Iroks but I have seen a few Toyota sized rigs do alot better on the Toyos than I did.

[HighbrowHillbilly]

Originally Posted by RANGERROD

The best way to improve those is sell them. I’ve never been impressed with those in snow. Especially the 37’s in 15’s

This may be a little harsh, but I basically agree. Not a great snow tire at all.

Originally Posted by ToyotaJeep

I have been a typical deep snow wheeler for a long time however I truthfully haven't been out in awhile.

I have a set of 37" Toyos that are getting older, lots of tread. Don't want to sell them, but I would like to maximize their deep snow performance for the next year or so.

I wil be using them on road some, and they are currently untouched.

Well aware that there are better tires out there, but what can be done with these for now at least? I was thinking of running them around with really low air on some dirt roads for an afternoon. Hope to break down the sidewall.

Other ideas other than sell them off and get some Iroks?

I know I am not the only guy who runs these....

[wahlstrom1]

I did this with the worn ones on my 3/4 ton daily driver. Made a world of difference for hard pack snow and mildly icey conditions. Probably not so much for deep loose snow, but it was better then before regardless.

[Valley Rock]

Originally Posted by ToyotaJeep

I am going to run them after I air them down and break the sidewalls down and go from there.

Good luck with that, are those E or D rated ?

E rated Toyo sidewalls don't really break down, the casings are crazy thick, you could remove the valve core on a yota or something light and drive all day and I doubt it would hurt them, just groove them like that last dude did, or have them siped if they are worn down AND groove em, or get IROKs or chains !

But since this was 4 moths ago, you probably have already chartered a course, maybe report back with your findings ?

[ToyotaJeep]

We have been getting hammered with snow at my house. I had to use my 4x4 rig to pull out my DD truck. I haven't had a chance to air them out yet as I have been doing other stuff.

I will probably do the airing out by the weekend hopefully.

I agree that they are hard as rocks. I really like them on road, and they are fine for powering around in a foot etc. But I don't think they are great snow crawler tires.

The tires are getting old now, so now is the time to groove them.

I will attempt to be a little more timely in my update.