To drive confidently on and off the road, you will need confident tires like Nexen Roadian MTX Vs Toyo Open Country MT. These tires are highly rated for balancing the drive on city roads and gravels and unpaved ways. They are not identical, however, because there are some noticeable differences. If you need to buy a better set of tires, let’s see what they offer here.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- What is Mud Tires Good for
- What are Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT
- What are the Features of Nexen Roadian MTX
- What are the Features of Toyo Open Country MT
- How is the Off-Road Performance of Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT
- How is the Snow Performance of Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT
- How are the On-Road Performance of Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT
- Nexen Roadian MTX Vs Toyo Open Country MT
Mud Tires
Tires are the extension of your vehicle because while your engine brings power, this power must go through the wheels to move. Choosing the best tire is vital to make sure we can drive with confidence. A good set of tires will pull you through daily driving applications and sleek mud while adventuring. Not every tire can do best on both worlds, but we can choose from many. If you are here, we assume an MT tire will be the best decision.
Mud tires are designed specifically to deal with the loose dirt and sticky surface where traction is tough to create with other tire types. What are mud tires good for? As the name suggests, they are best for off-road driving applications such as mud, sand, loose soils, or jagged rocks. On the contrary, they are not ideal for your daily driving unless you live somewhere with this type of terrain everywhere. Mud tires are rather specific in terms of application.
Are mud tires the same as winter tires? While they are similarly specific in application, they are entirely different beasts. You may notice how mud tires have deep channels for continuous grip on the ground and gripping into sticky mud. This feature can be an issue for snow tires because the snow will pack into those spaces instead. When this happens, imagine driving a slippery, sticky tire, which means there is very little to no traction to make it a reliable drive on snow.
About Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT
The character of mud terrain is specific for off-road driving, and this is why they are often installed on your jeep or off-road vehicles, while for daily application, an all-season or all-terrain tires such as Nexen Roadian Vs Goodyear Wrangler will be more suitable. But, if you have a dedicated vehicle for adventuring and you meet lots of loose soils out there, a set of MT tires will be the best choice. There are plenty of good mud tires in the market, and they come at varying prices too.
If you are often running into muds out there, some of the best choices are Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT, which are surprisingly very similar. The most exciting part is they look almost like a version of each other. The center rib and shoulders design are nearly identical if you see the tires. They come with an interlocking design to create traction. Performance-wise, many are satisfied with how these tires work on mud and typical loose soil.
The Roadian MTX is a good option for drivers looking to buy an aftermarket mud tire for their jeep or full-size trucks that often carry a heavy load or haul. This tire comes up to an F rating for this purpose, and you can use them with lower pressure too. On the other hand, the Open Country MT seems to focus on comfort, which is quite different from what MT tires usually are meant for. This tire is ideal for heavy load application and off-road enthusiasts.
Off-road is where the Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT shine the most, and it is not surprising. We are more enthusiastic knowing that these tires feel good on the road despite not being as comfy as the AT variants. We think these tires are on par with each other on and off the road. The grip on the loose surface is good to let you go through almost any challenging terrain. Another surprise is that driving them on snow turns out to be not bad at all.
Nexen Roadian MTX Features
Before checking what these tires are capable of, let’s check how they can achieve performance, starting with Nexen Roadian MTX or Mud Tire Extreme. The tire looks pretty aggressive and boasts a dual sidewall design to change the look according to your taste. It comes with a load rating up to F-load with a 3-ply design and 80 psi tire pressure, making the tire very capable for heavy application or hauling. The tread block is also tweaked to cause minimum noise on the road.
Toyo Open Country MT Features
The older tire Toyo Open Country MT is very familiar and shares many similarities to the Roadian MTX. As you can notice, the interlocking/hook-shaped rib is only slightly different in shape from the other tire. It also has scalloped shoulder blocks, improving off-road traction while increasing the grip on loose soil like mud and sand. The larger channels between blocks are useful for removing mud and snow from your tire and gaining enough traction to continue the journey.
This Open Country MT is made with polyester construction for high durability, impact resistance, and handling like most tires. It is looking decently aggressive to us and will be a great pairing to your truck or jeep. The blocks have siping, which follows the overall shape of the block like in the Roadian MTX to make the tire more flexible while maintaining the wet traction on the road. In addition, this tire brings its tread pattern over the shoulder to the upper sidewall for deep mud and snow traction.
Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT for Off-Road
Now for the performance, let’s start with the off-road because Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT are mud tires. Most people will probably bring them to adventure on loose soil, and we found the two to be very reliable. The large blocks and channels probably make the tires get good traction on the mud. Climbing slippery mud is still a challenge, but they can handle most of them with coordinated steering and lower pressure.
Adjusting the pressure can get the tires to float well on sand, and this is not for a flat surface but also can bring your vehicle to climb at a higher elevation. There are no issues for gravel and rock because these terrains are not as demanding but can be taxing to the compound. For the typical gravel, the driver should be able to play around quite further with the throttle to challenge these tires because they perform best in this area.
Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT for Snow
Next, we want to try the Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT on snow because an MT tire is usually not as reliable for this soft surface. We are happy to say these two are fun to drive on snow. The tire lugs do pack some snow, but they will not stay there while driving around. Surprisingly, the tires can maintain the grip and let you go through the season without worry.
Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT on the Road
Sometimes you may have to use the vehicle to drive inside the town on a regular road. It is not an issue for these two, and surprisingly, they don’t produce too much noise. A constant hum is expected, but it is nothing unusual, and chances are we don’t pay attention to them amidst the engine noise and traffic. In comparison, this Roadian is probably slightly quieter than Toyo, but the difference is negligible.
As for the traction, the dry and wet road is never an issue. The comfort is just decent, however, because mud tires won’t feel as great as an all-season. They are a bit heavy to steer and don’t perform as smooth even on flat pavement compared to typical road tires. Driving on rainy days is good, not excellent, but drivers should safely navigate their vehicles. These Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT are good for overall road comfort but not ideal for daily driving.
Nexen Roadian MTX Vs Toyo Open Country MT
Both tires are reliable and versatile options for the adventure. Nexen Roadian MTX and Toyo Open Country MT are capable on almost any off-road terrain, whether it is hard-packed gravel, rocks, slick mud, and even sand. They are best for typical gravels and other hard-packed surfaces, but they do not back off on the mud and loose soil. We think they behave in a very similar manner, probably because the design is almost identical.
These tires are good for winter driving; it is almost like driving on typical loose sand but at a much lower temperature. We are unsure about ice, but it is safer to avoid driving on ice without a proper winter tire. The road performance is decent. They are a bit heavy and produce some noise.
| Nexen Roadian MTX | Toyo Open Country MT |
|---|---|
| - Quieter on road | - Not as quiet on the road |
| - More affordable | - Often the pricier option |
| - Fewer sizes available | - Sizes available from 15-26 inches |
Conclusion
These tires are equally reliable options and versatile for off-road applications. They are best on hard-packed surfaces but very good at gripping loose soil as well. The snow and dry traction and confidence, but we recommend Nexen tires because they tend to be more affordable.
