Toyo OC AT3s E vs SL

Hey guys - shredded the sidewall on one of my stock Tacoma tires on a desert hunting trip. I was already planning on replacing them before this winter anyways so not a big deal.

I'm planning on going with the Toyo Open Country AT3s in 265/75/16. I've seen plenty of threads about them but not much comparing the E to the SLs.

I love the highway performance of the stock Goodyear Wrangler tires but I've had multiple flats in them and do quite a bit of offroad driving on rocky desert and mountain roads. This has me leaning towards an E rated tire in the Toyos. That said, if the Toyo SLs are quite a bit heavier duty than the Goodyear Wrangler SLs, I'm wondering if they'd be tough enough for my uses.

Would you recommend the SLs or the Es for my uses?

Also, thoughts on buying 5 Toyos or buying 4 and keeping my lightly used Wrangler spare as my spare?

 

ATIIIs are great quality and super versatile. Just be advised they are loud on pavement especially in the E load rating.

Duratracs for example are quieter but from my experience aren't as good in rain as the ATIIIs.

I can't speak on sidewall strength of the ATIIIs tho..hopefully others will chime in

 

Thanks for the insight. Right now I'm leaning towards dealing with the pavement noise to have the additional protection & capability offroad that the E offers.

 

I run E's so I dont stress every time I smash into a rock, I bomb along back roads nearly every day.

E's last longer, more tread, thicker, there's a lot of pros to the cons.

 

I would say go with E rated tires if you already blew out a sidewall on one of your current tires.

I have E rated 265/75/16 tires on my truck which is also my DD and I will only buy E rated tires going forward. I haven’t had any issues with the road noise or quality (except for some uneven wear, which has nothing to do with the load rating).

I highly recommend E rated tires.

 

E rated all the way - the stock tires on my truck lasted one week before a rock put itself through the tread of one tire.

 

For your situation, E’s. The only real downside is the weight and the extra stiffness.

 

I runt the SL in a 285/70/17 AT3. Its a great tire, light, easy ro balance, 50k mile warranty and the SLs are super quiet on the highway. I made the switch years ago from BFGs and been on many SL rated Toyos in the AT2s which are awesome until the 3s came out. My family runs them on their Tacomas.

 

If you are going places that lead to punctures in light-duty tires, then getting “E” rated replacement s seems warranted.

We’ve opted for E rated spares in our Tacos; although both are used singles. Again, if you are somewhere that flattened an E, an SL or P might not be suitable to get you home.

 

Thanks, that's about what I've been thinking too. Do you do a 5 tire rotation to rotate the spare in or just leave it below?

 

They have them in C-rated too. A decent in-between. I personally won't go back to an SL-rated tired.

 

I'm on my 2nd set of SL's and didn't have any issues with them offroad.

 

The spares on both trucks are non-identical and on steel wheels, so no 5-tire rotation.
One is the “best” winter tire from a previous set, which matches the new winters and is “close enough “ to the new summers….and the other is a new 235/85/16 winter “E” rated to be a spare for a set of 265/75/16s.