Toyo M-55

rusty_tlc

Explorer
I looked at the Toyo M-55's today. They look like a good compromise between road and trail. (The application would be my 100, the 40 gets TSL Swampers.)
Any thoughts?

Why yes, yes this is a cross post. :)
 

spressomon

Expedition Leader
rusty_tlc said:
I looked at the Toyo M-55's today. They look like a good compromise between road and trail. (The application would be my 100, the 40 gets TSL Swampers.)
Any thoughts?

Why yes, yes this is a cross post. :)


Either that or deja vu :wings:
 

locrwln

Expedition Leader
What size?

While I'm not sure about the 55's my toyo open country at's sucked at one thing. I had 265/75R16E's on my F350, they did great in the snow, mud and highway. The thing they sucked at...mileage. I got 23k miles out of my set. That's absurd in today's day and age for a modern tire. Air pressures always spot on, rotated and balanced. Never hot-rodded, just didn't last. So my opinion of Toyo's isn't that great for the price you pay.

Just had some LTX AT2's put on at Costco, drives much better.

Jack
 

rusty_tlc

Explorer
locrwln said:
What size?

While I'm not sure about the 55's my toyo open country at's sucked at one thing. I had 265/75R16E's on my F350, they did great in the snow, mud and highway. The thing they sucked at...mileage. I got 23k miles out of my set. That's absurd in today's day and age for a modern tire. Air pressures always spot on, rotated and balanced. Never hot-rodded, just didn't last. So my opinion of Toyo's isn't that great for the price you pay.

Just had some LTX AT2's put on at Costco, drives much better.

Jack
I was thinking 385/75 R16.

The m-55 is supposed to get great milage, what the salesman pointed out to me was the riased center section, essentialy you have a straight highway tire at %50 of tread life.

The LTX AT 2 looks like a nice tire. What size did you go with?

My only ********** with Micheliens is they want to pick every screw and nail on the road. The 100 just developed a slow leak in the PS front. Our Mercury, on Micheliens, is forever getting slow leaks from screws and nails. Could be just my bad luck.
 

locrwln

Expedition Leader
rusty_tlc said:
I was thinking 385/75 R16.

The m-55 is supposed to get great milage, what the salesman pointed out to me was the riased center section, essentialy you have a straight highway tire at %50 of tread life.

The LTX AT 2 looks like a nice tire. What size did you go with?

My only ********** with Micheliens is they want to pick every screw and nail on the road. The 100 just developed a slow leak in the PS front. Our Mercury, on Micheliens, is forever getting slow leaks from screws and nails. Could be just my bad luck.

I hope you mean 285/75r16:shakin:

I put the stock size back on, 265's.

I don't have but a few miles on the Michelins, so not sure how they will do for nails/screws, I really hope not.

I have heard good things about the 55's, but the AT's were very disappointing.

Jack
 

rusty_tlc

Explorer
locrwln said:
I hope you mean 285/75r16:shakin:

I put the stock size back on, 265's.

I don't have but a few miles on the Michelins, so not sure how they will do for nails/screws, I really hope not.

I have heard good things about the 55's, but the AT's were very disappointing.

Jack
Details details. :)

Maybe the nail thing is just down here where the new construction is.

When are the goodies going on? Let me know if you want a hand, or if I can Kabitz. I could probably learn something from you before I tear into the suspension on our 100.
 

locrwln

Expedition Leader
rusty_tlc said:
Details details. :)

Maybe the nail thing is just down here where the new construction is.

When are the goodies going on? Let me know if you want a hand, or if I can Kabitz. I could probably learn something from you before I tear into the suspension on our 100.

I appreciate the offer on the help, I will let you know.

Good luck on your tire search, for me it is one of the most stressfull purchases, because to borrow a phrase, so much is riding on that decision. Price, size, tread pattern, local or internet order, mounting and balancing, etc...

Jack
 

rusty_tlc

Explorer
locrwln said:
I appreciate the offer on the help, I will let you know.

Good luck on your tire search, for me it is one of the most stressfull purchases, because to borrow a phrase, so much is riding on that decision. Price, size, tread pattern, local or internet order, mounting and balancing, etc...

Jack
So far as I can tell the worst problem with the M-55 is that it wears forever, and if you don't like it you are stuck with it for a while. I'm about to say screw it and go with the Toyo MT's.
 

Redline

Likes to Drive and Ride
Probably more than you wanted to know...

Rusty TLC:

I assume you are looking to buy these at one of our local Les Schwab Tire centers? I really like Les Schwab as a company and get great service from most of their stores. Partially because of their business plan and also because of the 'Frequent Tire Miles' I accumulate by buying, selling, & trading lots of tires :) In general I'm a fan of Toyo tires having bought 4 sets recently: two Open Country M/T (265/75 & 285/75R16), one set of M55s, and a set of Open Country A/T also in 265/75R16, but the Toyo M/T is the tread that really has my respect.

The M55 is a commercial traction tire, not very aggressive/not very mild at the same time (or at least I think that was the intent of the designers). I could look in my notes and give you the tire's weight as well as that of the other tires I have tested, but it is a relatively heavy tire (not necessarily bad). It has a chip resistant tread compound and is popular with mining and logging type operations where the tires are worked hard, loaded heavy and abused (as relayed by my Les Schwab Boys). This seemed like a good endorsement along with the one old review I found on the internet.

I purchased a set of these about two years ago in my favorite size, 255/85R16 for my portly '96 F350 Diesel. My M55 purchase was toward the beginning of my tire buying frenzy during which I have bought and tested about seven sets of treads on three different vehicles over the last few years. I could email the text from the M55 article I wrote, but my abridged and updated comments here may more helpful.

The M55s started on my F350, and later were on my '05 Jeep LJ. I had them for about 5,000-miles before I traded them for some back-hoe work, but I had them long enough to form some strong opinions about them. My neighbor has them on his 2003 F350 Power Stroke and he likes them much better than the BFG A/T 315s he has on 10-in. aftermarket wheels.

Noise:

It was not as noticeable on my loud, old F350 but the M55 is pretty loud, which was much more noticeable on the Jeep. The tone is like a over-the-road semi-truck tire singing when on the freeway, though not as loud. I have had more aggressive tires that have similar volume but with a different, more pleasing tome to my ear (Toyo M/T).

Balance:

Of the four sets of Toyos I have recently run the M55s took the most weight to balance and were the least smooth going down the road. Again the two sets of Toyo M/Ts beat the M55s, requiring less weight and riding smoother, truer down the road. Of course this could have just been the set that I had and the ones you buy could be much better... I know its not my wheels.

Wear?:

I didn't run them long enough to learn how well they will last but a bet at least average, 35k+ or much more, depending on the load, driver, etc. Lots of people love the M55 because it is reported to last a very long time.

Traction:

They were good in on-road snow and dry/wet pavement and dirt. I never had them in anything too challenging but as you can see from their void ratio they will certainly fill up with junk should they be subjected to lots of slimy wet stuff.

Would I Buy Again? Probably Not...

I really wanted to love the M55, but my experiences showed me it was not as well rounded a tire as I would have liked, nor did it balance or run down the road to my satisfaction. Have you noticed the the center tread ribs have much less tread depth because because of the added rubber linking the blocks together? Obviously this is for strength and durability for the designed commercial applications but I'm not sure it is best for most recreational users.

Other options:

I assume you don't want or need a super traction tire or you would be looking at a different tire. I recently bought a set of Maxxis Bravo MA-761 all-terrains as my 'street' tire for my 4Runner in 255/85. I really like them so far. They are less aggressive than the M55, but all the 8-ply and 10-ply sizes of the Bravo 761 have a three ply sidewall. These are heavy, stout tires. I put these new Maxxis' on my F350 last month for a week of abuse and testing antelope hunting: heavy travel trailer towing, then fast dirt/gravel roads, slow rocky roads (with 30-psi front, 20-psi rear), and a 200-mile 80+ MPH freeway round-trip with no load (but tire PSI up). These are also apparently chip-resistant as we incurred only a few tread divots in 274-miles off-road miles. A afternoon trip in my buddies new Dodge/Cummins with new Toyo M/Ts and me driving over the same trails with the same tire psi also resulted in a few tire chips in his Toyos. These Bravo A/Ts are now at home on my 4Runner and I will have sipes cut into them before winter. I plan to put a lot of miles on these.

I really like the Toyo M/T and would strongly suggest you consider a set if you want a traction tire, even over the M55. I think they offer better ride, balance, and traction with few if any compromises compared to the M55. They are more civilized and quieter than a BFG M/T and about the same volume as the M55. The two sets I've owned have always balanced very well with little wheel weight and I've had them on a few different vehicles and wheels. I sold my 285 Toyo M/Ts to the guy that bought my Jeep but I still have the 265/75R16 set, and they are currently on my F350 with no wheel weight added, as my Centramatic balancers are more than up to the task of keeping these balanced. The only possible negative I have found with the Toyo M/T is that since they are so stout, they have a stiff sidewall and can ride a little firm depending on your ride preferences (meaning they are an E-load-range tire, and the sidewalls are stiffer than the average E-range tire). I tend to prefer a softer ride and more flexible sidewall but I also don't over-inflate my tires, only inflating to the required psi for the load at the time. The tough sidewalls seem to help keep the beads seated, I have had my Toyo MTs down to 8-9 PSI without bead-locks (they actually need to be at much lower pressure than other tires because they are so stiff).


Redline
 
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rusty_tlc

Explorer
Thanks Redline, good feed back.

I've also been looking at the MT's, spressomon is running them on his 100 and they seem to work well for him. I was hoping the M55's would be quiter on the highway than the MT's, evidently that is not the case.
 

spressomon

Expedition Leader
rusty_tlc said:
Thanks Redline, good feed back.

I've also been looking at the MT's, spressomon is running them on his 100 and they seem to work well for him. I was hoping the M55's would be quiter on the highway than the MT's, evidently that is not the case.


The only real complaint I have about my GY MT/Rs is the balancing act. They are tricky to get balanced just right and generally require quite a bit more weight than Toyo's. And I have chunked a couple blocks out of the tread...making the balancing act a little more complicated. I run Dyna beads which do help...

The problem with Toyo M/T's is the tread goes all the way to the edge of the casing...315's would barely fit my rig and leave no option for recovery chains; and they're damn heavy; it's always a trade-off: Lighter weight vs. additional puncture resistance: Why can't we have both damn it...like Kevlar vests?!

Now having said that Brian at Totally Off-Road has a real nice looking tire (damn if I can remember the name of them) he started selling a while ago...M/T, tread does go to the edge of the sidewall though, 10-ply sidewall rating (super thick sidewalls like the Toyo M/T's) very good tread pattern, siping. He said they require little if any weights and he likes them better in snow, ice and mud than the Toyo, he said they don't chunk like MT/R's...food for thought.

Oh...I remembered: They're Pro Comps...http://www.procomptires.com/xtremeallterrain.html
 

Redline

Likes to Drive and Ride
spressomon:

When Rusty TLC said MT I thought he meant the Toyo MT not the Goodyear MT/R. I had MT/Rs on my Rubicon when it was new (in 245/75R16), didn't care for how loud they were, and they were stiff because of their short sidewalls and construction on that light rig. If I'm going to have a tire that loud I would prefer to have the Maxxis Bighorn MTs that I have now, about the same volume (loud). In a quieter tire, I like the Toyo MT. Heavy for sure but tough, and the apparent quality of manufacture with consistently few ounces needed to balance has made me a fan. Size availability is sometimes an issue with some of these specialty tires, depending on what a guy wants. If Toyo was to make their MT in a 255/85R16 D-load-range, I would but a set tomorrow, maybe two sets! I think my wallet is safe because I don't think that size will be produced (I would love to be wrong).

Though heavy, for the amount of traction and wear potential in a street-able tire, with moderate to low noise levels for a tough traction tire, I really like the Toyo MT. I say this even though it is not my current favorite. I still have a set of small 265/75R16 Toyo MTs that have found a (temporary) home on my F350, but I'm currently playing around with Maxxis Bighorns as my off-road tire on the 4Runner. These are also available at Les Schwab, take little weight to balance, but they are loud. But because I'm running two sets of wheels and ATs for everyday, the Bighorn noise is not an issue.

spressomon said:
The only real complaint I have about my GY MT/Rs is the balancing act. They are tricky to get balanced just right and generally require quite a bit more weight than Toyo's. And I have chunked a couple blocks out of the tread...making the balancing act a little more complicated. I run Dyna beads which do help...

The problem with Toyo M/T's is the tread goes all the way to the edge of the casing...315's would barely fit my rig and leave no option for recovery chains; and they're damn heavy; it's always a trade-off: Lighter weight vs. additional puncture resistance: Why can't we have both damn it...like Kevlar vests?!

Now having said that Brian at Totally Off-Road has a real nice looking tire (damn if I can remember the name of them) he started selling a while ago...M/T, tread does go to the edge of the sidewall though, 10-ply sidewall rating (super thick sidewalls like the Toyo M/T's) very good tread pattern, siping. He said they require little if any weights and he likes them better in snow, ice and mud than the Toyo, he said they don't chunk like MT/R's...food for thought.

Oh...I remembered: They're Pro Comps...http://www.procomptires.com/xtremeallterrain.html
 

locrwln

Expedition Leader
spressomon said:
The only real complaint I have about my GY MT/Rs is the balancing act. They are tricky to get balanced just right and generally require quite a bit more weight than Toyo's. And I have chunked a couple blocks out of the tread...making the balancing act a little more complicated. I run Dyna beads which do help...



Now having said that Brian at Totally Off-Road has a real nice looking tire (damn if I can remember the name of them) he started selling a while ago...M/T, tread does go to the edge of the sidewall though, 10-ply sidewall rating (super thick sidewalls like the Toyo M/T's) very good tread pattern, siping. He said they require little if any weights and he likes them better in snow, ice and mud than the Toyo, he said they don't chunk like MT/R's...food for thought.

Oh...I remembered: They're Pro Comps...http://www.procomptires.com/xtremeallterrain.html

I had the same complaint about my MTR's, for a relatively small tire (35" in todays world and by a big company), they were not round.

I was looking at the Procomps, but holy crap they are heavy 60 something pounds for the 315's. I hate tires...

Jack
 

spressomon

Expedition Leader
locrwln said:
I had the same complaint about my MTR's, for a relatively small tire (35" in todays world and by a big company), they were not round.

I was looking at the Procomps, but holy crap they are heavy 60 something pounds for the 315's. I hate tires...

Jack


Yeah...but those thick, tough sidewalls are just the shnit for Nevada backroads ;-). I think the Toyo M/T's are over 70lbs each in 315. I might try the PC's next time around...I forgot to ask him about road hazard...Tim Buxton gave me a great deal on my MT/R's...and included road hazard for free! Plus Tim bought, last year, a high end Euro balancing machine that did a better job than the Road Force machine at Schwab and Big O.
 

brownbear

New member
sorry I never read the whole thread :)

But I have experience with toyo M55's on work trucks.

They get used on heavy gravel use, high speed, drifting type driving in northern conditions.

They last and are tough. Worth it IMOP.

Might be a little loud. But not mudder loud.

I've seen them on F350's and 3500 dodges. Even Suburbans.

They are the kind of commercial grade tire you can rely on. Good for expeditions.

I would pick the most common size they sell though. Even if it is a compromise for you.

I run 235/85r16. which is garranteed to find spares in difficult places.
 

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