There’s an old motor racing adage that says ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’. Henry Ford coined it at the beginning of last century and it’s the reason he took the Blue Oval racing on America’s speedways.
There’s another adage that says motor racing improves the breed and it’s fair to say that nowhere is that a truer statement than in the tyre industry.
Every time our Team Toyo members turn a wheel in competition we’re learning something about our tyres – and that goes straight into the technology in our customer products.
So as Australia kicks off this year’s off road racing season, and Toyo prepares for its most competitive season yet, it’s only right that we should take this opportunity to launch our new SUV tyre – Open Country A/T II.
There’s never been more demand for SUV tyres. The SUV market is booming. But it’s also diverse. There are 4WD enthusiasts out there who crave pure performance and there are mums in ‘Toorak Tractors’ who just want to be safe. And everyone is looking for value.
How to put it all together in one tyre?
We reckon what we call OPAT II (for Open Country A/T II) has the goods.
For a start, just like in motor sport, we’ve developed a new compound that combines smaller carbon particles with a new (patented) anti wear polymer. The two form a stronger bond, improving wear resistance.
In Japanese testing, Open Country A/T II was found to produce a remarkable 20 per cent more mileage than the current OPAT tyre, and the current tyre has already earned a good reputation for performance.
The tread pattern is notably tougher and more aggressive – but for the Toorak Tractor drivers, ride comfort is maintained. That’s a true feat. If anything the new tyre is a little more skewed to off road use but not at the cost of on-road performance. Two layers of joint-less spiral cap ply improve product uniformity and make OPAT II more puncture-resistant under severe conditions.
Now, where did we learn that?
Dakar.
This year our brave Toyo Team attempted, but ultimately failed, to live up to another motor racing adage: to finish first, first you have to finish. They had a shocker in the 2014 Dakar, breaking down and catching fire. But what BJ Baldwin, Guerlain Chicherit and the all-American racer Robby Gordon did achieve was something of an all-time record: they completed the Dakar without a single puncture – not once! While others were having flats, sometimes three and four times per stage, our guys breezed through the very worst of conditions with their Toyo Open Country M/T-Rs – the racing version of our Open Country M/Ts.
Did we trust that?
Yes and no.
We undertook our own testing in Australia using Isuzu D-Max utes from our new performance driving team.
Our own objective testing of new OPAT revealed better wet handling and braking and most importantly class-leading in dry braking, handling and stability. That’s given us a lot of confidence because sometimes what works in other countries doesn’t translate to rugged Australia.
Here we’ve got gibber rocks as big as Mike Tyson’s fist and endless kilometres of serious off-road – not just for recreation, in many cases they’re our “highways” between major centres. So OPAT II has thicker rubber on its upper sidewalls to improve bruise resistance, and wide grooves for better mud traction and stone ejection.
And by the way, Team D-MAX will be using OPAT II straight from the shelf throughout its performance driving campaign at country shows and exhibits right around the country. Now that is confidence.
When you’re on two wheels, and on the ragged edge of performance, case strength is a must-have.
Toyo Open Country A/T II is available in no less than 31 sizes, with most in a light truck construction as well. We’re going to be taking it to off road race meetings and field days around Australia – just to show it off. Roll on the Finke.
