Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T vs Toyo Open Country A/T III: The last time we looked into the all terrain segment, we show how Goodyear’s Wrangler AT Adventure showed clear competency in off-road & dry performances over the highly popular BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO. We would like to take this chance to introduce another classic premium brand in the form of Mickey Thompson. They have been producing premium off-road tires since 1963 and have been a well known household name in America. On the other side we have Toyo with its Open Country A/T III which was launched in 2020. Mickey Thompson’s Baja Boss A/T was also launched in 2021 covering the all terrain segment. Without further ado, let’s bring these 2 tires head to head and see who comes out on top!
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from Tire Rack’s Testing On/-Off-Road All-Terrain Tires 2022 test. A total of 3 tires were tested on Tire Rack’s proving ground. The graph below shows the comparison between Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T vs Toyo Open Country A/T III based on the relevant performance category. The Baja Boss A/T was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.
As both tires are classified as an all season tire, Tire Rack will include snow & ice in its testing portfolio. A detailed testing on snow including acceleration, braking & handling will be available after the 2022/23 winter season. The tire size of interest is a 265/60R18 which is a common tire size for Toyota Hilux 1500 & Ford Ranger. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle is a powerful 2022 Ford Explorer ST.
Wet
The friction of coefficient of the tire/road dramatically decreases in wet roads compared to dry roads. Hence it is more likely to get into a road accident during wet conditions rather than on a sunny day. It was so important that the EU label has wet braking as one of its three criteria. In regards to wet braking, Baja Boss A/T managed to out brake Open Country A/T III by 1.5 feet (0.46m).
With the advantage gained in wet braking, Baja Boss A/T did not manage to dominate in wet handling as Open Country A/T III had a 0.42 seconds in lap time advantage. For the subjective wet handling rating, Open Country A/T III fared only a tiny margin better with a subjective score of 6.03/10 compared to 5.83/10 of Baja Boss A/T. Below is some of the feedback from the test driver.
Baja Boss A/T:
Conversely, the Baja Boss A/T understeered almost exclusively. Similar to the Toyo, the steering was responsive for the first small amount of a turn-in, but it quickly saturated and dissolved into front-end push. While this trait would be safe and stable on the road, it was frustrating for our drivers.
Test driver feedback on Baja Boss A/T
Open Country A/T III:
Around the track, the front end was initially responsive, but if the driver tried to ask too much, it would quickly wash out and lead to understeer. When driven within its limits, however, the highly responsive steering allowed for quick changes of direction. Surprisingly, the handling balance leaned strongly to oversteer, particularly under power, which required a lot of driver concentration and quick counter steer to keep the rear end of the vehicle in check.
Test driver feedback on Open Country A/T III
Open Country A/T III:
- -1% in wet braking
- +1% in wet handling (subj)
- +1.1%in wet handling (lap time)
Dry
As for dry, safety is usually not an issue as the braking distance is much longer than wet. However this is the default daily usage and the tires have to perform at a very consistent level. Baja Boss A/T managed to brake 2.9 feet (0.9m) earlier compared to Open Country A/T III from a speed of 50mph (80km/h) down to 0.
While in dry handling, Open Country A/T III managed to edge in front of Baja Boss A/T by being 0.07 seconds quicker in lap time and also having a higher subjective rating of 6.5/10 vs 6.16/10 against Baja Boss A/T.
Open Country A/T III:
- -3.2% in dry braking
- +1.7% in dry handling (subj)
- +0.2% in dry handling (lap time)
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality
Ride comfort, noise & comfort was tested and Open Country A/T III came out only slightly ahead at 6.75/10 rating compared to the 6.5/10 rating of Baja Boss A/T with steering and road handling & noise being the main differences.
Open Country A/T III:
- +1.3% in average of Noise, Comfort & Ride Quality
Snow & Ice
In regards to winter performances, as both tires have the elusive 3 peak mountain labeled, we expect a competitive testing in winter performances. The results are expected to be out by early 2023. Stay tuned !
UTQG rating
We have previously shown that UTQG tread wear rating can be a good indication of your expected mileage. Below are the UTQG values of both of the tirelines.
| Brand | Tireline | Size | Tread Wear | Traction | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Thompson | Baja Boss A/T | All | 600 | A | B |
| Toyo | Open Country A/T III | All | 600 | A | B |
The mileage warranty for both Baja Boss A/T & Open Country A/T III is at 60,000 miles. They both even have the same UTQG value for tread wear, traction & temperature. Taking into consideration the mileage warranty offered and also the UTQG tread wear values, it can be expected that both tires have the same mileage performance.
For more in depth information about UTQG, please check out this article here. We even have a free download on the latest UTQG values from the leading tire manufacturers.
Price
Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T being the premium manufacturer in the niche off-road segment was found to cost 16 dollars more than Open Country A/T III for the size 265/60R18 for a black sidewall option.
Tire size: 265/60R18
Baja Boss A/T: $293
Open Country A/T III: $277
Difference: -6% more cheaper for Open Country A/T III.
Summary
Overall, Baja Boss A/T was better in dry & wet braking while Open Country A/T III excels in wet/dry handling & noise. Both tires were equally matched in our opinion and we will rely on the winter performances to determine the winner. Stay tuned for the 2022/23 winter season results by end of the year !