Best Tires for the Toyota Tundra 2021

Phenomenal traction EVERYWHERE. Best all around tire I've had on any of my trucks or SUV's. But I wouldn't recommend them.. For an All Terrain tire, its also the best I've driven on in the snow, leaning on it's snow-covered roots I suppose. On dry and wet roads, it handles exceptionally well with good steering and road feedback. Road manners may even be considered excellent. They make a little noise - as AT tires do - but it is a broad spectrum noise rather than a hum or buzz that is barely perceptible at around 40 mph, but doesn't grow exponentially louder with an increase in speed; instead, it almost declines around 70 mph where engine and wind noise take over. The ride isn't soft, nor firm - but right where you'd expect it to be and provides enough comfort for heavy loads and/or daily driving. They handle heavy loads well, but not as well as say, Cooper AT3 LT tires that are designed to haul and tow, with a little more squish and roll around corners when loaded. Steering is on the responsive side of neutral that allows for more precise steering making twisty mountain roads downright fun with the right suspension setup (as much as an AT tire can provide and a good set of shocks can provide on a pickup, anyways). They also handle mud and dirt MUCH better than other AT tires that I've run - much more than I would expect - digging for traction where I expect them to gum up and tap out. They do like to pick up gravel stones and toss them once you reach highway speeds, but, again, most AT tires do that. They are wearing a little faster than I'd expect, but not horribly so, and are usually a bit out of balance by 4,000 miles before I have them balanced and rotated at 5,000 miles.

So why on Earth wouldn't I recommend them to everybody? Why am I writing and End of Life review at only 17,000 miles and not a Mid-Life Review? Simply put - the include Road Hazard Warranty is useless. I picked up a nail in the sidewall that is obviously not repairable; Nokians Road Hazard warranty should cover the tire (and it would according to tire shop...) BUT... Nokian is not currently producing the tire in my size LT275/65R18 and is backordered for the foreseeable future. Whether I have to purchase a new tire or it's covered under their warranty doesn't matter since I cannot acquire the tire either way. So I have three good tires and one that cannot be repaired or driven on. Last I checked, my truck needed four tires to run down the road so I'm forced to purchase an entirely new set of tires. I depend on the vehicle to get me out the door in the morning and back home at night, sometimes logging hundreds of miles in a day with gear in the bed and a trailer in tow, no matter the road conditions. Nokian can't even get me back on the road with a very popular and regular tire size. Thus, I wouldn't recommend the tire to anybody. Unfortunately for me, I run the same size tire in a P-rating on my Sequoia and am hoping I don't happen upon any other road hazards with that vehicle or I might be out two sets of tires.

Ok in the summer as a highway tire. Worst tire I've had for rain and snow. I only use them in the summer to save the wear on my good tires. I swap them out as soon as I see any weather coming.

This is an H rated tire which is fairy unusual for this particular size, especially in an AT configuration. Even more unusual is that this tire has A ratings for both traction and temperature. Something that Michelin or Bridgestone...doesn't appear to have in either their AS or AT configurations.

Needles to say, Nokian's specs on the Outpost nAT peaked my interests. I was looking for a slightly more aggressive replacement for a set of Continental TerrianContact H/T tires while maintaining both A ratings and an H speed rating.

The Outpost nAT handling is better than average in both dry and wet. Grip is realistically about the same in dry or wet (8.5) which is pretty amazing. Feedback is fairly good, really about the same as the Continentals. They are on a Toyota Tundra, which really isn't noted for great road feedback in the first place.

Snow grip is really great, but more importantly the off-road grip is really good. The primary reason that I was venturing toward an AT style tire in the first place. The physical sidewall protection gives an extra measure of comfort that AS tires just can't provide.

The only detractor for this tire is that it's a bit noisy (i.e. it does sing a bit at highway speeds). You don't have to raise the volume of the radio or while speaking, it's just a noise presence that wasn't there with the AS tires.

It's mildly amusing that the Nokian is apparently considered "mid-tier" while the "top-tier" Michelin and Bridgestone would appear to not carry A ratings for traction and temperature. These are government ratings that have been in place since...1979. One would think that obtaining an "A" rating in 2024 would be a cake walk.