I had my Toyo's on the car 2 months, & 2K miles. South FL hasn't gotten much rain untill this weekend. I finally got to see what these tires are made of in the rain. And I mean rain, Downpoors, I had to drive through. The Toyo's kick ASS in the rain. I found myself taking turns at almost the same speeds, no hydroplaning, no drifting, No skiding comming to stops, they are the best tires I ever felt in the rain. They were very quiet also in the rain. Great tires! I recommend them!

 

Before i bought my Toyos i did some homework and heard that they were great in the rain. Well they are, feels like you're driving in the dry.

 

Pole S03's are awesome in the rain too ! It's storming in the Bay area today, so I was out drying in the rain....one word: A W E S O M E !

 

The good in wet and dry was one of the reasons I purchased them. They also work well at hot and cold temps (not to be confused with snow).

Tread vs. Treads...

Toyo T1S:


Eagle Sports Car Special - Rain (Racing)


And some F1 tire (rain on left side)

 

If I didn't have to worry about snow, I would also have a set of Toyo's.

luckily the Mich Pilot Sport A/S are also extremely great in the rain, no worries at all in wet willy cornering.

 

I have the Toyo's and today was the first day I got to see how they are in the rain!!!! WOW!!!!! Way better than stock in the rain!!!! And like glue when its dry!!!!!!

 

You all are referring to the T1Ss right? So I'm guessing the all-season FZ4s should perform at least as well as the T1Ss in the rain, right?

 

I guess. Why all season though? Fl doesn't get snow.

 

u obviously didn't do enough...crack those books open again, junior

http://tires.michelin-us.com/catalog...otsportas.html

 

some people just prefer All Seasons...maybe it's more peace of mind than anything else

 

Well, because most of the places down here were quoting my rims with FZ4s if I mentioned Toyos and all the quotes were quite a bit more expensive with the T1Ss. I rather save that money since I'm not going to really be racing or anything, I just enjoy spirited driving. At first I also reasoned that I may get a couple more miles out of that FZ4s over the T1Ss, but I guess this will really be very minimal.

 

I got all 4 T1's 235-45-17 mounted/balanced on stock rims with free lifetime rotation/balance from Tire Kingdom for $729/w tax.

 

I'm not interested in all seasons, don't need them here in Sacto. The Toyos are awesome for this climate.

 

no doubt...only thing is up north, your choices of all-seasons that are big performance tires is basically limited to a few...u got the Dunlop's, the Perelli's, and the Pilot Sport A/S...out of those 3, i think the Pilot Sport's stand out more, but that's just what my research on A/S tires suggested

what i wanna know is y u guys down south spent at least $70 more per tire getting the Toyo's when u could've had the Kumho's

 

my nitto's are fucking scary in the rain.

SCARYT!

 

I've heard mixed things about the Kumhos, and my guy at Motorsport Dynamics highly recommended the Toyos.

 

If someone is in So Cal or other areas where snow is quite rare at sea level (as in out-of-the mountains), a 3-season tire is all someone needs. If someone the "ski bug", they might be better off with the A/S. If I was in a mixed climate with "unpredictable" late snows and winters that could end up being warm without snow, I would probably get those.

When you mention Kumho's, you’re probably talking about the $100 buck specials, and not the DOT racing (Victoracers) or the new MX. If someone wants to autocross and are on a budget, go for 'em.

I want a superior tire and I heard enough and read enough to know that I don't want them on my car (I’m only talking about the 712s – the MX may be a great tire (don’t know yet). If you don't put the T1S proxies on your car and compare against some of the other brands, you will never know how good they are in the rain and in the dry. The only other tires that I would consider (until a bit more data came in would be): S-02/S-02PP/S-03/"some “newbies” that I'm still looking into"


You will find a lot of people that are happy with the Kuhmos and you will also find a lot of people that want to dump them ASAP. I don't think you will see that "diversity" in the Toyo T1S camp.

 

How is the ride w/the Toyo T1S?? Quiet? Smooth? (in both dry and wet please) Thanks guys

 

IMO, the ride of the T1S is equal to the stock (very slightly harsher on some surfaces). With my lighter wheels (lower unsprung weight to help "dance" over "rough stuff", it is better than stock on most surface from a ride perspective. I also have a friend who put them on some 17x7.5" wheels and was VERY concerned about any loss of comfort and let him test-drive my car on some roads that are not the best. He is Comptech lowered and is happy with the ride, noise, and wet/dry handling of the tires. (So, make that two who think they are quiet and smooth, and handle well in wet and dry)

As a note -- you will always find some trade-offs. For example, there was a concrete paved bridge up near Ojai that had its pavement "scraped-off." The surface was cut-down with some kind of "road scraper" (removes the asphalt on the top of the road down into the concrete). The concrete had sharp and jagged ridges that ran in the direction of travel (construction zone). The V shaped groves of the tires (and of some other vehicles' tires next to me made such a nasty sound that I had to slow down. This is the only time that I found the tread to be really "NOISY!"

The OEM MXM4s used to drive me nutz making this strange squeal and squeaking on some of the roads up the coast from LA. This is no longer a problem.

Finally, I really dislike the "squeal" from the stock tires when I start. The Toyos are really quiet and they make a "whooshing" sound on 90% of the surfaces I drive on (concrete, pavement[old and new], etc).

 

Make that 3... . I have to agree with Eric. Both wet and dry performance are exceptional!

 

After all thats said and done, does anyone have any regrets of not picking the bridgestone Potenza S-02 PP over the toyo T1-S? If not, then I'm prob gonna go w/a set of 18s 4 me

 

I wanted a tire with great load rating, super grip in wet and dry and super grip in flooded freeways at speed.

IMO, there are some cars that will show "some" benefit from tires, but still handle in a similar fashion and some of the top brands felt more similar than different. I was going for some S-02s and/or some RE-730s and did some checking around (as in a lot of checking around). I also got a 500-mile return on the tires. Before the tires were even scrubbed in, the difference was dramatic. The snowmobile like driving qualities, while driving on new-pavement (smooth blacktop/low abrasive qualities), made new tires (of the stickiest kind) priority number one for me (They also had to be great at speed on the freeway in pouring rain!)

I paid $640 for the tires alone, and I want the best. There are some folks that have gotten the Toyos for less money and they seem to be very "rugged" tires and with the XL rating and extra load to boot (97W rating), I feel very safe and the car handles better than I expected. So, why would I want to move to a tire (the 712s) that seem to be a good tire for the money, but are not the best (when the best are what I'm looking for).

As a note, some people just love the Kumhos, and some other people are not that crazy about them and changed from the Kumho 712s to other tires. The T1S people (at least the researched ones -- and there will always be exceptions) seemed extremely loyal to the tires. That says something to me when people only say things like, "well, I might try some A-032s, but they are so darn stiff and I don't want DOT race rubber on day-to-day or talk about changing or wondering how the S-03s and S-02s and other tires are.

If you notice, the Kumho now has a MX, and I would be very interested in the reviews and comments once people get that tire. So, depending on the area, some people might find the stock tires at 35-psi to be perfect and others (like me) are taking them off ASAP.

The temperature, road types, textures, and other factors will impact the perception of a particular tire on a particular car. For example, my Bimmer was extremely "driftable" and I could get by with less then the best tires. This car responded to the 235/45-17 Toyos like no other car I've owned or driven...


(There is a lot more about suspension geometry and other factors, but there is NO best tire for everyone and every car... [Statement of the obvious -- I hope])

 

IMO and to the nitty-gritty: You want top performance and roadholding for your CL and aren't worried about snow, then Toyo Proxy T1-S or Bridgestone Pole Position S-03s are your top choices. There is no arguing that they are both great tires in wet and dry. Slap either of these bad boys on and your days of squealing tires are over.
I've yet to hear someone truly badmouth the T1-Ss or the S-03s who could make a case.
Enjoy the ride!

 

Just installed a set of Toyo Proxes T1-S bad boys. $770 out the door. Stayed with the stock size 215/50/17. The freeway offramps and cloverleafs seem so much more fun now ...