Tyre test: Falken vs Toyo - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

EvilChief · 12-01-2004, 06:14

Finally got my new set of mags .. now came the question what tyres ... i am die hard supported of the Falken Azenies range, and so is my tyre supplier, but today we tried something new. he tested the Toyo Trampio Gu:wn (TPG) (http://www.toyo.com.au/TPG%20page.htm) in his track car and has found just as good if not slightly better handling characteristics compared to the Falkens he normally uses.

One big suprise was, the Toyo tyres didnt show anywhere close as much wear as the Falkens did.
Falken Azenis tyres are normally rated to 20 to 25thou km, where as the Toyo tyre is rated to 30 to 35thou km (on road conditions - not track). Basically the Trampio Gu:wn uses a similar pattern to the old Falken RS tread pattern with a harder compound rubber, however it also produces less road noise.

the previous tyres were 245/40/R18 Nankang sports on the rear and 235/40/R18 Falken St115 on the front

I personally wanted to go with 255/40/R17 Falken RT215 rear and 235/45/R17 Falken ST115 fronts, however these are what i got now:
Toyo Tramio Gu:wn
front: 235/45/R17
rear: 255/40/R17

looking at that i have decreased the overall rolling diameter and increased the width of the tyre, and i must say i am glad i went that way. acceleration has improved by a lot (due to smaller rolling diameter), traction has improved slightly, however i must wait until i wear in the tyres a little more and to my suprise cornering hasn't changed too much. the car has become slight more tail happy, but still in a very controled manner. But the biggest improvemnt i must admit is steering respsonse. very well behaved steering control. road noise is to a pure minimum (my diff is louder than the tyres). Also the Toyo tyres has a very distingtive V pattern, which show good characteristics in the wet.

now you are asking how much ...

front: $180
rear: $330

up to $400 cheaper the the Falken tyres

so far i am plesently suprised and can only recommend them ... next i will test the Proxes T1-R (http://www.toyo.com.au/proxes%20t1-R%20page.htm)

please tell me if anyone else used either the Gu:wn tyres or the Proxes T1-R and what they think of them .. track and street testes, km/wear, wet condition, handling, conering, traction, etc

also feel free to add any oterh tyre make and model ... this may be used as a help guide to what tyres to get for what car and tyre

MrPlow2 · 12-02-2004, 03:04

I had Trampio's on my 17" wheels back in the day and I just couldn't fault them. They were awesome!

With 215s, you'd be extremely lucky to get 10,000km out of them since they're not really a road tyre. Perfect for getting to the track, racing, getting home and parking the car.

However, good choice with the Toyos. They're a very underrated tyre.

EvilChief · 12-02-2004, 03:58

10thou km???? damn they have better imrpoved the tyre compound these days

AU XR8 · 12-05-2004, 21:01

Ah don't got for the cheaper falken tyres the XIEX ZE326 they are crap to the 10X max what convinced me yesterday in the wet was on the Bruce hwy / Gympie Rd arterial doing 100kmh in 5th dropped it back to 4 to overtake a campervan not in a hurry put the foot down about 1/2 to 2/3 next thing I am fighting it to stay alive (I actually thought I pulled out on some one or some one clipped the rear of the car and pushed it out) after i gathered the car back up and changing the undies all in about 2 seconds which felt like 2 days in slow mo
This morning I went tyre shopping....
Actually I wanted to get the new TOYO Proxies TR-1 but the 235/45/17 is hard to come by or he could not be bothered looking up the prices for me so I went next door to Goodyear and I am getting a set of Goodyear F1-GS-D3's http://www.goodyear.com.au/showtyreg...=0000000179706
even better that they are having a buy 3 get the 4th free a good saving in my back pocket getting them fitted on Thursday
I should be happy with these tyres
Anybody want a set of Falkens

and slight to medium soiled undies

Sprint_ED · 12-05-2004, 21:15

i had a set of falken 512's they lasted 15 thou on mine, got a set of toyo tranpath sw's the only diff was the toyo was non directional and the falkens werer, but thet are quiter a tad dearer, im not scared to drive in the wet, ive done 20,000 on them and they still look brand new

SinisterHorze · 12-05-2004, 21:38

The condition of roads in North Queensland makes it hard to make typicall comparisons to results found further south. I've driven on many brands, and with hand on heart, find it differcult to fault Falken tyres. Don't get me wrong, the Toyo's are a fantastic tyre and have improved hand over fist, I won't be swapping tyre brands again.