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Tire Info
by Kitty O'Meara
A few weeks back I sent a message to Eric asking about where I might be able to buy Toyo T1-S performance tires. I had read that the Toyos were great on Miatas. Toyo even sponsors Miata events because Miata owners are so enthusiastic about the tire. Eric said that Les Schwab was the only place that carried Toyos in the Portland area. He also asked me to share my experiences with the group – so here it is.
I searched around the web and sure enough, Les Schwab was the most prominent dealer for Toyos in the Portland metro area. I called Les Schwab and asked about a price for a set of Toyo T1-S tires. I was looking for 205/45/R16's to match my OEM wheels. The sales rep at Les Schwab said that they carried Toyos but the T1-S tire would have to be special ordered. The price would be $762.56 for a set. Ouch!
I kept looking and learned a lot about tires in the meantime. Tires have Department of Transportation ratings required of each manufacturer called the Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG) labeling system. There are speed capability ratings, treadwear ratings that estimated the life of the tire, traction ratings, and temperature tolerance ratings. A good explanation of tire sizing and ratings can be found at Tire Rack.
The 205/45/R16 87Z I was looking for has ratings of:
I was looking to replace the original Bridgestone Turanza tires because 1) I am already down to the first wear bar after 24,000 miles; 2) I felt I could get better wet weather traction; 3) winter is coming. The Turanzas on my car are rated:
Don't get me wrong. I think my Bridgestone Turanzas are fine performance tires. I have certainly done my share of zipping around town with no complaints. I even considered another Bridgestone tire. It would have been cheaper.
While the T1-S is not marketed as an all-weather tire, its wet handling is reputed to be excellent. They may be a little noisy. I'll give them a try. What the heck, my first sports car and I gotta learn about this stuff.
After some web surfing I found the following sites with Toyo Proxes T1-S tires:
I ordered a set of Toyo Proxes T1-S tires from onlinetires.com and they arrived five days later. Now I've got to get them mounted. More later.