I'll shortly be needing a new set of 215/40/17 tyres (again!). I currently have Toyo Proxes and I'm wondering whether to get the same again or try the Goodyear F1's. Interested in comparisons such as:-

Dry performance
Wet performance
Tyre life
Price

Cheers,

Ian.

 

I have 18in wheels on my MY01 and had four Toyos all round when I bought the alloys.Was impressed with the performance in the dry but didn't like em in the wet to be honest.As I never rotated the tyres on the car I've just had to replace the two fronts and decided to fit F1-GSD3's which are a BIG improvement in the wet over the original Toyos. Dry grip has improved slightly but not too much.Personally,I'd go for the Goodyears anyday but the reason I bought Toyos in the first place was cos a lot of people on here raved about em and they are a good tyre in all honesty (Just not as good in the wet as the F1's in my honest opinion)
Just for info,my 225/40x18's cost me £129.95 fitted so you should pay a lot less for 17 in versions!!!!

Hope this helps?

Cheers

Nick

P.S: Toyos lasted 11k miles on mine but have a suspicion the tracking was out from the factory as I've since had Prodrive springs/geometry done!!!

[Edited by NickAdams - 11/27/2002 1:15:18 PM]

 

Nick - many thanks for the reply. Think I'll try the GoodYears if there isn't a big price difference.

Any other opinions?

Cheers,

Ian.

 

I had Toyo's on my previous car [my01] and swore by them. I fitted the 18" wheels to my STi7 and had a choice of the two, Toyo's for £104 and Goodyear's for £108

I went for the Goodyear tyres and have not regretted it.

The trouble I found with the toyo's was the outside edge was made of putty rubber and would quickly dissappear.

Forgot to mention, the toyo's seemed to understeer a little powering out of roundabouts. The Goodyears seem to be better so far.

[Edited by STI MAN - 11/27/2002 7:29:03 PM]

 

I HAVE HAD TOYOS FITTED AND WASNT IMPREZTA FOR FIRST 1000 MILES BUT SEEMED TO HAVE IMPROVED NOW AND WILL BE GETTING SOME MORE FITTED SHORTLY...
REGARDS POWERMAN

 

Controversy time - i've used Toyos twice (MY01 WRX on 18's/Leda, and MY02 STi7) and S03's twice (same setup cars), and the slimy road grip, and steering feel, of the S03's is better than the Toyos IMHO. I'm not impressed with the Toyo

Nearly fitted F1's instead of the S03's this time around, but didn't, so cannot give that comparison.

The S03 is very unfairly maligned on this BBS IMHO - it is a very good tyre

[Edited by Dave T-S - 11/28/2002 8:58:51 AM]

 

To which the only remaining question is has anyone done the F1 v. SO3 comparison in a meaningfull way?? Please no token S03 slagging - only sensible views!

 

Dave T-S,

You should have gone for the Goodyear's! How are the SO-3's for road noise? The Goodyear tyres compared to the OEM Bridgestone and toyo's are MUCH quieter.


How come the opinion reversal of the toyo's then, seeing as you've used a few sets of them?



[Edited by STI MAN - 11/28/2002 1:18:31 PM]

 

STI MAN

The previous set of Toyos were on Carolyn's car, I was running the S03's. It's now the other way round

If we keep one of them long enough to change the tyres , i'll try GY's next time

 

Yeah man, I'd go with the F1 GSD-3's, a super tyre.

 

Thanks for all the replies

 

One more for you. Haven't tried Toyos, but went from S02's on 16" to F1GSD3s 215/40/17 around July. I really am impressed with them, more than I expected, as I wanted to get more S02's and couldn't. They are quieter, more precise turn-in (part due to the drop in profile I guess) and predictable, wet or dry, with progressive breakaway if you try hard enough...but most of all the grip is outstanding, especially in the wet.
Oh, and the bit that really surprises me is they seem to be lasting longer too, and I can't quite understand that bit!
PS if you get some allow at least 500 miles for them to settle in. At least that was my experience.


[Edited by Jerry B - 11/29/2002 12:37:32 AM]

 

I have just put on SO-3's on MY01 and they are a fantastic tyre. Cannot compare to F1's but from all the research (ie: talking to those who truly know) the S0-3's seem to be about the best road tyre available. The new F1's may hold up well next to them, I don't know. But everyone in Melbourne bags the Toyos as they go off so fast, so I cant see what the fuss is with Toyo's. Surely companies like Bridgestone, Dunlop, Goodyear & Pirelli would be able to make a superior tyre to anything that Toyo could throw at them. Havent seen Toyo win too many F1, Cart, Rally, BTC races. Have You?
The So-3 is fairly quiet, exceptional in both wet and dry(seriously good in the wet), and also wears evenly, in that grip levels stay good throughout the life of the tyre....not just the first 5000km..
Money aside..the S0-3 is the best tyre on the market, and whats more, it's very well suited to the MY01 WRX.

 

Couldn't disagree more with bugwaan (no offence mate). I know it's each to their own as far as tyres are concerned but I binned the SO3's prematurely as they tramilined like mad (helped slightly by increasing fronts to 34/35psi) until they were well worn. Relatively poor wet grip in comparison to SO2's and Yokohamas.

Stick with Toyos or F1's

Also heard that the SO3's do behave themselves a bit better when on 17"s

All IMHO of course

 

SiPie (no offence)
I was talking about MY01..hence 17 inch..not 16 as is on your car.
Ian E was after 17 inch tyres not 16 so your post is fairly useless to him.
However..S03's still rule the roost.
Find me a tyre that doesnt tramline on various road surfaces!
And the Good years would have to be better than any toyo tyre. Like i said..toyo good for 1st few thousand kays and then they go off. Every tyre dealer has told me this..so there is no bias from the tyre fitters.
The S0-3 are not as good as the SO2 in the dry as the S02 is a softer compound. They are better than SO2 in the wet though and give better tyre life.
SiPie.....Which Yokies are the equal of an SO2? not possible.!!!
215/45/17 W rated SO3's are unbelievable on the My01 rex.
Ian E....you wont be dissapointed.

 

I'll get me old worn record out and put my vote in for the S-03 PP.

On 17" they are fab - work all the way down to the TWIs, but the first few hundred miles are a bit dodgy. Fabulous in the wet, excellent in the dry - and if I could wear out my noisy, if admittedly fab Potenza RE-01s, I'd have a set without thinking twice.

Let the fun begin

 

S03's are very good in both wet and dry. Agree with others that the S02 was better in the dry but they didn't last as long

Why are most rims sold with Toyos?...cos they are cheaper than S03s etc and therefore make the package more 'attractive' to buy.

1 vote for S03s here

Tony

 

Has anyone actually driven on both F1s and SO3s?

 

Okay chaps and ladies..

What would you reccomend for a P1.. running toyos at the mo, and are running out of life...

suggestions

 

Gone from Bridgestones to Falkens to F1 - the Bridgestones seemed to tram-line, the Falkens have lasted about 20,000kms and the F1's are only just fitted.

Just done about 700km trip on some good to mediocre roads.

Very impressed with the F1's grip and their performance in the wet. Normally, if one of the front wheels hits a puddle there's a momentary judder at the steering wheel and the car lifts fractionally; with the F1's there is absolutely no reaction to hitting water - straight through as if the puddle isn't there - probably explained by the tyres' V-shaped tread pattern which I assume pushes the water out laterally before it can build up in front of the tyre causing resistance and lift.

 

PhilC

How did the So3's compare to the falkens?
As for the puddle.....you must be comparing the falkens to the F1's coz surely you cant remember puddles from 20000km ago when you had the bridgestones...

PS: What size tyre are you running and which year wrx

 

Message for Phil

so your reccomend i try the Goodies G=F1's?

 

I am also looking for new tyres for my 01. Need 215/45R17s, and probably need all 4.

Local tyre dealer has quoted SO3s at £147 each, Goodyear F1s at £123.41 each, Toyos if they can get them are the same price as the Good Year, SO2s (if he can get 4) at £122 each, and Yokos at £120.30 each

So at those prices and bearing in mind I need all 4 which would you go for?

Chris

 

I just bought 4 215/40/17 Goodyear Eagle F1's for £357 fitted and including vat!! from Headley Tyres who are on the A339 near Newbury 01635 268384.

 

PhilC

How did the So3's compare to the falkens?
As for the puddle.....you must be comparing the falkens to the F1's coz surely you cant remember puddles from 20000km ago when you had the bridgestones...

The Bridgestones were on the vehicle when I bought it and the tramlining was the reason I changed to Falken - the subsequent change to the F1's was motivated by price (discount deal thru work); but I'm happy with the choice.

PS: What size tyre are you running and which year wrx

Eagle F1 GS-D3 205/50 ZR16 on a '94 WRX wagon lowered, with stiffer suspension (Aussie King Springs)



Message for Phil

so your reccomend i try the Goodies G=F1's?

- they do the biz for me .....

 

I had a set of Falken 451's or whatever they are called - track day set, but used them on the road after a puncture - they were awful, and aren't in the same league as S03's

 

DAVE-TS - S03's na, not as good as toyos surely

 

As soon as I bought my 17" wheels (P7's), I put the S-03 on. That was based on everybody's opinion on the S-02. The S-02 were no longer available (over here) and the S-03 just came out at that time. Unfortunately there weren't that many reports on their performance, so I just took the risk with the S-03. To tell you the truth, I was pretty disappointed to say the least (except for the wet performance).
Now I am running on Goodyear F1's and am VERY happy with them. Very grippy in the dry and wet!! You 'feel' the F1's much more than the S-03. I would definitely choose the F1's over the S-03 anytime!!! I don't know how long they will last though. Hope this helps a little bit?

 

There is also the small matter of the EVO tyre test.

Carried out with testers that didn't know which tyre they were using.

The Goodyear Eagle F1 '3 won.

It didn't always win in the measured tests but the testers felt the tyre was better.

The compared against TOYO, Bridgestone and others.

 

The other tyres mentioned are good and I have tried them all, but not all on Scoobs...and the winner is suprise....












F1s everytime
F1 - F1 - F1 - F1 - F1 - F1 - F1

Best wishes
Steve

P.S. I need two new F1s for 17in rims 87 or 91 load rating. Anyone know of a good mail order place that is cheap, as I am a bit skint.

Thanks