Rynberg,

You make a very good point. Emergency handling in the rain is important. However, I seriously doubt that "emergency handling" on wet roads is a much of consideration for very many people on this forum.

How are you getting around these days?

 

I totally agree with you.

I didn't think your comment was specifically directed toward me and didn't take any offense. After re-reading my post, I probably made a poor choice of wording.

I am still curious about other's impressions of the 2 tires. It sounds like the Kumho might hold up better to abuse and heat cycling over time with better dry characteristics overall. Now about it's wet weather feel...

 

Borrowing a friend's beater car -- an 86 Accord with 210k miles...

 

Here's some good info on the T1-R



http://www.tiretrends.com/catalog2.p...currencyCode--

 

This is the T1-R you're talking about right? Not the T1-S?

If it's the T1-R, where did you get them, in Canada?

 

Oops...sorry. I just saw that you posted that you bought your tires in the U.S.
I scrolled too quickly through this thread.

 

Good info on T1-R :



http://www.tiretrends.com/catalog2.p...currencyCode--

 

They are T1-R's. I ordered them from the tire shop down the street from me. They got them the next day. I would think that any Toyo dealer could get them for you. I paid $590 for 245/45/16's. That price included tax, mounting, and balancing

 

Yeah, I've been waiting for the new tire to come out. I'd hate to buy something that became "obsolete" the next week. On the other hand, maybe they'll start selling the T1-S at a discount now that it's been superceded. Ah, decisions, decisions.

 

While I personally have only had experience with the T1-S, I have heard from several people that the T1-S is definitely better than the MX in the wet who have driven on both, while the MX's are better in the dry.

Since I put r-compounds on when I go to the track/auto-x and really push my cars, I prefer to give up some dry traction for extra wet traction with my street tires. The light weight and wheel-protecting lips on the T1-S (not to mention great price) helped sell me on the toyos.

Now if I didn't switch to r-compounds when I went to the track, I'd probably be running MX's. Have heard great things about them.

 

T1-R: First test

I thought it was time to give the new tires a little test this morning . My normal route to work takes me about 2.5 miles on city streets. If I go out of my way, which I sometimes do, I can get on the freeway (HWY 101). The freeway on-ramp has a short straight, followed by a 120 degree banked turn, and then a short straight to merge with traffic. It's a fun on-ramp. If I do it well, I can take the banked turn at around 50 mph, and reach close to 90 before I have to merge. Today, I didn't push it as hard as I could thru the turn. I wasn't sure how much grip to expect from the T1-R's. I have to say that it was a big improvement over the Bridgestone 750's. While the sidewall may have had a little more roll than the 750's, there was much more ultimate grip. The car felt very stable, and didn't feel like it wanted to understeer as much as the Bridgestones. I like it!!!

 

For me I think about two things on my daily driver: Braking traction and hydroplaning resistance. Being able to stop when somebody pulls out in front of you is really important but hydroplane resistance even more so. These are light weight cars with wide tires and that makes them very easy to begin "floating" on the road, especially at highway speeds. That's the same reason it is so unsafe to drive heavily worn tires on wet roads. The void area in the tread is nearly gone and the tire is incapable of pumping much water out from under it.

 

Damon,

I agree with all of that. My point was that many people push their cars hard in the rain, and that that is a bad idea regardless of what tire you have.

 

im afraid to drive my FD in the rain.... but i do often so wet tire traction is very important.

makes me a little jealous the T1-R are out since i just got my T1-S earlier this year, but i still love them and probably like them more than i would the T1-R.