Just a brief update, I just drove through rain coming down so hard I had to have the wipers on the fastest setting to see, and had no troubles with the tires. I was travelling at 65-70 (down to 45ish for a bit, damn that was a hard rain) on an interstate and 60ish on state highways.

 

No one here claimed the Azenis Sports were R-compounds. They're not marketed as R-compounds. But they are good summer tires that are comparable to our stock Advans for about half the price. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them.


The T1S is definitely a good tire, but not any better than the Azenis in terms of dry grip. Probably better all-around, though, as the wet grip is impressive for a street tire. But despite your negative opinion of the Azenis, they are better than the T1S in the dry and especially on the track. Those broad tread-blocks really hold up well to chunking and feathering on the track.

I'm sure a lot of people would be willing to give up a measure of wet grip for the Azenis combination of outstanding dry grip and low price. And I can't think of a street tire that does better on the track. Of course real R-compounds are best (I prefer RA-1's myself), but for the guy who autocrosses once in a while and does a couple of track days a year, the Azenis are tough to beat.

Emre

 

I know two Evo owners who have had both the Toyo proxes 4 and the T1S and both have been disappointed with the grip of these tires compared to the Advans and returned them thanks to Toyo's warranty. And yes the Ra-1's are a good choice but they are going to get you about 1/3 the mileage you would from the Advans. So think about it if they last 1/2 as long then in reality they are not much cheaper than the Advans since you would need to buy two to get the same mileage out of them. And for the Toyo vendor Tswift I am not sure what you are talking about the with the stock Advans being a heavy tire. Have you weighed the Advans they do not seem very heavy at all to me. And I have had 4 sets of them so I do know how light they seem off the rim.

 

I guess what I was talking about, without putting them on a scale was that the Advans felt really heavy when I had them off. As for your comment on Toyo's being returned, I'll take that with a grain of salt. One, the Proxes 4 will never be the tire the Advan is, fact. But it is an all season HP tire and that is a reason to buy it, not for better dry grip. As for the T1s, I'll just leave that up to personal preference. But as I stated earlier, most people will blame the tires, before they really know how to get the most out of the car. "The car looses grip, it couldn't possibly be that I'm not up to speed with the car."

Most people on this site have said they get between 7K-10K miles from the Advans. This is an average I've seen on the site, so don't say well I got 15K; I understand. I don't know who gave you info on the RA1 being 1/3 less. Most people who have bought from me have seen between 6K-9K miles depending on how many times they autocross or track day'd t he car. At those numbers it is just about a wash. RA1's are not for everyone, this is for sure. Only those in pretty warm climates will get the most use of them. That isn't to say someone in my hometown, Chicago, couldn't, becasue I've sold them to S2000 and Camaro guys who drive on them. And at less than the Advans list for the RA1 is the best choice for those who want a tire that can have the dual use of track and street with Ultimate grip.

 

I am also about to replace my Advans which lasted about 10k miles. I have been looking at either the Azenis or the Kuhmo MX. Does anybody have any experience comparing the Kuhmo to the Azenis?

Thanks,