Am I the only one happy with the OEM Toyo A36 Tires?

[cz5gt]

I drove each of the Toyos between 10k to 15k miles. To my taste - the PS4 AS is pretty close (better) and has insane grip which the Toyo doesnt have. MPG suffers a bit vs the Toyos.

The Pirelli Scorpion 3 AS has a wider sidewall and protection of the rim (much more even than the PS4). I did notice it goes over potholes and maholes a tad better than the Michelin , ie apmost no suspension/steering movement. Toyos would shake the car in a similar situation worse than both Pirelli and Michelin. Just for comparison.

The Pirelli has some tendency to steer away (and has some weird noises) on some highway pavements like the diamond grooved ones.
Thats due to its thread pattern most likely.

Both Pirelli and the Michelin are pretty stable on the road even if driven more aggressively and are better than the Toyo in every aspect.
Btw the Toyo is relatively stiff tire too even though it doesnt look like it.

You can try either tire and if dont like it change it in the 30 day period. may loose small $ for the change but I think you would be happier vs the Defender 2.


ps Dont have a pic of the CC2 as I sold that car. But here is the other Michelin - Primacy Tour AS. Lovely tire and the best MPG out of any other but pricing went through the roof past 3 years and not worth it because of that.

 

[N7turbo]

I have the ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus, which is a close competitor to the PS AS 4.

The only issue with my comparison is that I also changed tire size: to 245/45/20.

It eliminated side wall rollover, increased grip, and increased road feel.

But I think part of the reason the A36 felt so squishy is because they are a 9" tire on a 7" wheel. I am now running a 10" tire on a 9" wheel at the bead, which is perfectly straight because the wheel width to the faces is also 10". Just that change alone will firm up the handling.

The tires now hold on long sweeping corners without feeling like the sidewalls are rolling over.

It also eliminated the highway wobble; I no longer feel like the rear of the car has to catch up to the front after a sudden change in direction. That's also aided by the suspension changes.

 

[jadmt]

Just Ended up replacing the stock tires at about 30000 only because my wife drives on snowy roads every day. Went with michelin cross climat2’s and have already put a 1000 miles on them in a week and super happy with them. Quiet and drove yesterday over 400 miles much of it in the rain and felt great. I could have gotten another 10,000 on the stock tires but have trip planned end of december that will take us through montana, the dakotas, wyoming and minnesota.

 

[husker3in4]

Oh Dang, I was gonna ask about MPG. I took a trip to Daytona this weekend, twice. So in about 300 miles of highway driving, I got 27.1mpg with the defender 2. I would normally get 30-31 mpg on the stock Toyos. Is that much drop in MPG normal?

I was hoping the PS4AS would give good MPG too, but you are saying I may take a hit. I know you said they will feel more to my liking than the Defender 2s but how do you think they would compare to them mileage wise?

 

[cz5gt]

ps4 as is high performance tire and its not mpg oriented. From the Michelins the Primacy Tour AS gets best mpg. I frequently get 32-34. With the Toyo used to be 30-31 yes.
My PS4AS is on my Turbo so cant compare but its a tad lower than the Toyo before

 

[Mazdiod2]

It's a little complicated but here's what Tire Rack says about new tires and MPG

https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/what-is-tire-rolling-resistance-changes-to-expect-when-switching-from-worn-out-to-new-tires

 

[husker3in4]

ps4 as is high performance tire and its not mpg oriented. From the Michelins the Primacy Tour AS gets best mpg. I frequently get 32-34. With the Toyo used to be 30-31 yes.
My PS4AS is on my Turbo so cant compare but its a tad lower than the Toyo before

Thanks for that. The Primacy A/S, Defender 2 and PS4AS arent too different price wise, all between $250 and $263 per tire.
You are referring to the Primacy A/S not the Primacy Tour A/S right? If so, I know you say the Primacy A/S will get the best mileage of the ones we are discussing, how does it handle compare to the PS4AS? handling/performance/stiffness?

 

[Stuartm]

Just hit 25000 miles on my 23 cx5 turbo. much of the miles at higher speeds and the OEM tires are still at 6/32's (new is 10/32). I often read of people complaining about them but I have not had any traction issues and I live in Montana where we get temps from -30F to over 100F and rain and snow and everything in between. My wife drives it to work on snowy/icy roads and I have asked if she wants winter tires and she said it handles great. (she grew up in Minnesota so used to winter too). To be honest I was kind of hoping they would be as bad as some say as I love getting new tires .

I am coming from the opposite temperature... In Arizona in the desert 110+ during the summer. The Toyos did not hold up, but the Pirellis were better. The higher end Michelin X-Tour and Defenders do much better for us in the heat.

 

[cz5gt]

Thanks for that. The Primacy A/S, Defender 2 and PS4AS arent too different price wise, all between $250 and $263 per tire.
You are referring to the Primacy A/S not the Primacy Tour A/S right? If so, I know you say the Primacy A/S will get the best mileage of the ones we are discussing, how does it handle compare to the PS4AS? handling/performance/stiffness?

Primacy Tour A/S.

 

[husker3in4]

It looks like the PS4AS tires are gonna be the ones. I just hope they get better MPG than the Defender 2s

 

[N7turbo]

Here are the main sources that helped me in my decision.

This guy had both and explains the differences:

And of course, Tyre Reviews.

Michelin vs Continental vs Bridgestone vs Pirelli - The BEST Ultra High Performance All Season Tires

In this mini test I compare the plus version of the best ultra high performance all season tires on the market, the Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+, the Contine...

youtu.be

 

[ruthrj]

My stock Toyo A36s held up well sound and handling wise. Never got louder, just didn’t last too long against other options on the market. I replaced them today with 29,500 miles of use. There was still at least 5/32nd of tread on the inner and outer portion of the tread, but it was nearing the wear bars in the middle. Always kept them at the placard 35 psi cold on all four corners.

I did a very rough sound measurement on my way to get the Toyos replaced. Decibel Meter app on iPhone 13 Pro with the phone resting flat on the passenger seat. I was recording 72.5-74 decibels with the car set to cruise at 70 mph on newly paved highway. It was 75-76 decibels on rougher older road on the same route.

My brand new CrossClimate2s (same size) were 72-73 decibels on the same stretch of newly paved highway. The older portion of highway showed the new tires did a better job of dampening the road noise, didn’t see the meter jump over 74.5 or so on the rougher older surface. I think that speaks more to how quiet the stock tires remained vs how quiet the new tires are.

Hoping I’ll get more miles of use out of the new Michelins. They’re holding up really well on my RAV4 Hybrid at 45,000 miles of use with plenty of life left. I had to replace one of those tires due to a nail when they had 30,000 miles and thankfully didn’t have to get a pair. The tread was within the recommended depth before a new pair of tires is warranted for an AWD system.

 

[jadmt]

My stock Toyo A36s held up well sound and handling wise. Never got louder, just didn’t last too long against other options on the market. I replaced them today with 29,500 miles of use. There was still at least 5/32nd of tread on the inner and outer portion of the tread, but it was nearing the wear bars in the middle. Always kept them at the placard 35 psi cold on all four corners.

I did a very rough sound measurement on my way to get the Toyos replaced. Decibel Meter app on iPhone 13 Pro with the phone resting flat on the passenger seat. I was recording 72.5-74 decibels with the car set to cruise at 70 mph on newly paved highway. It was 75-76 decibels on rougher older road on the same route.

My brand new CrossClimate2s (same size) were 72-73 decibels on the same stretch of newly paved highway. The older portion of highway showed the new tires did a better job of dampening the road noise, didn’t see the meter jump over 74.5 or so on the rougher older surface. I think that speaks more to how quiet the stock tires remained vs how quiet the new tires are.

Hoping I’ll get more miles of use out of the new Michelins. They’re holding up really well on my RAV4 Hybrid at 45,000 miles of use with plenty of life left. I had to replace one of those tires due to a nail when they had 30,000 miles and thankfully didn’t have to get a pair. The tread was within the recommended depth before a new pair of tires is warranted for an AWD system.

I have about 12000 miles on my CC2's on my 23 cx5 turbo and there is literally zero wear...based on the first 12000 mile they will go for ever... second winter and they have performed incredibly well.

 

[a69mach1377]

My stock Toyo A36s held up well sound and handling wise. Never got louder, just didn’t last too long against other options on the market. I replaced them today with 29,500 miles of use. There was still at least 5/32nd of tread on the inner and outer portion of the tread, but it was nearing the wear bars in the middle. Always kept them at the placard 35 psi cold on all four corners.

That is concerning...seems like that was too much pressure for an even wear pattern.
I usually take out 2 psi from the rears since they have less load on them. Seems to get me an even wear pattern in general.

 

[cadcamjim]

I got 54k miles from my 19" OEM Toyo A36's; they were down to between 2/32"and 3/32" at that point. I didn't think they were all that bad for a lower-end tire. I run 40 PSI cold and rotate my tires regularly; I believe that contributed to a fairly long service life. I replaced them with Pirelli Scorpion AS+3's. The Pirellis are better for sure; but not a night and day difference in my opinion. Noise is not a big factor to me as I always have my music cranked-up, so I can't really comment on that aspect.