Has anyone tried these out yet? I am looking for new tires in the spring, and hopefully someone in a warmer climate has given them a try.

The T1-R is a replacement for the popular T1-S.

A pdf file describing them is here

 

You'll be hoping for someone in southern Europe to offer an opinion then, maybe from SE Asia! The T1-R is brand new here (maybe a few months old elsewhere), and isn't stocked anywhere in North America yet. Nobody has any experience with the T1-R yet, unless they got involved in a test program for Toyo (I haven't heard of anything like that so far).

Regards,
Gordon

 

Damn, and I just ordered my T1S's a few days ago ! Oh well I hope they work well for me.

 

I happen to sell tyres for a living and had the chance to test-drive the T1R last year. They are very, very good on wet roads, quiet on most road-surfaces and don't seem have problems with irregular wear.

I mounted a set on my stock rims (all 225/45R18) and tested them for a couple of days - living in northern germany I decided to switch back to winter-tyres after that.

So, first impressions are:
- Direct handling, comparable to the stock Bridgestones
- Way better aquaplaning resistance, a drawback of the stock-tyres
- Dry handling was ok (the back of the car felt somewhat 'light'; more oversteer)

I suggest getting 225/45R18 for the front and 245/40R18 for the back to avoid oversteer. Should be a great everyday combo.

If you want to do some serious spending and driving get 245/40R18 Michelin PilotSport PS2 on all for wheels for maximum dry-grip and precision. I'll get me a second set of wheels with those.