After 50k km, it was time to retire (no pun intended - much) my old rubber. I must say that after reading all the tyre posts from you guys, I approached the purchasing of new tyres with a much clearer idea of what I wanted and what I should pay. I ended up with a set of Toyo Proxes 4, 245/40ZR18 97W, labelled as "sports high performance". I got them at my local Tyrepower for $290 each, fitted and balanced. I shouted the car a full body alignment as well. I had chosen this size previously due mainly to the fact that the revs/km is the closest to the factory fitted 225/45 18's, but also to the fact that they look so wide and cool. The fact that Toyo's are made in Japan gave me extra confidence. For anyone who lives or works in the area, Tyrepower Brendale (Brisbane) seems a pretty professional outfit.

I only had them fitted yesterday afternoon, so I've only got a to-and-from work (40km total) to report on, but at this stage I am very pleased. They are quite literally whisper-quiet on all the road surfaces along my commute route. It's been raining here, and performance through the corners is like driving dry. Turn in seems very nice indeed. Tyrepower recommends 38 psi (262kPa) for this tyre, and there is absolutely no squirm that I can detect to date.

 

Until you hit the first corner of Sandown, the Toyo Proxies is the best doing its job. Good choice.

 

50k!!

I got 23 out of mine and they were shot. Probably should have changed at 21000.
No track days either.

 

I'm 35K and counting on my PS2's, which has included over half a dozen track days now...still got a fair bit of wear left too...

 

I got 12,000kms out of the stockers! The Toyo T1Rs are doing much better though, quite happy with them.

 

I think that the comments show that there is a huge range of experiences with tyres out there. I think it's good that there is sufficient variety to choose a tyre with your exact circumstances and requirements in mind. For instance, if I had been a regular track goer, I might have chosen the Toyo T1R. However, I was looking for something with good road performance, good wear and acceptably low noise and (not unimportant) reasonable price.

Aside from driving style, I think that the good old things like tyre pressure, regular rotation and balancing and regular full body alignment are all things which add tyre life and give maximum driving enjoyment. Yesterday, I dropped into Tyrepower on the way to work to check my pump (a good quality Michelin foot pump) against their gauge, which they claim is regularly checked against a master gauge they keep in their office. It turns out my gauge reads 2psi too low, but that's good to know because now I can make compensation. I check my tyres once a week in my garage, first thing in the morning before I start driving. I know it sounds pedantic, but forgive me, measuring things is what I do in my profession.