[DeTomaso] 15in tire options Update

Wed Jan 21 00:10:24 EST 2009

 If it sounds to good to be true...

Andy from Discount Wheels (Discount-tires-2go?) called me with the almost expected news that the ToyoST 295/50/15's were not in their stock anymore. I just had a feeling...
Les Schwab still had a set of 295's so I hoofed it down and ordered those and the Proxes4 225's. The guy was about ready to drive to the store that had them (better their gas than mine) when I asked how many they had left.
He said out of all the stores on his network there were only four available. Well I don't know if it was a slick sales ploy(not) but it worked anyway and I ordered the last two as well.
Did I mention I passed on those stock options of Apple in 85?
After chatting with Les it was determined sunlight and heat is bad for tire life.Even indirect sunlight. Nothing new there.
Picked em up an hour later and started looking at the DOT date codes.

295/50/15-
Set #1 shows 1306 ,the 13th week in 2006 and 0906 , the 9th week in 2006. Pretty close.

Set # 2 has 2807 on both tires,same mold, fresh, a matching set. Currently being stored in a dark airtight vacuum sealed time capsule encapsulated in nitrogen enriched concrete buried somewhere near Mattawa Wa. 

225/50/15-
They showed dates of 2408. Pretty fresh and still available.

I also asked the guy why they discontinued them. His opinion was the company has to make a decision when the molds get to the point of having to be replaced should they remake or design new ones.
In this case,even though the tire was great and sold well, they opted to stay"competitive and profitable" and change the design and sizes available and thust scrap em.
So as tire companies compete in todays market they are forced to stay ahead and be the "new" technology while eliminating non profitable market segments.
Caught in the middle we do what we can to preserve originality. Yours may be sitting in a warehouse near you. Act now.

Good luck 15 inchers,
Matt Wells
3584

Thanks for the replies everybody. Good stuff on the forum link Garth.Thanks!
I checked with my local Les Schwab dealer and they did show the 295's as a discontinued size but could still locate me a set and have them the next day.
The price was $160.00 per tire for the 295's and $125.00 for the 225's. Something like $704.00 with tax,mounting etc.

Discount-tires-2go only charged $121.00 and $91.00 respectivily for a total of $485.92 including $61.92 to ship UPS ground to Everett WA..
They didn't charge me tax but a little note on the order said shipping and tax subject to change so we'll see.
Not a deal breaker,still cheap for a good set of rim protectors so I pulled the trigger and ordered em up.
From: Garth Rodericks 
To: matt at nwpantera.com ; detomaso at realbig.com 
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 10:21 AM
Subject: Toyo 15in. tires-the options again...and again...fronts

      Matt,

      Snatch up those 295/50-15 Toyo Proxes S/T's as quickly as you can, if they still have 
      them in stock. Toyo just discontinued making that size and they're getting hard to find.

      Rears, 295/50-15 Toyo Proxes S/T's:
      http://www.discount-tires-2go.com/Store_Detail.cfm?ID=174814&InfoID=4853&ShowLarge=True

      As for what tires to choose for the front, go with the 225/50-15 Toyo Proxes 4's:
      http://www.discount-tires-2go.com/Store_Detail.cfm?ID=172527&InfoID=4853&ShowLarge=True

      The tread pattern on the Proxes 4 is not an exact match to the Proxes ST, but it is close. 
      Some might argue that the tread pattern on the T1R is a closer match, but again it's only 
      close. The thing that caused me to select the Proxes 4 over the T1R was the pattern of 
      the tread-blocks on/at the sidewall. The Proxes 4 tread blocks at the sidewall are almost 
      identical to the treadblocks at the sidewall of the Proxes ST, which means the tires look 
      like a MATCHED SET when viewed from the side (which is how everyone views the car 
      when it's parked: they only see the rear end when it's moving!). This was important to me.  
      The tread blocks at the sidwall of the T1R do not match the ST. They look like completely 
      different tires when viewed from the side. And the Proxes R888 bears no resemblance at 
      all to the Proxes ST. The R888 would look even more like a mis-matched tire than the T1R.

      Go with the ST's on the rear and the 4's on the front and it will look like a matched set of tires.

      Driving impressions:
      The Toyo's suprised me!  The Pantera feels much more confident and secure in corners 
      with the Toyos than it did with the BFG Comp TA's (front) and Euro TA's (rear). The Toyos 
      have way more grip. And, turning requires less effort with the Toyos than the BFG's. Initial 
      turn-in is easier and more responsive too. I love these tires compared to the BFG's. I 
      haven't driven in rain, so I can't comment on wet traction, but the Toyo Proxes ST and R 
      are rated as an "all season" performance tires. FWIW, the T1R is a "summer" tire.

      Check out Toyo's promo video here for more info about all the Proxes line of tires:
      http://www.toyo.com/docs/videos.asp?video=ProxesLineProduct

      Here's a thread with more Pantera driving impressions on the Toyo's:
      http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1510042044/m/1370000094

      Cheers!
      Garth 