posted November 19, 1999 12:20 PM            

Thank you for your interest in our Observe snow tire line. The Observe line has been tested and meets the new performance defintition provided by the Rubber Manufactures Association as a tire suitable for severe snow conditions. Our engineers and an independent company also tested the Observe G0-2 (different patterns depending on size) against the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-15, here are the test results;

Toyo Test | Toyo | BS
Snow Braking | 4 | 4
Snow Accel | 4 | 4
Snow Slalom | 4 | 4
Ice Braking | 4 | 5
Ice Accel | 5 | 4
Size: 195/65R15

Independent Test
Traction-Medium | 4 | 5
Pack Snow
Braking-Hard | 4 | 4
Pack Snow
Braking-Ice | 4 | 4
Size: 205/65R15

5=Excellent
4=Very Good

We hope this helps.

posted November 21, 1999 07:03 AM            

Here is a reply that I got from Toyo Canada AFTER I decided on purchasing the GP-4's for my SUV. He makes some good points about the tire and the SUV. I have Blizzaks on my Lumina and they stick like glue, but decided to try the cheaper alternative.
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The Observe GP-4 is a new tire to a new segment of the tire market. It is specifically designed for the Light Truck and SUV vehicles for winter driving. The Alpin and Blizzak are intended for passenger vehicles. At this point I believe only Dunlop and Yokohama have this type of tire. I am unaware of any objective testing done at this time, perhaps because it is too new a segment of themarket.

The GP-4 has the same "microbit" tread compounding ( it has the crushed walnuts in the tread compound) as our "Observe" passenger winter tires, but offers better stability for high centre of gravity vehicles. The tread pattern reduces
abnormal wear pattern characteristics of four-wheel drive vehicles such as shoulder cupping on thefront steering tires.

Our initial testing in Canada has proved the tire to be superior for this type of application.

posted November 21, 1999 03:07 PM            

The GP-4 is one of 4 types of Observe tire designs tuned to particular applications. That's a good idea although I'll bet it confuses the heck out of tire shops. Bridgestone has 4 different kinds of Blizzak tires for similar reasons. Other manufacturers alter the tire casing and tread design depending on the size.