2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tire Test
The Toyo Observe Ice-Freezer entered the test with illegal stud protrusion, measuring between 1.53-1.76mm across the four tires despite its certification showing the model passed wear testing with 0.95-0.96mm protrusion. This violates regulations, though Sweden has no enforcement of these rules, leading to disqualification from the test. The expectation was that such excessive stud protrusion would deliver abnormally good ice grip, but this proved entirely wrong. In fact, Toyo achieves the second-worst ice grip among studded tires, barely better than the catastrophic Mazzini and performing at the level of Central European friction tires. The tire demonstrates that it's never just about the stud alone - it's always about the complete package the tire represents, and here both Toyo and Mazzini fail completely. Additionally, the tire makes the car prone to skidding on the wet test track in ways only seen with this tire, with low grip levels and genuinely poor balance in the car. Bare pavement performance is mediocre across the board. The combination of illegal specification and poor performance is deeply disappointing from a established manufacturer like Toyo.