I never had any white knuckle moments or slides through stop signs. The few times I encountered ice-y conditions, I just made sure to accelerate and brake with more care than usual. On ice, the sipes have a different job – rather than collect snow for increased traction, they compress and spread to distribute weight evenly as force is applied. That said, the unique sipe design definitely adds a level of contact unseen in other snow tires. Ice Performanceĭue to heavy salt use in my region, there are limited times of pure ice, so I don’t feel I can accurately comment on the tire’s ice performance. In all snow conditions, the sipes grip and lock up snow creating snow on snow traction for acceleration and cornering.Īggressive tread imprint left behind by the Toyo Observe GSi-6s. I effortlessly navigated lake effect snow dumps well over a foot, which is impressive for a WRX with limited ground clearance. From snowy unplowed parking lots to windblown, snow-covered highways, the Observes chewed through snow in a satisfying way. It only took one deep snow day to build the confidence I needed for the rest of the season with the Observe GSi-6s. The one you’ve all been waiting for – snow performance! That said, that’s good practice regardless of the tire or vehicle.
IOBSERVE REVIEW DRIVERS
On wet days, drivers definitely need to keep an eye out for flowing water at the mouths of overpasses to avoid the risk of a hydroplaning event. That said, the Observes don’t handle standing water as well as some other tires I’ve tested. The aggressive tread pattern does a great job evacuating water through the deep channels between the siped tread blocks. The Observe GSi-6s stayed planted on wet highway and thruway speeds. In the transitional months of November and March, we see a lot of rain and mixed precipitation here in Western New York. I never felt out of control, I simply noticed a “mushy” sensation as the sipes compressed under the force of the corners. Where the Observes start to fail a bit is high-speed corners like on and off-ramps. There was negligible understeer and little to no additional body roll. With low-speed cornering, the Observes were fantastic. That said, the Observe GSi-6s definitely impressed with an overall lack of understeer. They will naturally compress more than a performance summer tire under loads of cornering and hard braking. Winter tires have a softer compound that stays soft and supple during colder temps. Lots of grooved sipes to grip snow and iceĬerated center rib and unique star-shaped sipes.įor the other three points on the list, there is no avoiding those performance losses to a certain degree.Absorbent carbonic powder – derived from bamboo and helps absorb moisture from roads.Microbit technology – ground walnut shells added to bite into snow.Aggressive tread design for deep snow performance.Specialized silica compound for snow and cold weather.Toyo Observe GSi-6 Winter Tire Key Features Let’s dive into the Toyo Observe GSi-6 performance winter tire review! Don’t let the wide range of sizes – spanning from cars to SUVs and crossovers – fool you, these tires easily met my expectations for a performance winter tire.
![iobserve review iobserve review](https://www.feldheim.com/media/catalog/product/cache/469b1146dc38b36fa65a5e51f56f0e6c/7/8/7844.jpg)
When the opportunity arose to give the Observe GSi-6s a test, I was all over it. That said, I knew I didn’t couldn’t go with any old winter tire – I wanted a tire that would minimize performance loss to maintain the spirited driving performance I am used to the WRX. As great as my Proxes Sport A/S tires are, I am a big-time snowboarder, so I wanted a bit of added security for snowy drives to the slopes and heavy lake effect storm days.
![iobserve review iobserve review](https://www.thebostonpilot.com/news/20210819/images/700x450_CNS_26444.jpg)
Removing Toyo’s Observe GSi-6 performance winter tires marks the end of a five-month testing period on my 2017 Subaru WRX.įor those of you lucky enough to live without 4 seasons, this isn’t a worry, but up here, lake effect snow is all too real. With the winter season coming to a close here in Buffalo, New York, it is about time to swap back to my set of Proxes Sport all seasons.