Toyo Tires – Made with Pride “Buatan Malaysia Buatan Kita”
For Malaysian drivers seeking top-quality, high-performance tyres, Toyo Tires is the ultimate choice. As one of the largest tyre manufacturers in Malaysia, Toyo Tires has been a household name for decades. But did you know that most of the Toyo tyres you see on Malaysian roads are actually produced right here in our beloved country?
At Toyo Tires, we’re driven by a commitment to quality and innovation that reflects the spirit of our nation. We offer a diverse range of tyres, including those for passenger cars, 4x4s/SUVs, and commercial vehicles, ensuring you find the perfect fit for your vehicle and driving needs.
The Proxes CR1/CR1 SUV is a testament to our Malaysian production prowess as it boasts the widest range of Toyo Tires offerings in Malaysia – from compact 14-inch sizes to impressive 20-inch options. It also has lower road noise and vibrations, providing enhanced comfort and a quiet ride.
Complementing this, the Proxes TR1 is engineered for drivers who demand superior performance and precision from their tyres, making it an ideal choice for a balanced driving experience. Available in sizes ranging from 15-inch to 18-inch, the Proxes TR1 meets the diverse needs of discerning drivers.
Here’s why Toyo Tires is the best choice:
Unmatched Quality: We adhere to the strictest global quality standards, ensuring every Toyo tyre delivers exceptional performance.
Diversity for Every Driver: Our extensive range caters to all passenger car and commercial vehicle needs.
Locally Made, Globally Trusted: As the largest tyre manufacturer in Malaysia, we’re a trusted name for drivers across the country.
Choosing Toyo Tires means supporting the nation’s growth and prosperity. With a commitment to quality, variety, and Malaysian manufacturing excellence, Toyo Tires embodies the values and spirit of Malaysia. Contribute our part for the nation and support Malaysian-made products! Choose Toyo Tires – a symbol of national pride and excellence.
Our Best SUV and 4×4 Tyres in 2024
With the variety of roads you find in Malaysia–ranging from urban and paved to rustic and rough–it is important to find the best tyres for your SUV. This is because all-terrain tyres allow you to tackle any kind of road, no matter where your destination is or what path you plan to take to get there.
With 2024 ahead of us, now is the perfect time to plan ahead! Whether you’re preparing for unpredictable weather, looking for versatility, or just a reliable set of off-road tyres to take you around Malaysia, you’ve come to the right place!
With this list, we’re helping you make the most of the whole year by laying out all our best tyre options, so that you can find the best 4×4 tyres for your vehicle. Whenever you’re ready, scroll on to find our list!
Open Country A/T 3
The Open Country A/T 3 focuses on wet off-road performance and durability. This tyre offers even greater handling and responsiveness in rough terrain, giving you the driving confidence and peace of mind to navigate any terrain, any weather–any time.
Open Country R/T
The Open Country R/T ushers in the next generation of 4WD tyres, boasting incredible cross-terrain performance in a heavy-duty frame. This tyre combines the versatility of an all-terrain tyre with the durability of a mud-terrain tyre, resulting in a product that is capable of handling nearly any kind of terrain you throw at it.
Open Country M/T
Designed for only the most dedicated of off-roaders, the Open Country M/T’s aggressive tread pattern is designed to find grip even where other tyres might not, allowing it to traverse even the most extreme terrain.
PROXES CR1 SUV
Created specifically with SUVs in mind, the Proxes CR1 was created with the goal of striking the perfect midpoint between safety, comfort, and quietness. This tyre features in-house Toyo research in tyre making, utilising T-Mode and Nano Balance Technology to create an incredible tyre that can deliver all around performance in deafening silence.
The Proxes CR1 has the broadest tyre range among our product offerings, ranging from 14” to 20” tyres and covering both SUVs and passenger cars.
Open Country U/T
For full-time city goers, the Open Country U/T offers an incredible three-way balance between fuel efficiency, comfort, and quietness. This particular tyre’s tread design makes use of a special silica tread compound to achieve its trademark quietness, accomplishing low pattern noise. That’s not all that makes this tyre special: The Open Country U/T also boasts improved fuel consumption, excellent handling, and remarkable breaking performance–both in dry and wet weather.
How Do I Pick the Best Tyre?
Depending on your driving habits, the condition of the road, and your vehicle, you may want to pick up a set of Proxes CR1 tyres, which are optimised for all-around general use. Depending on your offroading frequency, you can also decide to pick up the Open Country A/T 3.
For the more adventurous of offroaders, Toyo Tyres has just the options for you: the R/T and the M/T, which are designed for the harshest of conditions and terrain.
Whether you’re driving an SUV or a 4×4, Toyo Tyres offers a versatile range of tyres, tailored to your specific needs as a user. What matters at the end of the day is that you purchase a set of tyres that fits your lifestyle and you can enjoy a comfortable, responsive handle on your road trips–no matter where they end or begin!
Why You Should Use Original Equipment (OE) Tyres?
Are you in the market for a new set of tyres for your ride?
As a car owner, you know better than anyone that a good set of tyres makes all the difference in the world, especially when it comes to performance, comfort, and the overall driving experience. Choosing the right tyres is a big responsibility for both seasoned drivers and first-time owners alike, and can seem like an overwhelming task that involves loads of research.
It may seem tempting to simply select a tyre brand by focusing solely on the price, design, or availability, but it’s important to ensure that you are purchasing OE tyres for your vehicle.
What is Original Equipment (OE) Tyres?
When a vehicle part is labelled original equipment, this means that development of that vehicle part took place very early in the production process of that vehicle. Original equipment is made especially for a specific vehicle model. In the case of tyres, OE tyre manufacturers work closely with vehicle manufacturers to create tyres that meet that vehicle’s specifications exactly. In short, OE tyres (and the vehicle they’re designed for) are an optimal match.
Every vehicle manufacturer has unique specifications and design philosophies, and OE tyre manufacturers do their best to meet these requirements as closely as possible. Because OE tyres and vehicles are developed together, using OE tyres with your vehicle can help maintain the optimal performance and driving experience that your vehicle’s manufacturer envisioned you to have.
If you’re looking for your first set of replacement tyres, consider investing in another set of OE tyres–the set that your vehicle was originally supplied with. You can then rest easy knowing that you’ve purchased and affixed tyres that were literally made just for your vehicle model, specifically designed to give you the best possible handling, performance, stability, and durability.
Where can I find good OE tyres and Replacement tyres?
You can find OE tyres and Replacement tyres for your vehicle model at any tyre dealership or workshops near you.
When it comes to tyre brands, Toyo Tires may be relatively new in the Malaysian market, but it demonstrates strong competitiveness among the others. Its OE (original equipment) tyres are meticulously designed for specific vehicle models and strictly follow the specifications of car manufacturers, passing even the most stringent regulations. To achieve this level of quality, Toyo Tyres also makes use of in-house R&D and proprietary technologies such as T-Mode, ATOM, and Nano Balance.
Toyo Tires: Officially OEM Certified
As a result, Toyo Tires supplies tyres to major OEM manufacturers such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Isuzu, Mazda, Nissan, Lexus and Perodua– a glowing testament to the unparalleled performance and quality of Toyo Tires.
Aside from its OE product line, Toyo Tires also offers replacement tyres–its after-sales solution for customers looking to purchase a new set of rubber for their rides.
While all OE tyre manufacturers strive to provide quality tyres, Toyo Tires pushes its efforts to the next level, ensuring every minute requirement of the client is met, resulting in a product line of tyres that caters to every possible driving situation imaginable.
Many people or drivers buy tyres based on sizes, performance, and utmost the important price. Many a time they usually rely on recommendation by the tyre shop or own information searched on the internet. However, each and every tyres carry loads of information on the sidewall. This information comes in codes which makes them confusing and hard to understand. Because of this reason people don’t bother to understand them.
It is important to at least know what they mean so you yourself as a motorist can at least make an informed decision whether the tyre is suitable for your ride.
The Deciphering Starts…
As mentioned, tyre sidewall carries loads of information and they are broken into few categories. Now let us go through one by one the more common or mandatory information.
The Brand
The biggest word on a tyre sidewall is usually the tyre brand itself. You can never missed it. The word or words usually takes up almost the full height of the sidewall.
Tyre Pattern
The second biggest word on the sidewall on many instances is the tyre model or tyre pattern name. For example, Toyo Tires brand of tyre has various pattern such as Proxes, Open Country, Tranpath and etc.
Tyre Size
The third most important information on tyre sidewall is the tyre size itself. You will definitely come across words like 195/50R15, 205/50R17, 225/45R18 and so forth. So what exactly do they mean? The combination of numbers and alphabet is a sum of 3 segment that make up a tyre size.
Let’s take the first example and break it down. The first part is ‘195’. This is the tyre section width from sidewall to sidewall with correct rim size and tyre pressure. It is measured in millimeters. So it means this particular tyre is 195mm wide. The second number is known as tyre aspect ratio. It indicates the side profile of the tyre as in its height expressed in percentage to its width. In this instance is 50% of the tyre width. The alphabet segment that comes with a “R” is the tyre’s casing construction. The ‘R’ signifies this tyre is made using radial construction and most modern tyres are made this way. The last number segment which is 15 is the term used to indicate the rim size which tyre should be fitted. This measurement correlates with rim size. Yes, it is measured in inches as oppose to millimeter.
Load index and speed rating
Every tyre is made to withstand or carry a certain weight or in layman terms, what is the maximum weight can a tyre withstand.
Using our example of 195/50R15 tyre, you will find a reading as such 98H after the tyre size. This reading tells you it has load index of 98 and speed rating of H. In tyre making, there’s a preset chart that shows these two information. Please refer the chart to understand the categories available.
Treadwear, Traction and Temperature
The segment of this information always come in these 3 combinations. The first being treadwear. This reading tells you how long or durable the tyre is. For example, a treadwear of 380 is more durable than a tyre that has 280 treadwear.
The second reading is traction. This shows how grippy the tyre is. Most modern passenger car tyre carries a traction rating of AA or A. The more A it has, the grippy is gets. You will rarely find B or C traction rating tyres on the market.
The last reading is tyre temperature and most tyres on sale in the market has an A rating temperature.
Tyre Manufacturing Date
Another important information to look out for on a tyre sidewall is the tyre manufacturing date. This information comes in a combination of the year and number of week within a year. For example 3822 signifies the particular tyre is made in year 2022, week no. 38.
These are the more common information you will find on a tyre wall, however, some tyre brands also include other information and it varies from brand to brand.
As an informed consumer, it is to our benefit to know how to decode the information on a product. As in our case, reading a tyre sidewall. In contrast, you can always rely on the brand’s sale person to provide you with this information. Do visit your nearest Toyo Auto Centre to seek professional advise from our trained personnel.
There are many forms of motor vehicle these days on the road. The common ones are sedan or saloon depending on which parts of the world you are at. Within this group, we can spin-off to hatchback, wagon, coupe, cabriolet. Then we have Sport-Utillty-Vehicle aka SUV, Multi-purpose Vehicle aka MPV, 4×4 pick-ups and many others.
All these vehicles body type requires different types of tyre to complement their performance. If you bought a new car, the OE tyres that are fitted onto the vehicles are determined by the manufacturers where, research and thorough study had been carried out before the particular tyre brand and model is decided best suited for the vehicle. In fact many OE tyre models are specially developed only for a particular vehicle model.
Let’s explain this from the tyre models point-of-view rather from the vehicle side as there are too many vehicle variations that can complicate things. In general, tyre can be categorized into a few categories. Let’s dive straight into it. Basically there are passenger car tyre, SUV/4×4 tyres and commercial tyres. We will leave the last group out for the time being.
Malaysia OE Tyre Fitment
Passenger Car Tyres
To simplify things, regardless of which vehicle type such as passenger car tyres like sedan, coupe, wagon or cabriolet, the available tyre types are divided into comfort biased vs performance tyres. Under performance tyre, they are further broken into high performance and ultra-high performance.
Eco tyres or comfort tyres are made for mostly drivers who want comfort for daily driving. This tyre type is vastly available for lower displacement vehicle for example vehicle in A-segment to C-segment. The vehicles are not that powerful and most naturally aspirated. These eco tyres usually pitch on high mileage as people who fit these tyres look for value for money deal. Since these tyres offer higher mileage they naturally sacrifice on grip level. Due to recent advancement in tyre making technology, these tyres has low-rolling resistance properties which will enhance mileage and fuel saving.
To put things into perspective, eco tyres offers comfortable ride, quiet performance, high mileage, low-rolling resistance and fuel saving as their main offerings.
However, there are also eco or comfort tyres for higher segment vehicles which provide better grip and yet still maintaining eco/comfort attributes. For example tyres for luxury saloon or people who drive D-segment and above ride and want a comfort biased tyre.
Moving up the rank is high performance and ultra-high performance tyres. These group of tyres are made for high powered displacement, supercharged and turbo charged vehicles. People who go after these tyres and usually people who enjoy driving and high grip level is the utmost attributes. They do not mind the noise level and sacrificing a little on the comfort.
Drivers of performance cars are the likely bunch to go for these group of tyres. High and ultra-high performance tyres offers high grip level, slightly noisier tyre roar, harsher ride and exceptional cornering prowess. All these point to great handling which is the main priority. Again in the last decades, tyre manufacturer managed to lower the noise level, up the comfort level whilst maintaining high grip level in these tyres. One more point to note is that since the grip level is high, this translates to poor mileage as more sticky compound and less durable rubber is being used.
Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
MPV is designed to be people carrier as its core proposition. People who owns MPVs uses it to ferry their families and occasionally carry goods.
For this purpose, the tyre choice is definitely comfort tyres with luxury ride thrown in. In short, it is a performance comfort tyres that provides good ride quality, quiet, comfort and good grip. Its sidewall is stiffer than that of passenger cars due to vehicle weight and height, this provides good cornering grip as well.
Not many tyre brands actually make specific MPV tyres but there is nonetheless. OE models is rare and replacement models are aplenty, depending on the owner preference. Words of advice is not all tyre models are suited for MPV. The rule of thumb is the specific tyre model must be XL specs.
SUV/4×4 Vehicle/Pick-ups
SUV vehicles owners, one must decide whether their intended daily usage is for on-road or off-road. Most SUVs are built for city on-road driving, hence the tyre choices available are the SUV version of the passenger car model but with stiffer sidewall construction to compensate the vehicle’s weight.
If the SUV is used mainly for off-road which is rare, then one should opt for off-road range. This leads us to the next tyre type, off-road tyres.
Pick-ups are workhorses used primarily for industrial activities. However in recent times, they are made more comfortable and provide a more luxurious ride compared to models of yesteryears. Regardless the intended usage be it on-road or off-road, the tyre choices should from the off-road range. The only difference is one should should go with either urban-terrain (UT), All-terrain (AT) and mud-terrain (MT) models or any other available under the off-road banner.
At Toyo Tires, we have a full range of tyres from OE models to replacement models to cater to almost every vehicle and usage needs. Visit our Toyo Auto Centres to find the best fit to suit your vehicle!
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to write to all Toyo Fan Club members of Malaysia. For those who do not know me, I am Tengku Djan Ley a professional race car driver competing in multiple disciplines of motor racing. How did this come about? Well firstly, I was introduced to competitive motorsport at a very young age. I didn’t start off as a driver though. During the late 80’s my father was actively competing in the Malaysian Rally Championship and I would always tag along in both the rallies and test sessions which really sparked my interest in motorsports. I spent a lot of time with the pit crew during the events, back then service could be conducted by the road side in between stages and the crew literally had to chase the rally cars between stages which was a real adventure for me.
So how did I get in to the driver seat? My interest began with bikes. Back then I used to spend a lot of time at Batu Tiga Circuit with the guidance of my father and Malaysia’s GP rider Oh Kah Beng. One fine day I asked the question “can I start racing bikes?”. I was 16 then and the obvious answer from my parents was “NO, it’s too dangerous”. I accepted their decision and carried on riding but was starting to lose interest probably due to the fact I was just riding around in circles and had not experienced real racing at the time.
As time went by as a teenager, my interest took a turn and riding wasn’t my real passion. I would still turn up for the occasional track day as I enjoyed the adrenaline rush when riding fast on the track. But things changed when Team Shell was looking for a young talent to race in their junior team. 1995 was the year, I said yes and was invited to a shoot-out with other talents which I was then picked to be part of the team for the 1995 season. Let me say this, racing in Malaysia back then was awesome. The championship consists of 6 rounds in total. 3 in Batu Tiga Circuit, Shah Alam and the other 3 at Pasir Gudang Circuit, Johor. Grandstand were packed at every race, grids were full and the energy was surreal.
Driving cars was actually something new for me. Although I knew the basics of braking points & racing lines from my time on 2 wheels, it was still a steep learning curve for me. With a lot of seat time I learnt the ropes of driving fast and really enjoyed the whole experience of competing for a full racing season. My interest for racing grew as I really enjoyed the competitiveness of racing against others. Racing is more than just going fast round a track. It requires quick thinking when fighting for position, patience too when it comes to taking a position. This first experience of racing spurred me forward to further explore the world of motor racing which I ended up competing in other disciplines such as rallying and of course drifting.
It has been an awesome 27 years of racing internationally. I must say motor racing has taught me a lot in my life adventures. Leadership, focus, discipline, courage, to name a few. It has helped me paint a different perspective of life and given me the opportunity to see the world from a different view. Of course, it’s not champagne and flowers all the time, but we strive to achieve the best in every condition, never giving up a fight. It is a tough journey but it is a challenge I have accepted and strive to move forward no matter what the conditions are.
When a race driver stands on the podium it is not just the result of the race, but the dedication and effort put in by everyone in the team to achieve the best result possible. It is always a team effort not an individual as you might sometimes assume when watching a race. Same as our journey in life. It requires the effort of your family, friends and colleagues to push you to be your best.
I will end it here for now, and looking forward to hear from our readers on topics you would like me to cover for the coming articles. Stay safe & drive safe!
The Malaysian off-roading scene is set to welcome the unveiling of the Toyo Open Country R/T tyre, a new addition to the Toyo Open Country line up of 4×4 & SUV tyres.
Designed specifically to cater for a growing niche of drivers who are looking for more balance out of their off-road tyres, the Open Country R/T is designed not only to offer off-road performance, but also on-road comfort without compromising tread wear life.
This is the result of a hybrid design that combines the best features of the M/T & the A/T tyre patterns into one tyre in order to enhance off road performance while still offering good mileage & lower road noise. The tyre features are explained below.
A/T Design
The Open Country R/T tread pattern integrates the Optimized pattern arrangement similar to the Open Country A/T plus. Consisting of block distribution with variable pitch size, L-shaped interlocking blocks & shoulder blocks and sipes, the pattern provides better wear life, prevents irregular wear and offers low noise levels. In addition, step block edges also help improve initial traction as well, providing good on road performance.
M/T Design
For off-road performance, the Open Country R/T also features a few design characteristics from the Open Country M/T that is designed specifically for off road handling and performance. The use of wide shoulder & scallop shoulder lugs and mud craw biting block in the pattern provides the needed traction on off-road surfaces, as well as the displacement of mud. In addition, the prominent lateral groove design of the tread pattern provides better off-road traction. Stone ejectors are also incorporated in the pattern to assist in the displacement of mud & stones from the tyre.
“The combination of the two features produces a tyre with the robust capability to tackle off-road situations, and the docility required for comfortable on-road travels,” says Masaomi Kono, Vice President, Sales and Marketing of Toyo Tyre Sales And Marketing Malaysia Sdn Bhd. “The hybrid design of the Open Country R/T is definitely an ideal fit to meet the demands of drivers looking for both off-road performance without compromising on-road comfort.”
Tan Song Chye, President/Managing Director of Toyo Tyre Sales And Marketing Malaysia Sdn Bhd, said: “The Open Country R/T tyre is the ideal tyre for those looking for the aggressive off-road looks of the Open Country M/T and the on-road comfort that the Open Country A/T plus offers, all in one tyre. Thanks to the use of Toyo Tires’ in house design technology such as Nano Balance & T-Mode technology, we are able to combine the best features of the M/T & A/T tyre and merge it into one.”
The new Open Country R/T tyres are available in 19 sizes, starting from RM 460 Recommended Retail Price (Peninsular Malaysia). To find out more, visit https://www.toyotires.com.my, or any Toyo Centres and Silverstone Centres throughout Malaysia.
Drifting has become a sport that has garnered a huge followings over the last two decades. It was a very niche sports that originated from Japan and officially introduced by Kunimitsu Takahashi in the 70’s. On the other hand, drifting technique was also adopted way back in the rally world known as the power-slide negotiating through high speed corners. It then slowly popularised by movies such as The Fast & Furious franchise and Initial D manga and movie. Even before the big screens, Initial D manga television series and comic in Japan was already captivating millions of fans worldwide back then. In the real world we owe it to no other than the The Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya who spread it far and wide in the motorsports spectrum.
In the anime series, comics and movies, a lot of car models were featured and these cars in real life are truly very capable and popular drift machines. Some cars are built in a way that are easily oversteer or in layman terms going sideways or tail happy. These type of cars are mostly sought after for the purpose of drifting. Besides the oversteer characteristic of the car, it must be able to generate immense power to invoke the oversteer and maintain the slide with horsepower and torque.
The recipe for a drift car is rear-wheel-drive, light weight and high powered engine. Not all car makers got it right by simply following these design rules. Among the favourite car makes and models that are favourite among drifters are mostly Japanese brands or a.k.a Japanese Domestic Models (JDM). Not to say the continental makes are not capable, it is just that the JDMs are easier to maintain and more economical. The biggest contributing factors to this is the origin of drifting is from Japan and the influence of Initial D.
Now, let us look at our top 5 favourite drift cars of all time.
Toyota AE86 Spinter Trueno
You cannot not mention this cult status model when comes to drifting. In fact, this model is so iconic, it is the all-time favourite drift car in the history of the sport and its Japanese name “Hachiroku” (86 in Japanese) is famous among the drifting and racing community worldwide. World renowned drift king, Keiichi Tsuchiya uses this car to drift and the Initial D series and comics also feature this model as the main car for its lead character Takumi Fujiwara. So what makes this car model an iconic drift car beside its comic and movie credentials?
Being the car that solely responsible in making drifting into what it is today, the 90’s popup headlight AE86 is a lightweight naturally aspirated front mounted rear wheel drive coupe. Fitted with a 1.6 litre 4AGE engine that churns out a mere 128bhp and 148nm of torque, this car is super fun, agile and tail happy on the track. Although it is nowhere near the more modern drift cars’ power output, with its lack of horsepower, it compensated with its lightweight body of merely touching one tonne hence resulting in a commendable power-to-weight ratio. However, this power output is being tuned to be more powerful than it originally rolled out from the factory to cater to the power demand of a drift car worldwide.
Although this car is more than two decades old, it still turn heads whenever you see one on the road. Especially one in black and white that resembles the one in the manga series and movies. In fact you’ll mostly find one in black and white and not in any other colour!
It successor the GT86 is continuing its legacy and has already established itself as a reliable, fun and accessible drift car as more people can afford and enjoy drifting without breaking the bank. Maintaining the recipe of success of the AE86, the GT86 brings driving enthusiasts down the memory lane and reminiscent the past glory of the great AE86. It is like meeting an old friend which you have not met for ages.
Nissan Silvia (S Platform)
Another all-time favourite drift car, the Silvia has provided continuous fun and reliabley drifting machine since the S13 right to S15 model. Across 3 models upgrade iterations, these cars were an alternatives to the more expensive and powerful Toyota Supras. Many drifter opted for the Silvia as a more economical choice and it slowly gain in popularity and demand as it performed superbly well, matching the Supra and even Nissan’s own and Silvia’s bigger sibling – the Skyline GTR.
Silvia is the Japan Domestic Market (JDM) name and it is known as the SX-es in the non-JDM market. Essentially they are the same. Powered by the ever reliable SR20DET turbocharged engine, it came with a stock standard approximately 200bhp and 280nm. With the engine parts upgrade and modification, these engine is capable of producing three to four time its original power output. After some two decades, aftermarket parts are still widely available for these wonderful drift machines thus maintaining its popularity among drifters.
Toyo Tires ambassador Tengku Djan Ley has chosen a Nissan 180SX or S13 as his latest drift car and he recently won his maiden drift championship in the new car which he rebuilt and tuned himself to cater to his liking.
Nissan Z Cars
Yes, is Nissan again. Nissan has produced some of the finest drift cars of all time. The second Nissan cars that made it to the list is the newer and more powerful Z cars and we have yet to go into the Skyline GTR territory!
The two generation models worth mentioning are the beautifully design and sculptured 350Z and 370Z. As the model name suggests, they came in 3.5 litre and 3.7 litre naturally aspirated V6 engines respectively. The 350Z was launched in 2002, it was a revelation then and awed motorsports and petrolheads with its beautifully designed body silhouette that was the total opposite of its predecessor the more boxy 300ZX. Its biggest downfall is its weight. 350Z and 370Z are considerably a heavy vehicle for drifting and in fact for track use. The counter measures done by the Nissan’s engineers were paired them with a reliable and powerful engine – the VQ series powerplant.
Capable of generating 300 plus of ponies and 370nm of torque from its legendary VQV6 engine, the Z car has lived up to its reputation of being a very capable drift car. Even without adding on a turbo it managed to generate enough power to match other more powerful cars. This is attributed to its driving dynamics, characteristics and its chassis that makes it ideal for going sideways. With the recently launched 400Z, Nissan is committed to ensure the Z car lineage is continued and this has brought joy to the drifting community as they known this 400Z will set to be another legend in the making joining the already established 350Z and 370Z.
Mazda RX7 (FC and FD)
Rotary power to the fore. This iconic 90’s sportscar from Mazda is a lightweight unorthodox sportscar. Other car makers were making inline 4, straight 6, boxer, V6 NA or turbocharged engines, Mazda choose its own path by producing its very own and unique rotary engine for the RX7. The result is a small capacity turbocharged engine capable of producing high power output for drifting.
To this date, the FC and FD coded RX7 are still commanding high respect and it sits shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of all time. Finding one is super rare these days as Mazda did not make it a volume production. Even if you find one, be prepared to pay a hefty price tag for it.
A front engine, rear-wheel-drive and rotary powered engine, RX7 is unique where it only rely on a 1.3 litre rotary twin turbocharged engine to generate power that matches the likes of other 1.8L, 2.0L or even the 2.5L JDM models of the same era.. What a feat to be proud of considering the RX7 was fitted with a small displacement engine.
BMW M3
The only continental makes that is in the list and this is by no means a softies. It can stand tall among the Japanese counterparts and has earned their respect too. The M3 drifting prowess started way back in its first edition of the model, the E30 BMW M3.
Over the decades, the M3 has gone through several updates and upgrades. With every facelift and new edition, the car has shown progress and innovation. Among the 6 generations of M3s, the fans and drivers’ favourite has got to be the E36 M3. This is the era of the legendary naturally aspirated inline six engine before BMW moved into the turbocharged engine direction with the F30. The M3’s driving dynamics and balance provide top notch handling and coupled its award winning straight six engine, the car is very much sought after until today. If you happened to spot one on sale, it will be snapped up in no time. The other generations of M3s like the E46, E90 right up to the current G20, they never disappoint. You’ll bet the M3 regardless of any generations will be among the top contenders in any racing competitions.
Still hugely popular and being used to drift till this days, the E36 is powered by a 3.0L straight six engine that produces around 250bhp and 300nm. Aftermarket parts are widely available till this day and this means you can modify up to your heart’s content to whatever power output you like.
Of course there are many more finest drift car of over the years. The ones that make our list are those that have achieved cult status among the drifting world in specific and motorsports world in general. Regardless whichever model is your favourite drift car, as long as car makers stick to the recipe, developing a great drift machine is not impossible. Let’s hope more and more car makers will produce more drift capable cars or at least continue the legacy created by the predecessor and current models.
Malaysians in general loves motorsports and over the years, there are some who have made it big and managed to create a name for themselves in both local and international motorsports arena. The disciplines ranges from formula or circuit racing, rally, drifting and bike racing.
Malaysia 1st Formula 1 Driver
The name Alex Yoong is not alien to Malaysia motorsports community. If you follow Malaysian motorsports you will definitely know who he is.
Alex Yoong started racing at the very young age of 16 in 1992. In his early years of racing, he had very successful races that gave him very good results. He was the youngest driver in Malaysian motorsports scene at that time and he worked his way up by competing against more matured and experienced drivers.
He dived straight into motorsports by participating in the saloon car racing for a few good years. Alex moved up to Formula Racing car in 1994 after two years of honing his driving skills in saloon car racing by joining Formula Asia which is also known as Asian Formula 2000. From then on, he worked up the ranks and participated in more advanced and challenging Formula Renault, Formula 3, Formula 3000 and Formula Nippon.
Alex eventually reached the pinnacle of motorsports in year 2001 donning Minardi Formula Team colours. Although his Formula 1 career only lasted for one season, he was and still is the only Malaysian F1 driver in history.
Life post-Formula 1, Alex moved to Champ Car racing in The States, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, V8 Supercars, A1 Grand Prix, Le Man Series, GP 2 Asia Series over the years to add more credentials to his racing curriculum vitae (CV). His vast experiences in racing in different disciplines had made him the most decorated Malaysian racing driver ever.
He still competes now but his time is mostly dedicated to his motorsport consultancy firm Axle Sport which is aim at promoting motorsport talents and the sport in general.
Malaysia’s Prince of Drift
This title does hold water and Tengku Djan Ley truly deserves this honour. His appointment of being the Toyo Tires brand ambassador speaks volume of his credibility in this discipline. Besides that, he is also the ambassador for Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival.
Known as Malaysia’s Prince of Drift, Tengku Djan has very strong and versatile racing testimonials where he honed his skills by taking part in various racing disciplines such as formula, touring, drifting , eRacing and others. Among the championships that he has participated in are FIA GT Zhuhai Supercar 500, Sepang 100km Race, 12-hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance race, D1 Grand Prix Malaysia, D1 Grand Prix “Tokyo Drift”, D1 Grand Prix “All Star” World Championship, Formula Drift Asia, Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival and XOX Unity League iRacing.
Of all the various type of racing, drifting remains his favourite and has brought him the most success and honours. Just like the man himself describe, the difference of drifting as compared to other discipline is “Boxing vs MMA where the former is bounded by set of rules and rigid, whereas the latter is more fun with showmanship thrown in”. This passion has won him many followers and a respected figure within the motorsports fans especially the drifting community.
Tengku Djan is still actively racing and mainly focusing on the drifting discipline although he also occasionally participates in other disciplines like the recent Toyota Gazoo Race Festival where he was in a Toyota Vios saloon car.
The Flying Sikh
Rallying is undoubtedly the most challenging among all racing. The driver and co-driver are on their own in the race without any crew support like other race disciplines. Besides being the driver, you are also the technician and mechanic on the race course or route! Malaysia is not short of rally driver and the most prominent figure has to be this man. Karamjit Singh a.k.a The Flying Sikh.
Karamjit is the first Asian driver to win the FIA Production Car World Championship driver’s title back in 2002 and most impressively, he did it in his first attempt! He started his rally racing career in 1985. Racing in his famous green Proton PERT livery rally car, he has chalked up victories in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) driver’s champion 3 times in year 2001, 2002 and 2004.
His racing career took a halt in 2005 due to sponsorship problems and after a few years of absence, the Flying Sikh is now back in action with new sponsorship deals. He started rallying again in 2011 and was under the banner of Cusco Japan Team participating in Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) driving a Proton Satria NEO CPS R3 rally car.
His rally career took another dive after that and now, the man back again rallying after securing new sponsorship deals. In 2021, Cisco Racing Team confirmed Karamjit as their lead driver and will compete in Malaysian National Rally Championship (MNRC). This is indeed a very good news for Malaysian rally fans and do expect The Flying Sikh to set the rally scene ablaze once more.
Malaysia’s Most Inspiring Female Race Driver
The one and only female motorsports personality in Malaysia, period. Leona Chin began her racing career as a drifter in 2006. She has tried out various racing disciplines and she said drifting is her favourite as it is fun and relaxing. “You can do it at your own pace” she quoted.
Over the years, she had appeared in many TV shows, showing off her drifting skills which garnered thousands of fans both locally and internationally. She is the most famous Malaysia’s race driver on social media where she engages with her followers with her racing contents. Thus, making her a celebrity female race driver.
In competitive racing, it all started with a 12-hour endurance race which is an all-female racing team. Among her famous races are Clio Cup China Series where she emerged a runner-up, Malaysian Championship Series which again she was the runner-up, at GT World Challenge Asia Series which she co-drive with Tengku Djan Ley and the Sepang 1000k Race.
Due to her strong command with social media followers, she has landed herself quite a number of corporate sponsorships and brand ambassadorships like Prince Lubricant, Trapo Car Mat, China Auto Show Shanghai, and MyTukar.
Two wheeler speedster
Being the first Southeast Asian rider to race in the MotoGP, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah is definitely a household name when it comes to motorbike racing in Malaysia. He started off his racing career at a tender age of 9 in the Pocket Bike or Mini Bike category. In 2007 he went into serious racing in Cup Prix racing where he came out second overall.
He later moved up the ranks into Moto2 World Championship and eventually MotoGP in 2018 racing for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team. His MotoGP career only lasted 2 seasons where he then move back to Moto2 in 2020. In 2022, Hafizh has successfully landed himself a deal with MIE Honda team to race in World SBK (Superbike) series. To date, Hafizh remains the most successful race biker in Malaysia history.
Regardless of which motorsport discipline you are a fan of, do keep supporting our local motorsport personalities whether they are already retired or still actively racing!
In our busy work life where each of us strive to perform, meet our KPIs and achieve whatever goals that we may have, this quest poses a tremendous stress and pressure to our body and mind. Not to mention if you were at the dirty end of the stick.
In order for us to go further and last the miles, being able to refresh and rejuvenate our mind and body is extremely important. That is why weekend road trips are particularly popular among urbanites to have a quick recharge over the weekend.
Malaysia is not short of beautiful and exciting destinations for short road trips. Be it you are traveling as a family or a couple or even with group of friends, choices are aplenty. Here are some of the perfect short road trip destinations which we think is a perfect getaway for the urban folks.
KL – Melaka
Melaka is no stranger to KL-lites and in fact to all Malaysian wherever you may live. The journey takes approximately less than 2 hours of drive from KL’s Sg. Besi toll and exit at Air Keroh toll in Melaka.
Known as the historical city of Malaysia, there are many historical destinations you can visit. The first must visit place is the Dutch Square or rather known as the Red Square. Within its vicinity, you will find Stadthuys, Christ Church, Tang Beng Swee Clock Tower, Queen Victoria Fountain and Hard Rock Café, just to name a few. Located at Bandar Hilir of the Melaka City. You can’t miss it as its structure is very recognizable with its reddish paintwork that stood the test of time since 134 years ago. This place is a default meeting point for tourists and is abuzz with street traders and buskers’ performances.
All the mentioned attractions are within walking distance and you should cover them all in within one to two hours exploring the place. Your last stop should be at the Hard Rock Café where you can grab a few souvenirs for your families and friends.
As the saying goes, if you have not been to Jonker street, you have not been to Melaka. Famous for its colonial era buildings, Jonker Street is also known as the Chinatown of Melaka. Over the years, many shops have converted to hipster café and restaurants to keep the place renewed with its attractiveness. Besides such establishments, Jonker street is also famous for its weekend night market. A perfect destination for weekend visitors.
If you fancy some historical spots, A’ Famosa and St. Paul church are spot on. A’ Famosa is the perfect sightseeing spot in Melaka and for photography lovers, this place presents plenty of photo opportunities for some memories to bring home from your Melaka trip. If you yearned for more historical past of Melaka, St. Paul church certainly able to fulfill that as this is another significant historical site. Built in 1521, this iconic church is located at the hilltop of St. Paul hill thus providing a picturesque view for tourists.
A 3-day 2-night stay in Melaka over the weekend should suffice for a rejuvenated trip before you dive back in the hustle and bustle of the city again. If you want to explore more, probably you need to extend your stay as there are more to see and do in this historical city.
KL – Ipoh
Mentioned Ipoh, one would probably think of its food offerings. This is because Ipoh is known as one of the favourite hunting ground for foodies alike. Approximately 2 and a half hour drive from KL, you will be greeted by a huge “IPOH” giant wordings structure to signify you have reach your intended destination.
Among the famous must try Ipoh delicacies are bean sprout chicken rice “Nga Choy Kai”, white coffee, yong tau foo, dim sum, salted chicken “Yim Kuk Kai” and Chee Cheong Fun. These foods are a must have in your menu if you are visiting Ipoh for a gastronomic tour.
Besides famous for its food, Ipoh is also well known for its caves. These are limestones caves that are formed as a result of a process that started million years ago. Most of these caves are house to Buddhist temples and the most famous being the Sam Poh Tong Temple. The non-temple caves are Tambun cave and Tempurong cave.
If you fancy something more modern, Ipoh also has a few theme parks for some family fun, especially the young ones will be excited to visit. The Lost World of Tambun is a must visit and it is one of the well-known theme parks in the Northern region of Peninsula Malaysia. A visit there will take up one whole day of your trip as there are list of exciting activities that last till night time to keep the visitors entertained. There are other theme parks too like Bukit Merah Laketown theme park which is one hour drive away from Ipoh. Ipoh is definitely a worthy family road trip that caters to the young and old. Your whole family will sure to like it and a return trip will follow suit in the near future as the distance is not too far from KL.
KL – Bentong
Being the favourite weekend destination for a short day trip, Bentong is considered one of if not the nearest destination for Kl-lites. It only takes about an hour drive from KL’s Gombak toll to Bentong town.
Known for its durian orchards, Bentong is particularly packed with weekend travelers during the durian season. Due to its fame for being a convenient weekend escape spot, even during a normal weekend, traffic jams are a normal occurrence within Bentong town centre nowadays.
Durian stalls can be found at almost every few hundred metre along the road side in Bentong together with other fruits stalls of course. Food hunting can never escape the to-do-list for any road trip. The famous Bentong town market area is where you should be heading for a good meal. There are Wan Ton Noodles, Yong Tau Foo, porridge, ice cream, dessert, ice kacang, cendol and other street food for your selection. You’ll be spoilt for choice!
Bentong is also famous for its kopitiams. Thong Kee kopitiam serves up to the usual kopitiam offerings. Its famous Cham Peng (mixture of coffee and tea) and kaya & butter toast is a must order whenever you are there. Another kopitiam worth visiting is Lao You Kee kopitiam. It provides an alternative to Thong Kee and its polo bun and caramel coffee are a hit with visitors.
Usually it only takes a day trip to explore Bentong, but if you want to relax and enjoy the nature Bentong has to offer as it is located on high terrains, you could put up a night too.
KL – Cameron Highlands
If highlands and cool weather is your thing, then Cameron Highlands is a perfect weekend getaway for you. This popular spot can be reached via two routes. We will suggest to use the Simpang Pulai road as compared to the old Tapah route which is more dangerous with narrow roads and tight corners.
There are plenty of activities to embark on in Cameron Highlands. The must visit is the BOH Tea Plantation where you can enjoy nice hot BOH tea or coffee with the pastries at the café overlooking the entire plantation. A sight to behold. Other not to be missed attractions are the strawberry farm, butterfly farm, honeybee farm and rose garden.
After visiting all these places and when comes to filling up your tummy, the numerous steamboat restaurants provide aplenty steamboat choices. It is especially satisfying as the hot broth is the best to be enjoyed amidst the cool weather in the evening which tends to get colder.
Fancy a slow walkaround after dinner, then the weekend night market is the best place to go for a slow stroll along the stalls. You can even get some fresh vegetables, fruits and some souvenirs too.
Well prepared for the road trip is important
Road trip can be fun and as the name suggest, your transportation mode is by car or bike unless you are traveling alone. Getting to your intended destinations safely is the number one agenda before you plan where to go.
As part of your preparation for the trip is to make sure your vehicle is at its best condition so you can arrive safely at your destination. For peace of mind, we suggest you visit to your nearest Toyo Auto Centre for a thorough inspection. Be it for tyre checks or full vehicle servicing our Toyo Auto Centres are able to give you the best service and professional advice.
The Top 5 Roads That Will Spike Your Adrenaline In Malaysia
What is a good drive to you…
We all drive for a reason. Some drive just for daily commute, some drive because their job requires them to do so, some drive for fun and passion and the reasons go on.
Whatever your reason is, a good drive will make you smile from ear to ear. So what is a good drive to you? Malaysia is blessed with numerous roads, from city roads to and trunk roads (B-roads) to kampung roads to highways. These various types of road do provide different driving experiences. Some are more exciting and some are less but it all depends on the condition and design of the road.
In general, what most people or petrolheads seek for a good a drive is a road that enables their adrenaline to spike, plus some serotonin, dopamine and endorphins add to the concoction. Yes, that’s a spirited drive that will elevate your driving pleasure. If the route is along a scenic landscape, it will spike their adrenaline and driving pleasure even further.
A good drive does not necessarily to drive fast
A good drive is the one that let you enjoy the drive. It makes you feel connected to the road and sense every single details of the road surface. Of course the car will contribute greatly to this but we will leave that out of the equation and we will just focus on the road.
A good drive does not necessarily means driving fast. An old car with great handling characteristic will also give you a good drive on a good road.
Top 5 Malaysian roads for a good drive
In general, roads that give you a good drive or even spirited enjoyable drive are mostly trunk roads or what is known as B-roads or back roads.
In Malaysia, we are blessed with a good selection of these types of roads at our disposal. Now, let’s dive straight into the choices that spread across the country.
1. Karak Highway to Genting Highlands to Bukit Tinggi
Spanning across Banjaran Titiwangsa and cutting through ravines, highlands and mountains, it is no surprise Karak Highway provides a drive that makes driving enthusiasts keep wanting for more. A total length of 60km of winding tarmac of different elevation, the drive is engaging and at the same time rapid. This is due to the fact it is a dual to three-lane highway for most part of it.
This famous hunting ground for Malaysian petrolheads, the journey usually starts from Gombak toll. As soon as you exit the toll heading towards Karak town, there’s where the adrenaline starts. With such wide lanes, keeping to the speed limit is quite a challenge for those with a heavy right foot.
Along the journey presents quite a few options where you can choose to exit the highway and explore the B-roads. For example Bukit Tinggi route up Tropicale Cormar or Genting Highlands route all the way up to the peak or just till Gohtong Jaya. Since these are not highway, more focus and concentration are needed compared to the highway but the reward and enjoyment are doubled if you managed to conquer the turn after turn along its path.
2. Bukit Putus
Located in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Bukit Putus is an old trunk or federal road. Its route is infamous for its dangerous corners and sharp bends. The whole route is not that long with only about 7km of track-like paths and the legal speed limit is capped at only 90km/h. Canvasing against green scenery, driving in the early morning will give you a refreshing and cool experience. This road is at time eerily quiet with no traffic at all. Only occasionally you will encounter traffic. It is advisable not to drive alone but with at least 2 cars convoy or group drive.
With the road design and traffic condition, Bukit Putus is the perfect touge path for any driving enthusiasts to put their driving skills to test or in fact to test out the handling of their cars.
3. Hulu Langat to Kuala Klawang
This route is actually located in the state of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. Kuala Klawang route is another well-known hunting ground for petrolheads’ weekend convoy drive. Kuala Klawang route provide a more scenic drive where the path will bring you to Semenyih Dam along the way, providing a breathtaking landscape while you enjoy a good drive.
As compared to Bukit Putus, this route has a steeper elevation. It is known to have approximately 400 corners and stretches across 50km of nice tarmac. If you really want to find out how good a driver you are, this is the place. This road is especially crowded with car clubs, superbikes and cyclists on a weekend where lately you will hear news about road accidents along this path on a weekend involving cars and motorbikes. So drive safe and be vigilant.
4. Simpang Pulai to Cameron Highlands
This Simpang Pulai route up Cameron Highlands provides an alternative for petrolheads who seek a hilly mountain pass other than the usual Genting pass. This route also caters to the Northern region drivers. However car group from Central do go there just to get away from the usual Genting drive where now can get over crowded at times. This route is newer compared to Genting and the landscape is not claustrophobic where its two-lane path are more highway-like. You don’t feel so close to the greens on the sides like Genting.
From the foothill up all the to Cameron Highlands, you will need about 1 hour 40 minutes of drive which equates to roughly 80km in total distance. This path is starting to gain popularity as this is a safer road up to Cameron Highlands as compared to the old Tapah route. Although the traffic may get heavy over the weekends with tourist heading up Cameron Highlands, at least the drive is safer with its wider lanes and highway-like road designs.
5. Ulu Yam to Sungai Selangor Dam (aka KKB Dam)
Your list of best roads to drive in Malaysia will not be complete without mentioning this famous route. Known as must-go road for petrolheads, Ulu Yam route is very similar to the aforementioned B-roads. This is especially famous due to it vicinity which is located in Klang Valley and weekend drive is just at your own backyard rather than have to go interstate.
Most drive will start at Batu Caves heading into Ulu Yam. The start of the drive has fast sweeping corners, steep elevation and blind spots that make overtaking almost impossible. As you are busy giving your 100% concentration in the drive, you will be presented with a beautiful landscape right from the word “GO”. The Batu Dam awaits you to break the monotony of boring greens which cover most parts on both sides of the road.
You will reach civilization again after 15 to 20 minutes of driving amidst nature. That’s right, the Ulu Yam town. It will take another 15 minutes of town driving before you dive back into the nature landscape with corners after corner of sweeping bends and elevation. Finally this favourite road among petrolheads will eventually end at a spot overlooking dam on a 150 metre bridge where you can park at the side for picture taking of just dam sightseeing. Travel for another 5 minutes, you will then arrive at the lookout point overlooking the entire dam. These 2 spots are the ultimate destinations for the famous Ulu Yam drive!
Drive safely and confidently
Weekend drive is definite fun especially if you travel in a convoy with like-minded people. People who participate in weekend drive are not ordinary drivers. They are driving enthusiasts who love cars and love driving even more. To get an enjoyable drive with a tinge of spiritedness added in, the ride is important where speed with control come hand-in-hand.
Toyo Proxes series do produce some outstanding tyre models that car enthusiasts seek after. The track focus Proxes R888R is for the real hardcore, Proxes Sport and Proxes TR1 are designed to enhance your driving pleasure with a sporty drive. If you want a more relaxing and quiet drive, the Proxes CR1 will deliver them with flying colours yet is able to cater to your spirited equally well. Whatever your ride and your destination is, Toyo Proxes series covers them.
Located in the tropical climatic zone, Malaysia is not spared from hot weather and torrential rains. Yes, we are into the last quarter of the year and this means we will be having lots and lots of downpour throughout the country in the period!
To many daily commuters who drive, this signifies caution and worry. Caution because of the wet road conditions pose a risk of accidents and worry is because flooding may occur.
Driving on a wet surface is a tricky business as we are faced with many uncertainties. Skidding, sliding, aqua-planning, understeer and oversteer are the possibilities motorists may encounter. And these may lead to a road accident which many of us dread.
That’s not all gloomy for us motorists when coming to year end driving. Year end also means holidays for many people as this is the time when school is out. So, there will be a lot of travelling on the road for domestic travelers of course. Families will be on road trips or driving to wherever their holiday destinations may be.
On one hand, driving will be tricky if it rained and on the other hand, there will be a lot of driving. To address this, one of the step which motorists can take is to prepare their vehicles especially their car tyres to minimize the risk of driving on wet roads and also to perform in the similar road conditions.
A good set of tyre will save the day
Choosing a good set of tyre that suit your needs can be tricky and confusing. Which one is the best for you? And the best for you may not suit your budget. To pick a set of tyre that strike a balance requires some research.
When we say choosing a set of tyre that suit your needs, you have to look at what vehicle you are driving. A segment, B segment, C segment and so forth. Whether is a sedan, SUV, MPV etc. There are specific tyres for specific vehicle types and choosing the right one will definitely add on to the overall performance of your ride. For example, on average an A segment vehicles have engine capacity of 1 litre to 1.2 litre. B segment will have 1.5 to 1.6cc engine capacity and the subsequent segments will get more powerful engines.
To address the driving in the wet situation, the obvious and non-negotiable solution is to choose a tyre that meant for your vehicle segment and has anti-aquaplaning properties. Most tyre will claim they have this feature, the point is some may be better than the other.
Anti-aquaplaning property is how well or efficient a tyre dispel water from its contact surface on the road running through a puddle of water. The more effective this feature, the safer it is as your vehicle will not be caught in an uncontrollable situation with it swaying from side to side. This is a scary situation to be in and trust us, you wouldn’t want to even go there.
So now, you know anti-aquaplaning feature of a tyre is crucial for wet road driving especially for us Malaysian. Another important factor to consider in choosing a good tyre for wet road driving is its stopping prowess in the wet. Some tyre can stop shorter and some take a longer distance to come to a halt.
Why is that so? If you ever wondered… This is all about the tyre compound (not forgetting the earlier mentioned point of good anti-aquaplaning property to begin with). The key word here is silica. This compound is the one that makes a tyre stick. The more a tyre has this in its compound, the stickier it gets. Thus providing more traction to enable a vehicle to have a shorter stopping distance.
Again we are faced with another dilemma – dry stopping prowess vs wet stopping. The sensible choice is to go for wet stopping as this condition poses a more dangerous threat. Majority of the tyres claim their tyres can stop well in the dry but not many can claim they have commendable wet stopping prowess. Dry stopping prowess in a tyre is given, if it came with good wet stopping feature, it is a bonus!
But this silica comes at a price. The stickier the tyre, the more expensive it will be as it can commands a higher retail selling price. Normally, only high performance tyre would have more of this silica compound in its construction. The dilemma facing drivers is only a handful of limited tyre brands or models produce high performance tyre for lower segment cars. So choosing the best and the right on is the key.
Confused? Let our professionals help you choose
Confused already? This is especially true with so many tyre brands out there with many claims. Especially in these 2 topics we are discussing here – anti-aquaplaning and stopping prowess.
With school holidays coming and monsoon is already here, if you need a new set of tyre to fulfill the 2 discussed features for your traveling, do let our professionals at our Toyo Premium Auto Centres and Toyo Auto Centres assist you in choosing and picking the best tyre for you. Our trained personnel will access your vehicle and recommend the most suitable tyre model so you and your family can enjoy your holidays with peace-of-mind. At least you know your journey will be a safe one.
In the history of car making, car manufacturers have been working very closely with tyre makers to produce and equip their cars with the OE tyre that compliments or that is able to bring the best out of its capabilities.
There are mega car conglomerates who produce their own car parts like gearbox, suspension and other mechanical and electronics but you rarely see a car brand makes their own tyre. They will always work with tyre manufacturers that have an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) division. This is because, tyre making requires extensive research and technologies, not to mention the heavy investment to start with.
A car is as good as its tyres! This is so true as the contact a car has with the road is only the size of an average adult human palm multiply by 4 times. That is if you are talking about car, imagine a motorcycle…
A vehicle’s performance is dependent on 3 essential aspects that is the car, the road conditions and particularly, the tyres. For example, the relevance of good tyres attributes to driving safety, comfort and efficiency. The tyres are more crucial when braking on wet surfaces and affects steering precision more than we think it does.
With the correct tyres, new vehicles can achieve its full potential and significantly improve the performance of old vehicles as older vehicles, lacking modern-day driving assistance electronics, like ESP etc. can be compensated through better tyres as the relevance of the tyres becomes more vital the older the vehicle gets.
A powerful sports car can never be fast if it cannot put the power down through its tyres to create traction with the road. The tyre of choice depends on the power of the car in most cases, but there is no too much traction for a car. The more the better if you are shopping for a set of tyre for your car. Unless less traction is intended to bring out certain characteristics of the vehicle like “tail-happy” for drifting.
Another case in point is Formula 1. Today’s F1 cars on average put out 1,000 bhp and race developed tyres are shodded at all 4 corners of the car to make them move safely at an incredibly high speed. That’s not all, they even have different compound tyres for different road surfaces and race strategies. Without these tyres, the high powered race cars can’t even imagine of achieving a top speed of 300km/h and negotiating a bend at 180km/h.
At Toyo Tires, we are in the business of just that. Producing good quality and performance tyres to cater to these people and also daily commuters who are in search of a good tyre.
Is All About Getting It Right
Tyre making has come a long way. In its 182 years of history, tyre has evolved from simple skinny and uncomfortable form to grippy when you want it and also comfortable to cater to super luxury car for a magic carpet ride.
Two of renowned and proven Toyo proprietary technologies T-Mode and Nano Balance Technology are deployed in producing all Toyo models.
T-Mode
T-Mode is a highly efficient and precise tyre development program used by Toyo to develop all of its tyres. Using simulation of different driving styles and conditions to gauge how a tyre behaves and performs, T-Mode is able to gauge retrospectively how a vehicle behaves and this method is further able to develop how a tyre performs in correlation with these 2 factors in the T-Mode tyre simulation stage. All these simulations helps T-Mode to design the structural construction of the tyre with the result gathered in its tyre structural analysis. Hence, producing a tyre that best matches the results.
In its second edition, The “New T-Mode” is now incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to further improve and simply make better tyres. In simply terms, T-Mode is more powerful in every way in helping Toyo in making tyres.
Nano Balance Technology
A proprietary development platform for rubber materials that is able to predict accurately the rubber compound properties. To translate this to tyre making, Toyo is able to analyse, study and forecast the various rubber compounds as up to 10 rubber compounds are used in a single tyre. For example, the side walls, inner and outer treads etc.
With such a cutting edge technology, Toyo can accurate deploy different rubber compounds in the different areas or sections of the tyre with precision and achieve optimum usage of materials.
Under Toyo current range of tyre line up, these 2 advanced proprietary technologies successfully assist Toyo in producing various tyres for various needs such as the Proxes series, Open Country series and Tranpath series. These tyres are aim to compliment different vehicles types in order to bring the best out of the vehicles. Toyo Tires are further stamp its mark as one of the world leading brand in tyre manufacturing by being one of the OE player supplying many car brands with quality tyres in many market across the world.
We want our customers to understand and believe in what we do best
Toyo Tires, a Japanese tyre brand that is known the world over for its products that drive all sorts of vehicles from passenger car, SUV, 4×4 to commercial workhorses. With its wide product range of products serving the international markets, Toyo Tires’ passion in creating quality tyres is growing ever so strong and it needs a renewed tagline to drive the brand, company, employees and of course its customers to unify all stakeholders to believe in this one tagline or slogan to move forward and achieve greater heights.
This is especially crucial in today’s business climate where competition is getting more intense and unforgiveable. You put a wrong put forward, your brand will pay the price. We cannot see things through the similar lenses we used to decades ago. As a result, Toyo Tires is on a constant onslaught to create its new open road that will be its guiding beacon to drive this new frontier spirit forward in the future.
Open Roads Await Explained
When you are faced with an open road or in motorsport context, an open track. It is the time when you are able to fully go flat out to achieve and explore with no limitations.
To go flat out to achieve Toyo Tires’ full potential, we will zoom into the elements and aspects that combine to solidify this new tagline and help to magnify this new frontier spirit.
Element of Surprise
Like the old adage “there is no surprises on ordinary roads”, Toyo Tires seeks to create its new open roads that are full of surprises and sensations to be discovered. This belief has supported and driven Toyo Tires to inject the element of surprise in its products, branding and marketing endeavours. This element of surprise is translated to innovation and excitement that its customers appreciate and like to identify with.
For example, our latest product offering in Toyo Proxes TR1 incorporates the latest technology that challenges the norms in tyre making. The bold tread pattern design of the Proxes TR1 has successfully demonstrated this new guiding principle.
Surprisingly not only Toyo Tires itself but also its customers, Toyo Tires managed to secure the Official Tyre sponsorship for Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival and its earlier mentioned Proxes TR1 tyre has been selected and recognized as the official tyre for the race. This collaboration has made our customers proud to be associated with the brand.
The Fun Factor
Everybody loves a fun brand. Who doesn’t? That’s is why there are so many success stories of fun brands being the market leader in its respective product category. Tyre making can be fun too and this is why Toyo Tires is dedicated to produce and offer the fun element in driving through its tyres. From the more street bias Proxes CR1 to the most extreme Proxes R88R, drivers are able to push to the limits for maximum fun. Not forgetting Toyo’s range of other tyres such as its SUV and 4×4 range also carry the fun factor in its development concepts.
Of all the motorsport disciplines, Toyo Tires has chosen to be identified as the drift racing brand by associating itself with Drift Formula Racing D1GP and world renowned drifter and rally driver Ken Block. On Malaysia’s home front Toyo Tires has appointed Tengku Djan Ley, Malaysia’s Prince of Drift as its brand ambassador, another successful and famous drifter.
Why drifting? One may ask? It is because drifting is the most fun. As Tengku Djan puts it, formula racing is like boxing and drifting is mixed martial arts (MMA). The former is governed by a lot of fixed rules whereas the latter is more flexible, expressive and at times creative. A drifter is akin to a racer cum entertainer on the track! Now, that’s certainly a lot of fun to be had.
The Need for Change
Change is inevitable and constant. At Toyo Ties, change is embraced with positivity. Every new product that rolls out from its factory, every marketing promotion, every event needs to be better than the earlier editions. Change for the better and with change only Toyo can fully demonstrates it new tagline’s earlier two essences -element of surprise and fun factor.
Whatever the change may be, as long as the passion and the quest for fun driving live strongly among all levels within the organization, Toyo Tires will always be on the move to keep up with people who loves driving and always on a look out for an open road for a good drive. Together the open roads await us!
Toyo Tires Delivering Customer Satisfaction Through Its Dealer Network
TODAY’S CHALLENGING BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
It is all about the customers
Business in the 21st century remains as challenging as it was back then in the previous centuries. For a successful business to survive and thrive, every factor counts and one cannot be substituted or backup for the other to make the equation a success.
One particular factor that without it there will not be any business to begin with. Yes, you guessed it right. It is CUSTOMERS with a capital C! As the saying goes, you ain’t in business without customers. Having customers is important and maintaining them is utmost crucial in the long run. To keep them happy and keep them coming back, businesses around the globe have come up with numerous and continuous marketing gimmicks and strategies just to achieve that. Yes, it is customer satisfaction.
Toyo Tires has always place customer satisfaction as its priority. From its products, pricing strategy, marketing activities and distribution, all are geared towards achieving customer satisfaction. Of these 4 important elements of marketing, Toyo Tires has invested heavily to make it a success of what it is today to reflect its commitment towards customer satisfaction is its dealer network.
Toyo Tires dealer network in Malaysia is known as Toyo Premium Auto Centre and Toyo Auto Centre. Toyo understands its dealer network is crucial in providing physical engagement with its customers where they can visit, view, touch and interact with the brand in the most effective ways.
Impressive Network
Since its inception back in 2013, Toyo Tires has been actively expanding its dealership to cover as many states and major towns throughout Malaysia to serve its customers. With the current dealers network which is a very impressive feat for Toyo given the short period of time in the local tyre market scene, Toyo Premium Auto Centre and Toyo Auto Centre can be found in most of the major cities and towns both in the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.
Modern and contemporary design
Before its maiden outlet was launched, a lot of work and thoughts were put into getting the design of the outlet right. The objective was to look modern and contemporary and break away from the old school dirty and cluttered tyre shop of yesteryears. Every Toyo Premium Auto Centre and Toyo Auto Centre carries a similar look, branding and ambience to keep consistency and strong branding throughout.
Toyo wants it customers to feel relaxed and impressed right from the moment they step into one. Both types of centres are trying to make their customers feel at home, that is to feel comfortable while their vehicles are being attended to. The waiting lounge is equipped with TV monitor, magazines, tyre displays and some even games just to keep the customers entertained and break boredom. For customers who need to work while waiting, WIFI services are available, power sockets coupled with comfortable tables and chairs too are provided.
To further accentuate branding consistency, the signages, counter design, posters, interior ambient and all the marketing communications materials are obviously carrying Toyo Tires branding properties.
Perfecting the human touch
To achieve total customer satisfaction, perfecting the hardware is not enough. The soft skills are by no means any less important. To deliver a wholesome customer satisfaction package to its customers, all the personnel are well trained to carry their roles with full professionalism and efficacy. From the front desk receptionist, salesman, technician to mechanics, all of them have gone through their respective training provided by Toyo to ensure they know their job scope and execute them to pinpoint accuracy. Toyo Tires fully understands that these people are the important touch points for its customers to experience the Toyo brand that will eventually lead to customer satisfaction. So Toyo Tires will not risk and take a gamble on them because it only takes one bad experience dealing with people to put everything in jeopardy.
Full range of service
Doing more and go beyond the boundaries for your customers do put you in a driving seat in today’s business world where demanding customers are harder to please. Although Toyo Tires main business is in tyre making, its dealership do provides complimenting automotive services such as vehicle scheduled servicing, vehicle diagnostic repairs and battery maintenance. It is a one-stop service centre to provide a total solution to its customers beside tyre service.
It is a tireless and ever changing endeavour that Toyo Tires has to embark on in order to achieve customer satisfaction and Toyo dealer network will continue to play an important role. While Toyo Tires is perfecting and addressing every factor that it can control, there are many other external factors such as market competition, ever changing customer purchase behaviour, buying pattern and etc. Toyo will make customer satisfaction remains as its long term goal to propel the brand to greater heights.
Congratulations for being awarded the Superbrands Malaysia’s Choice 2021
It is all about the customers
A WELL DESERVED VICTORY
Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! Toyo Tires was awarded the Superbrands Malaysia’s Choice 2021 in the Cars & Allied Product Category. As a global tyre brand, Toyo Tires has elevated its presence in Malaysia specifically and gained the confidence of its users with this seal of approval. With this, customers can be confident with Toyo products that offers quality & reliability. Toyo Tires can now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best and recognized as one of the top tyre brands in Malaysia.
So how did Toyo Tires receive this award? The voting process consists of 3 stages which are nomination, selection and recognition. Firstly this nomination is by invitation which not every brand can apply, making it a privilege to be selected. The selection process started off with an online survey to gauge its popularity among the Malaysian public. After going through a second hurdle, where a panel of 2,500 marketing professionals gave their scores, this sealed the victory for Toyo Tires. Kudos!
With a score of more than 80%, this puts Toyo Tires among the best as a Superbrand!
In addition to that, there are 3 crucial determining factors in deciding the winner which are quality, reliability and distinction. The result is obvious. Toyo Tires eventually stands out among its peers and emerged the victor to claim the award and being recognized as Superbrands in its category. This milestone will definitely spur Toyo Tires to achieve greater success and even more quality products.
A BRIEF HISTORY
A Truly Global Tyre Brand
Incorporated in 1945 in Japan, Toyo Tires global headquarter is based in Itami, Hyogo, Japan. Besides Japan, Toyo Tires operates globally in Europe, America & Oceania, with a total of 95 subsidiaries and 42 distributors. Other than its tyre business, Toyo is also into industrial and automotive related product manufacturing.
Toyo Tires In Malaysia
Toyo Tires Malaysia manages its local business operations and marketing activities from its corporate headquarters in Selangor while its manufacturing commitments are handled by its state-of-art factory in Taiping, Perak. This modern factory, which is the largest tyre manufacturing factory in the country, is responsible of churning out all Toyo Tires’ tyres to meet the demands of the local market as well as for export markets.
Toyo Tires first set foot in Malaysia back in 2011. So it is relative a young brand in the Malaysia tyre market compare to its rivals. Its one-stop tyre centre, operating as either Toyo Premium Auto Centre, Toyo Auto Centre, or the Toyo Tyre Centre have expended in every state across Malaysia, an impressive achievement indeed given such a short period of time.
IMPRESSIVE TYRE LINE UP
Toyo Tires product line up consist of passenger car and commercial vehicle tyres. In the passenger car segment, Toyo Tires caters to vehicles from A segment all the way to the D segment, as well as SUV and 4×4. Its line up is so complete it covers both the replacement and original equipment (OEM) markets.
If you are looking for a performance tyre with high mileage and comfort, the newly launched Proxes CR1 fits the bill. Fancy an ultra high performance tyre for your sport car? Toyo Proxes Sport does the job superbly. The highly popular Proxes TR1 is a fan favourite for driving enthusiasts who frequent touge runs on weekends! The Proxes series caters to passenger and SUV vehicles, making it one of the successful model series in the Toyo product category.
Besides that, Toyo Open Country series is also a popular choice among the SUV and 4×4 owners. This robust series has successfully fitted at all 4 corners of SUVs and 4x4s on the Malaysian roads with its more popular models such as the Open Country AT Plus, Open Country UT and the most aggressive Open Country MT.
Another segment that is also Toyo’s focus is the MPV tyre segment. The highly popular Tranpath LU2 and Tranpath MPZ which can be seen on the Alphards, Vellfires and the Estimas attest to that.
Toyo is considered a household brand name both locally and globally in the Original Equipment (OEM) market. The quality and reliability of Toyo Tires contribute to this trust demonstrated by successful car brands such as Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan and Isuzu.
Congratulations once again to Toyo Tires for the award and it is truly justified and worthy for a global brand that exudes quality, reliability and performance.
Known as Malaysia’s Prince of Drift, Tengku Djan has a very strong and versatile racing testimonials where he honed his skills by taking part in various racing disciplines such as formula, touring, drifting , eRacing and others. Among the championships that he has participated in are FIA GT Zhuhai Supercar 500, Sepang 100km Race, 12-hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance race, D1 Grand Prix Malaysia, D1 Grand Prix “Tokyo Drift”, D1 Grand Prix “All Star” World Championship, Formula Drift Asia, Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival and XOX Unity League iRacing.
Known As Malaysia’s “Prince of Drift”
Among all the disciplines he has taken part, drifting is his most favoured racing category. As Tengku Djan himself puts it “Track racing is like boxing when you are bounded by set of very strict rules whereas drifting is MMA where the rules are more flexible and more freedom of expression”. “When you are drifting, you are like a showman cum competitor, is more fun.” He quips further.
It is no wonder he emerged the winner in most of the drifting championships he has participated. Among the notable ones are D1 Grand Prix Malaysia 2006, Formula Drift Asia 2009 and 2010, just to name a few. With his passion and prominence in the drifting scene, it is obvious why he is known as the “Malaysia’s Prince of Drift” by the racing community locally and abroad.
Automotive and Motorsport Run Deep
Apart from being a competitive racer, Tengku Djan has always been involved at the management level in the automotive industry where he was at the helm of some serious positions. Being the Head of Lotus Cars Malaysia and Head of Proton Motorsports before has helped him to understand the importance of motorsports and automotive industry. Both are complementary.
The Perfect Partnership with Toyo Tires New Brand Ambassador
Toyo Tyre Sales and Marketing Malaysia has recently appointed Toyo Tires brand ambassador for 2021 and he is no other than Malaysia’s Prince of Drift, Tengku Djan Ley. This is a perfect partnership aiming towards achieving greater success for both parties, where Toyo Tires and Tengku Djan are already a household name in the local and international tyre industry and racing scenes.
The decision to appoint Tengku Djan is a very objective and strategic one considering his credentials and what he can bring to the table for Toyo Tires and vice versa. Toyo Tires aims to further strengthen its position and presence in Malaysia specifically and also abroad where Tengku Djan’s has a strong presence as a result of his success in various racing championships throughout his racing career.
Zooming Into Excitements
A series of exciting activities have been planned ahead for this year. Starting off with Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival, Season 4, Round 1 in Sepang International Circuit where Tengku Djan has emerged winner in the Super Sporting Category, it is definitely a good take off for this partnership. Besides that, Tengku Djan will embark on other motorsport challenges such as Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 4 Round 2 and 3, GT World Challenge Asia and XOX Unity League iRacing. Toyo Tires will fully support him to be in every pole position and all the way to the chequered flag.
Especially For Toyo Tires Fans
Not forgetting to cater to Toyo Tires fans off the tracks, a set of interesting activities are set for social media and on ground covering his drift practices, race car modifications, Toyo Auto Centres appearance and of course his meet & greet sessions with Toyo Tires fans at car shows. So stay tuned!
To follow the latest news on Toyo Tires and Malaysia’s Princeof Drift journey together and Tengku Djan’s racing moments,do follow Toyo Tires Malaysia Facebook and Instagram.
Toyo Tires Malaysia and Tengku Djan Ley Social Media Platforms
Masato Kawabata is a Japanese professional drifting driver, and he never fails to prepare himself in D1 GP Drift season.
BUILDING OF TOYO TIRES GR SUPRA
He got a new car – the new Toyo Tires GR Supra! Go behind the scenes and see how this amazing machine was prepared for the new D1GP Drift season.
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING EVENT- (23rd-24th February 2019)
Quoted from Masato Kawabata:
I’m coming to ‘burn’ Malaysia!
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING Demo run on 86 at the city race venue!
It’s hot anyway. I’ll do my best until the end.
5th PLACE IN THE FINISH!
Kawabata san’s blog menationed:
Finished the 25-hour endurance race in 5th place!
The scene where the GTR receives the checkers was really impressive.
In the latter half of the drive, there was an instruction to delay the lap time by about 7 seconds to preserve the brakes and tires, and continued running with patience, but after running for 25 hours, the sense of accomplishment was more obvious than hard work !
During the test run, I was told that I was able to learn the details of driving while watching the in-vehicle image, and I felt that I understood a bit of the fun of running fast.
