Toyo and Falken are both big players in the tire business and are also in the same market category. Both make high-quality tires that are backed by decades of innovation, technology, and progress but aren’t as expensive as most premium brands are. As such, we are going to compare Toyo vs Falken tires and tell you all you need to know about them.
We will first introduce you to both brands, then we will give you an idea of what type of tires you can expect, and only then we can compare them in a few crucial categories. So, if you need a new set of tires, or you just want to know which one of these two brands is better, stick around and find out!
Toyo History
The Toyo tire company was founded back in 1945 by a man called Rikimatsu Tomihisa in Tokyo, Japan. The 1940s were particularly difficult in Japan due to all the horrors of WW2 which left the company with a whole load of assets scattered across the country. As Toyo struggled to pick the pace up, the company struck a merger with a large industrial manufacturing company which pushed Toyo forward by quite some margin.
This enabled Toyo to open a subsidiary in the USA in 1966 where they started distributing commercial truck tires. In 1975, the company expanded its US portfolio and upped its ante which enabled Toyo to grow much more quickly. The 1980s saw Toyo open its first factory in Illinois, US, and later Toyo acquired facilities all across the US.
By the 1980s, Toyo also began competing in various US motorsport events which brought them closer to sports cars and drag cars. The knowledge gained from these competitions enabled Toyo to push the industry forward as far as performance tires are concerned.
Nowadays, Toyo is a global brand with a presence on almost all continents. It is firmly in the top 10 largest tire companies in the world which makes all the sense in the world as its tires really are amazing value for money.
Toyo Tire Families
Toyo is mostly known for its performance and off-road tires, but you can get all kinds of tires with Toyo. These include touring tires, all-season tires, winter tires, ice tires, and many in-between variations. With 6 consistent tire families, Toyo manages to cover the majority of the market.
Toyo Proxes
The Toyo Proxes family of tires consists of ultra-performance tires. These tires prioritize traction, stability, driver feedback, and steering responsiveness which makes them a force to be reckoned with in the performance tire world. The best part of the Proxes family is that there are more than two dozen different models within this family, all of which offer a slightly different emphasis.
We need to mention the Toyo Proxes R1R tire as this is one of the best-handling tires in its segment while the Toyo Proxes ST III is almost equally as dynamic, but immensely comfortable. These tires can be had in various shapes and sizes and can fit on everything including passenger cars, SUVs, crossovers, and even some trucks.
Toyo Open Country
If you want the best off-road tires Toyo can offer, be sure to check out the Toyo Open Country family of tires as these are designed with durability, off-road traction, and sheer muscle in mind. This is apparent the moment you take a look at our Toyo Open Country AT2 vs Toyo Open Country AT3 comparison as the AT-line of Open Country tires is considered the golden standard of the family.
These are available in a wide variety of sizes designed to fit light trucks and SUVs. They prioritize durability and off-road traction but also are adequately docile and quiet on the highway.
Toyo Extensa
Toyo also offers a more ordinary family of all-season touring tires called the Toyo Extensa family. These are designed to be affordable and available in a bunch of sizes, but are also really refined and can last a long time. The Toyo Extensa A/S II is a jack-of-all-trades type of tire that is going to complement all types of cars but isn’t going to be the best in the snow.
The Extensa HP2 is similar to the A/S II but is more in line with performance grand tourer cars. The Extensa lineup is also available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes which means that it can fit passenger cars, SUVs, CUVs, and some light trucks.
Toyo Observe
The Toyo Observe family of tires offers just two winter tire models. The first model (Observe GSi-6) is a more all-season-friendly performance winter tire which means that it retains good traction across all surfaces while also being fairly comfortable. The other one is the Observe G3-Ice which can be equipped with studs for impressive ice traction.
Toyo Nano Energy
As the global tide of carmaking is slowly shifting in favor of EVs and hybrids, tiremakers are rushing to develop tires that are designed to adhere to such a philosophy. Toyo came out with the Nano Energy lineup of sustainable tires which prioritizes low rolling resistance, green manufacturing, and the use of recycled materials.
These come in both passenger car and SUV form and are available in a few most-popular sizes. These are mostly tailored towards the touring end of the market, but also offer impressive performance which puts them somewhere between touring and performance tires.
Toyo Celsius
The Toyo Celsius family of tires offers all-weather tires intended for regions where the summers are mild while the winters are relatively soft. These tires are designed to tackle rain predominantly which means that they offer adamant aquaplaning resistance and can plow both snow and water out of the way which ensures great traction at all times.
With more than 3 dozen different sizes, the Celsius lineup is available for passenger cars, SUVs, CUVs, and light trucks.
Falken History
The Falken tire company was founded in Japan back in 1983 and is owned by Sumitomo. Thanks to being owned by one of the oldest Japanese companies in general, Falken had a clear path in the right direction as it expanded to the US only two years after the company was founded. The entire story behind how quickly Falken made itself a global brand is remarkable, especially when you consider that many comparable tire brands are as much as three times older.
When Falken joined the global market, it was first interested in making capable performance tires as the brand was also starting to take part in various motorsport events all around the world. Falken even has its own racing team competing in various world-famous endurance racing competitions such as 24hrs of Le Mans or the 24hrs of the Nurburgring.
Besides performance tires, Falken has been coming out with many other types of tires which now gives you a really broad spectrum of tires to choose from. All in all, the rate at which Falken became something from nothing is truly astonishing but made possible because of the company’s dedication to racing, innovation, and quality.
Falken Tire Families
Contrary to popular belief, Falken is much more than just a performance tire brand which means that they offer all kinds of tires that are designed for all types of cars. Now it’s time to go in-depth about all the specific tire families Falken has to offer.
Falken AZENIS
As far as ultra-performance tires are concerned, the Falken AZENIS family has an abundance of them. Most of these are ultra-performance summer tires, but there are also some all-season performance tires as well. These also come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes ranging up to 22-inches in some cases and are available for passenger cars, SUVs, and CUVs.
The Falken AZENIS FK510 represents what a summer Falken performance tire is all about. It is a really sharp tire that prioritizes driver feedback and steering responsiveness above everything else while also maintaining good traction in all environments except snow.
Falken ESPIA
If you want a dedicated all-weather tire, be sure to check out the Falken ESPIA line of tires as these are designed for all types of weather, especially rain. This means that these excel when it comes to water dispersion and aquaplaning. One model The EPZ III model is designed for passenger cars while the EPZ III SUV is designed for SUVs.
Falken EUROWINTER
The Falken EUROWINTER family of tires offers winter tires designed with European driving conditions in mind. This means that these can withstand freezing temperatures without becoming overly soft which aids in traction no matter how cold it is outside. The only model in this lineup is the EUROWINTER HS01 which is currently only offered for passenger cars.
Falken PRO
If you just want an all-season tire that offers decent performance in all kinds of environments, the Falken PRO is the Falken family for you. The Falken PRO G4 A/S is designed to fit all types of passenger cars and can mostly be seen on compact and mid-size sedans. The Falken PRO G5 CSV is similar but is available for SUVs, CUVs, and light trucks.
These may not be the very pinnacle in performance or winter driving, but they are designed to offer an incredibly broad breadth of the ability which inherently means that they don’t excel in anything in particular.
Falken SINCERA
The Falken SINCERA family offers touring tires that are designed for refinement, comfort, and longevity. The Falken SINCERA SN250 is a tire that offers an 80,000-mile warranty and is very well-balanced with good performance over snow and ice. If you want a quieter touring tire, be sure to check out the Falken SINCERA SN110 Ecorun.
The SN250 A/S can be had for all types of cars while the SN110 is only designed for passenger cars.
Falken WINTERPEAK
As the name might suggest, the Falken WINTERPEAK family of tires is designed with winter tires in mind. These are known to be extremely versatile and able to offer lots of traction both on dry tarmac and snow-covered tarmac. With immense levels of control and refinement, these are somewhere between a normal winter tire and a capable touring tire.
Moreover, some of these can be equipped with studs as well which will give you unprecedented ice traction. Finally, you can buy these for many types of cars including passenger cars, SUVs, trucks, and CUVs.
Falken WILDPEAK
The Falken WILDPEAK family of tires is a dedicated off-road tire family intended for SUVs, trucks, and CUVs. The Falken WILDPEAK M/T is known for its impressive traction, durability, and quietness while the Falken WILDPEAK A/T3W is the golden standard of off-road tires.
Falken RUBITREK
The RUBITREK line of tires is similar to the WILDPEAK line of tires, but there are somewhere in the middle between SUV all-season tires and SUV off-road tires which classes them mostly as all-terrain tires. There aren’t as many models here as they are with the WILDPEAK series, but these are perfect for those who drive their off-road SUVs and trucks as daily drivers as well.
Falken ZIEX
The Falken ZIEX line represents all-season performance tires and is a family that overlaps with the PRO and the AZENIS family of tires. The Falken ZIEX ZE960 A/S is designed mostly for smaller passenger cars and the best thing about these is that they are fairly affordable, yet are really balanced tires overall. If you want an SUV tire, be sure to check out the ZIEX S/TZ05.
Likely the best ZIEX tire out there is the ZIEX ZE320 EcoRun as it offers a really wide breadth of ability.
Differences Between Toyo And Falken
Performance
As high-performance tires are a specialty of both brands, it is difficult to say which one is the overall winner. However, the Falken AZENIS lineup does seem to be a bit more capable than the Toyo Proxes lineup, especially when it comes to feedback and dry traction. Most people out there prefer the FK510 over the Proxes T1 Sport.
Touring tires is where Falken also takes the lead in most situations thanks to capable SINCERA models, but the Toyo Extensa lineup offers quieter tires overall. We also need to mention that as far as all-weather tires are concerned, Toyo CELSIUS wins in most people’s hearts due to it being a better overall package than Falken’s ESPIA family.
Off-roading is where both brands bring big guns, but the Toyo Open Country family makes tires that are better with sheer off-roading while Falken’s off-road tires are more road-oriented. Winter tires are better with Toyo as the Toyo Observe GSi-6 seems to be the best winter tire here.
Price and Warranty
Price-wise, these two brands are really similar which means that we can’t pick a winner here. Getting a better price with either of these two brands is mostly down to discounts and sales. Warranty on the other hand is better with Toyo in the off-road segment as Toyo offers a 65,000-mile warranty against Falken’s 55,000-mile warranty.
However, Falken makes up for that in the touring segment where you get an 80,000-mile warranty with certain SINCERA models whereas Toyo tops out at around 65,000 – 70,000 miles.
Availability of Options
As far as options are concerned, Toyo is a bit better because Toyo offers more tire models in general. Sizing is pretty much on par with both as they offer varying tire sizes that can fit 99% of cars on the market. All in all, these two are pretty similar in this regard.
Advantages Of Toyo
- Better Off-road Tires
- Better All-Weather Tires
- Better Off-Road Tire Warranty
- Better Winter Tires
Advantages Of Falken
- Better Performance Tires
- Better Warranty Overall
- Better Touring Tires
- Better All-Terrain Tires
Which Brand To Choose?
At the end of our Falken vs Toyo tires comparison, we can easily conclude that both brands make incredibly capable tires, but they do differ when it comes to certain market niches. Falken is the better brand when it comes to performance tires primarily while Toyo is better in the off-road department.
Winter tires are better with Toyo as well while Falken makes better touring tires. All in all, both brands are impressive and it is impossible to make a wrong choice here.
