Okay, here goes
...I should keep my mouth shut but, when I read some of the comments made here I feel like everyone should know what a good tire is capable of.
...I have tried them all. And for a Novice a Toyo is the best tire. It is durable and has a fair amount of grip. Only down fall is it has a limited slip angle. I have a difficult time keeping the tire in a slide before it looses grip completely.
...Hoosier is my tire of choice for that very reason. It has the better feel in the corner. I can overdrive the entry into a corner and rely on the tire to help slow the car. A Toyo will only loose grip. That is where the biggest speed difference is between the two tires.
...Most drivers that do not know how to drive a Hoosier tire usually end up burning off the front tires because they do not drive the car into the corner hard enough.
...I can run either tire and turn almost the same lap times but I prefer the Hoosier over the Toyo because it is a better RACE tire. It has better grip, more performance, and with the different compounds it has more versatility. They are well worth the difference in price. If you know what you are feeling you can really FEEL the difference.

...Please, say.... NO .... to the spec tire rule..... Thank You

....Rick Thompson # 99 IT7

FYI...The last time I drove a Toyo tire was this fall in the 13 hour race at VIR. My best lap was a 2.23 in a Spec Miata. That time is better than most of the IT7 cars that want to have the spec tire. And considering that the Miata should be at least a second a lap slower than an IT7...Go figure?