Toyo Proxies Type 1RS & 1RT

[rob]

The 'S' type of Toyo's are crap.

Sorry to be blunt but they are;

no grip in the dry
no grip in the wet

put your money plus a bit more in to some Eagle F1's or Dunlop SP9090's

I'm running the Toyo's and can't wait for them to ware out so as I can replace them.

[JIMBO]

Thought a topic should be started here.<br><br>My wobbling dilemmas seem to point towards my new tyres fitted on the rear.<br><br>Toyo Proxis Type 1RT  The stiffened wall variety.<br><br>They are a new type and since many elaners, and other car owners, have rated the 1RS I thought they would be a safe bet.<br><br>My experiences have not been good so I'm wondering if other people can share their opinions of these 2 types of tyre to conclude if the 1RT's are worth fitting.

Hi Stef,
Could part of the problem be that you have changed from "slicks" (worn out tyres) to "wets" new deep treaded tyres. The deeper the tread, the more it will squirm. Add this to a very stiff sidewall and it put on a car with minimum weight and you will certainly notice a difference. I havn't tried these tyres but I would think they would have started to improve towards the end of your track day. If you push a "production" tyre really hard on track , you should be expecting a 4 psi increase in pressure after a 15 minute session. Any less and you'r not trying, any more needs " managing" by increasing the cold (starting) pressure.
I have noticed an increase of "tramlining" on many makes of tyre using the modern "sabre cut" tread pattern recently, but perhaps it just me getting passed it.
Regards
Jim

[Glyn]

Hi Jimbo,

Thanks for your comments, my old tyres on the SE wheels where Michelin Pilot MX but they had been on the car for years and had started to crack around the sidewall and were down to about 3mm tread. So thought it best to replace them with new wheels and tyres before the track day. The Toyos seem to be getting a bit better now that I've put a few miles on them, but certainly do not feel as secure as my old tyres. Fast corners still feel a bit twitchy. Hopefully track day will certainly break them in for me. Will also keep a eye on the tyre pressures during the track day.

Cheers,


Glyn

[JonRB]

I'm running Proxes T1-R on my Corrado VR6 (which is also 205/50/VR15 like the Elan SE) at the moment and am happy with them. I think they're a lot better than the T1-S I had previously.

I'm very interested to hear about how everyone is doing with them as our Elan is due tyres imminently and I'm considering T1-R for the Elan too.

It would be good if people's opinions of the T1-R were positive as having 2 cars running exactly the same rubber has certain cost benefits, especially if I move up to 16's or 17's on the Corrado in order to fit bigger brakes, as the 15's wouldbe be wasted as the Lotus could use them as spares (we have a spare set of 15's for the Lotus)

BTW, hi Stef

[ailwyn]

I have just had a full set of T1-Rs put on the Elan, have run them for about 200 miles, gave it a bit of a poke yesterday and am more than happy with the grip, thinking about it I haven't spun the wheels, which must be a first!

Cornering also very good, although I doubt I would be classed as someone who pushes the envelope, I don't hang around either.

Might be brave before long and try and push them a bit more, but that will have to wait until I bed in the brakes a bit more

Ailwyn

[droptop]

I now have had 2 cars with the Toyo T1R and T1S tires. The 1st was a 2004 VW Jetta GLI 1.8T with 225/40/18 tires. The handling and grip was incredible at low speeds. The problem was at higher speeds 70mph plus the car was hard to control.

I changed the tires to Kumho Ecsta and the high speed problems went away.

On the 2nd car a 2000 Toyota MR2 Spider I have a nearly new set of Toyo T1S tires. This car had the same driving characteristics as the VW only worse at high speeds 60mph plus. This car was absoutely scary to drive. I initially checked the air pressure and it was set at 32 front and 34 rear. I lowered it to 26 front and 30 rear. It seems to have made a difference but the front end is very light at high speeds and requires quite a bit of concentration to drive. It has been since the 70's since I have driven on tires with the air pressure that low. The factory tire sizes are 185/55/15 front and 205/50/15 rear.

I also have a 1995 BMW M3 with the Michelin Pilot Sport tires size 235/40/17. These have the same tread design as the Toyo's. These tires have been great at all speeds and in all driving conditions.

Bottom line is I will not be buying any more Toyo Proxes T1R or T1S tires..........

[ailwyn]

Droptop,

I can't comment on the cars that you've had Toyo's fitted to, and from this thread you'll see that there are mixed reviews.

However I can confirm that my experience is the opposite of yours, no problems with the car being unsteady at speeds (far) above 70mph, infact, the contrary, the car feels more stable at high speed (but still light), I can only put that down to better grip than the last tyres I had on there.

Ailwyn