Toyo Proxes T1-R poor steering feel and response
Discussion
Got them on my Mx5, based on recommendation from a few friends I run them considerably higher than my recommended pressures, (26psi to 32), they grip well with a progressive breakaway, only issue I find is the back is slippery in the wet, but this can be sorted by putting them back down to 26psi or so... Which i never do 
Out of curiosity to the lads slating them? What do you reckon is new 'modern' tyre in the T1Rs price bracket which is so much better. Uni royal RS3s?
Out of curiosity to the lads slating them? What do you reckon is new 'modern' tyre in the T1Rs price bracket which is so much better. Uni royal RS3s?
Tried the T1-R's once on a car about 10 years ago - didn't buy them again.
Similar findings to the OP which I put down to softer sidewalls. When hooning in the dry I'd initially turn into a corner and then have to turn in again as the weight of the car leaned on the sidewall pushing you off line.
You could up the pressures to improve dry grip / steering feel but this came at the expense of wet grip. Only tyres I've ever had to do this with.
Their praises were sung loud on lots of internet forums but I couldn't agree with their praise. I often saw them compared favourably to Goodyear F1 GSD3's. The GSD3 was a far better tyre IMO.
Similar findings to the OP which I put down to softer sidewalls. When hooning in the dry I'd initially turn into a corner and then have to turn in again as the weight of the car leaned on the sidewall pushing you off line.
You could up the pressures to improve dry grip / steering feel but this came at the expense of wet grip. Only tyres I've ever had to do this with.
Their praises were sung loud on lots of internet forums but I couldn't agree with their praise. I often saw them compared favourably to Goodyear F1 GSD3's. The GSD3 was a far better tyre IMO.
I had them on my old MR2 turbo years ago as it was the only semi decent tyre I could get in the OEM sizes front & rear.
I was never happy with the response - they were like driving on blancmange. Do a sharp left-right turn on a straight road & you could feel the car re-settling ~1s later as the momentum caused it to shift between sidewalls.
I was never happy with the response - they were like driving on blancmange. Do a sharp left-right turn on a straight road & you could feel the car re-settling ~1s later as the momentum caused it to shift between sidewalls.
Oh dear. I wish this thread had popped up earlier. Just replaced the run flat Good years on my MINI Cooper R50 with T1-R again based on reccomendations. Wanted non run flat and my 195/55 R16 size meant real performance tyres just aren't available. I do a few trackdays so wanted something sporting without resorting to a new set 17s. Avon ZV7 were only real option. The rest were economy and/or run flats on 16s. Would have bought Super Sports or Sport Contacts all day long had they been available.
T1-R... Ride excellent, grip excellent so far mainly dry weather. But not great. Turn in ok but rear bounces around and forces steering adjustment. This is particularly alarming if I need to brake even a little and steer. Or do quick direction changes. I imagine will be less of an issue on track. Will try a few extra PSI at the back. Next option would be to fit followers...
That said I've had worse after fitting a budget pair to an FN2 rear axle with Bridgestone fronts. That was totally undriveable.
T1-R... Ride excellent, grip excellent so far mainly dry weather. But not great. Turn in ok but rear bounces around and forces steering adjustment. This is particularly alarming if I need to brake even a little and steer. Or do quick direction changes. I imagine will be less of an issue on track. Will try a few extra PSI at the back. Next option would be to fit followers...
That said I've had worse after fitting a budget pair to an FN2 rear axle with Bridgestone fronts. That was totally undriveable.
df76 said:
caelite said:
Out of curiosity to the lads slating them? What do you reckon is new 'modern' tyre in the T1Rs price bracket which is so much better. Uni royal RS3s?
What size?? RS3s will be massively better in the wet, no better in the dry (also soft).Had a set on the Legacy GTB for a while (215/45r17) and didn't like them at all, ok grip but very soft squidgy sidewall feel.
As a combination with other tyres they seemed even worse, with T1R front and Bridgestone RE001 rear the nose felt so vague and wandery it was outright dangerous. Rotated the T1R to the rear until they finished wearing out and it was at least tolerable, but Bridgestones all round was much better.
Come to think of it none of the T1Rs survived long enough to wear the tread too far down, they all suffered sidewall cut punctures on gravel roads in a way that I've never seen from any other tyres.
As others have said they might not feel so bad on lightweight cars, but I wouldn't buy them again.
As a combination with other tyres they seemed even worse, with T1R front and Bridgestone RE001 rear the nose felt so vague and wandery it was outright dangerous. Rotated the T1R to the rear until they finished wearing out and it was at least tolerable, but Bridgestones all round was much better.
Come to think of it none of the T1Rs survived long enough to wear the tread too far down, they all suffered sidewall cut punctures on gravel roads in a way that I've never seen from any other tyres.
As others have said they might not feel so bad on lightweight cars, but I wouldn't buy them again.
Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 25th May 04:38
Put these on the front of my 350Z after getting good reviews on the owner's forums.
Big mistake.
(Note to self: Treat reviews by people, and on forums, who have just bought something with caution as they often fall into the trap of "I've just bought these therefore they must be brilliant" (Empero'rs new clothes syndrome etc)
As others have already said, these have a soft/squidgy feel to them. Steering feel, precision and turn-in are all noticeably worse than the Bridgestones that were fitted previously. Although, perhaps unsurprisingly, the ride is a bit better.
On a car that's been configured for tyres with soft-ish sidewalls they may be OK, but based on my experience I'd recommend avoiding if you value good steering feel & response.
Big mistake.
(Note to self: Treat reviews by people, and on forums, who have just bought something with caution as they often fall into the trap of "I've just bought these therefore they must be brilliant" (Empero'rs new clothes syndrome etc)
As others have already said, these have a soft/squidgy feel to them. Steering feel, precision and turn-in are all noticeably worse than the Bridgestones that were fitted previously. Although, perhaps unsurprisingly, the ride is a bit better.
On a car that's been configured for tyres with soft-ish sidewalls they may be OK, but based on my experience I'd recommend avoiding if you value good steering feel & response.
caelite said:
df76 said:
caelite said:
Out of curiosity to the lads slating them? What do you reckon is new 'modern' tyre in the T1Rs price bracket which is so much better. Uni royal RS3s?
What size?? RS3s will be massively better in the wet, no better in the dry (also soft).shost said:
Oh dear. I wish this thread had popped up earlier. Just replaced the run flat Good years on my MINI Cooper R50 with T1-R again based on reccomendations. Wanted non run flat and my 195/55 R16 size meant real performance tyres just aren't available. I do a few trackdays so wanted something sporting without resorting to a new set 17s. Avon ZV7 were only real option. The rest were economy and/or run flats on 16s. Would have bought Super Sports or Sport Contacts all day long had they been available.
T1-R... Ride excellent, grip excellent so far mainly dry weather. But not great. Turn in ok but rear bounces around and forces steering adjustment. This is particularly alarming if I need to brake even a little and steer. Or do quick direction changes. I imagine will be less of an issue on track. Will try a few extra PSI at the back. Next option would be to fit followers...
That said I've had worse after fitting a budget pair to an FN2 rear axle with Bridgestone fronts. That was totally undriveable.
You could have tried 205/50x16s, oh well. Anyway, bouncing around is usually too stiff a tyre, or too much air.T1-R... Ride excellent, grip excellent so far mainly dry weather. But not great. Turn in ok but rear bounces around and forces steering adjustment. This is particularly alarming if I need to brake even a little and steer. Or do quick direction changes. I imagine will be less of an issue on track. Will try a few extra PSI at the back. Next option would be to fit followers...
That said I've had worse after fitting a budget pair to an FN2 rear axle with Bridgestone fronts. That was totally undriveable.
PS WTF is a FN2?
I think the most annoying thing about Proxes is they're more expensive than probably better offerings from Kumho and even Nankang. I don't think I've ever been dissatisfied with Kumho Ecsta series (although I am aware they are always tweaking them so they are constantly changing characteristics slightly) as a road tyre, they get driven quite hard and see a lot of B-roads and country lanes. I'm sure there's better tyres than the Kumhos out there and I might feel differently about them if I tried to use them on track but by and large they've always worked for me so are my go-to when I buy new rubber.
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