R15 195/50 tyres - alternatives to the Toyo Proxes T1-R ?
Discussion
Had a look at the Prada's. And the Falkens - I've 452's on my barge, but in this size I think they are now called the Ziex ZE-912 as far as I can see.
Just keen to have a chat about what else is out there. I've got the Toyos now and they've been great - my only issue has been when they get really hot on a track day they feel as if they are going off, they start to feel sort of feel 'greasy' at the limit.
Just keen to have a chat about what else is out there. I've got the Toyos now and they've been great - my only issue has been when they get really hot on a track day they feel as if they are going off, they start to feel sort of feel 'greasy' at the limit.
I'm interested in this.
When |I got my 5 it had Goodyear Excellence on the front and some rubbish with nails in (can't remember the brand) on the rear.
I rotated the Goodyear to the back and got T1R's on the front.
A couple of thousand miles, 2 track days at Anglesey and a car control day at Finmere (very rough surface) the Goodyears are still (fairly) good but the Toyos on the front are knackered. The tread seemed to melt and the outside shoulders are bald (the geometry is checked, adjusted and fine). Getting a whole new set of T1R soon (possibly) but on the front I seemed to suffer from oversteer, hence the excessive wear.(i'm going to have a good think about how to reduce this). I've played about with the pressures and had a couple of lessons on the track to change my technique but they do seem very soft and wear easily.
For the record, in my experience, the Goodyear Excellence seemed to be a very good tyre for wear, grip, noise etc.
When |I got my 5 it had Goodyear Excellence on the front and some rubbish with nails in (can't remember the brand) on the rear.
I rotated the Goodyear to the back and got T1R's on the front.
A couple of thousand miles, 2 track days at Anglesey and a car control day at Finmere (very rough surface) the Goodyears are still (fairly) good but the Toyos on the front are knackered. The tread seemed to melt and the outside shoulders are bald (the geometry is checked, adjusted and fine). Getting a whole new set of T1R soon (possibly) but on the front I seemed to suffer from oversteer, hence the excessive wear.(i'm going to have a good think about how to reduce this). I've played about with the pressures and had a couple of lessons on the track to change my technique but they do seem very soft and wear easily.
For the record, in my experience, the Goodyear Excellence seemed to be a very good tyre for wear, grip, noise etc.
Ok, my MX5 tyre history...
Bought my Mk1 Berkeley new and it came with Dunlop Sport SP2000. Not good in dry and bad in wet.
Replaced with Yoko A509. Good in dry and bad in wet.
On to Yoyo A520. Very good in dry and usable in wet.
Then on to the good stuff...
Bridgestone S02. Great in dry and wet. Worked well on track too.
Bridgestone S03. Still good on track but too hard for MX5s - really aimed at heavier cars. MX5 couldn't work them hard enough to get any temperature in them so they never really worked wet or dry. Shame.
Goodyear F1 GSD2. Really good dry and impressive wet too. Not quite as good dry as S02 but better wet. Melt on track.
Goodyear F1 GSD3. Improvement in every way over GSD2. First tyre that beats S02. Some say they melt on track but I never had a problem with them other than heavy wear.
I had to fit new tyres before I sold the car so I fitted Pirelli PE2. I didn't like them but not sure why - they just didn't feel right. They seemed to have to lean a bit before they would grip so robbed them of a bit of turn-in & feedback. Comfortable though.
Mk2.5 Sport came with Toyo T1S. I didn't like them. Dry grip ok but not good in wet. They were showing bad signs of ageing i.e. cracks between tyre blocks and on sidewalls despite being little over 2 years old.
Replaced very early with GSD3 which is the only tyre I've used on this car on the 17" wheels.
I bought a set of 15" wheels for track use. Used GSD3 on them first but now have Hankook RS2 (semi-track tyres). Very very good in dry and also very good in wet - best I've used overall. Don't melt on track and have loads of grip.
I will try either Toyo R888 or R1R next.
Mk1 1.6 track slag.
Initially we had Toyo T1R. They were very good on dry roads and good in wet. Probably a match for GSD3 in dry but not quite as good in wet. Very good value though. I'll probably try them on my Mk2.5 17s when I come to replace the GSD3s.
We now have Toyo R888 and they are on a different scale. Massive grip in dry and surprisingly good in wet too. I drove it on the road with these tyres earlier this year in torrential rain and it always felt very planted - didn't aquaplane as I expected it to despite some severe provocation. On a wet track I could drive almost as fast as I could when it dried up!
I've heard very good things about BF Goodrich Profilers. If you can find a set of Yoko Advan Neova LTS these are excellent.
Bought my Mk1 Berkeley new and it came with Dunlop Sport SP2000. Not good in dry and bad in wet.
Replaced with Yoko A509. Good in dry and bad in wet.
On to Yoyo A520. Very good in dry and usable in wet.
Then on to the good stuff...
Bridgestone S02. Great in dry and wet. Worked well on track too.
Bridgestone S03. Still good on track but too hard for MX5s - really aimed at heavier cars. MX5 couldn't work them hard enough to get any temperature in them so they never really worked wet or dry. Shame.
Goodyear F1 GSD2. Really good dry and impressive wet too. Not quite as good dry as S02 but better wet. Melt on track.
Goodyear F1 GSD3. Improvement in every way over GSD2. First tyre that beats S02. Some say they melt on track but I never had a problem with them other than heavy wear.
I had to fit new tyres before I sold the car so I fitted Pirelli PE2. I didn't like them but not sure why - they just didn't feel right. They seemed to have to lean a bit before they would grip so robbed them of a bit of turn-in & feedback. Comfortable though.
Mk2.5 Sport came with Toyo T1S. I didn't like them. Dry grip ok but not good in wet. They were showing bad signs of ageing i.e. cracks between tyre blocks and on sidewalls despite being little over 2 years old.
Replaced very early with GSD3 which is the only tyre I've used on this car on the 17" wheels.
I bought a set of 15" wheels for track use. Used GSD3 on them first but now have Hankook RS2 (semi-track tyres). Very very good in dry and also very good in wet - best I've used overall. Don't melt on track and have loads of grip.
I will try either Toyo R888 or R1R next.
Mk1 1.6 track slag.
Initially we had Toyo T1R. They were very good on dry roads and good in wet. Probably a match for GSD3 in dry but not quite as good in wet. Very good value though. I'll probably try them on my Mk2.5 17s when I come to replace the GSD3s.
We now have Toyo R888 and they are on a different scale. Massive grip in dry and surprisingly good in wet too. I drove it on the road with these tyres earlier this year in torrential rain and it always felt very planted - didn't aquaplane as I expected it to despite some severe provocation. On a wet track I could drive almost as fast as I could when it dried up!
I've heard very good things about BF Goodrich Profilers. If you can find a set of Yoko Advan Neova LTS these are excellent.
I've had Hankook k110's on my 2.5 sport for 1 year/10k miles now.
Excellent dry or wet, road and track. Very progressive with good levels of grip.
I think it's still the ma5da racing control tyre this season. I spoke to one of the drivers last season who thought it was the best control tyre the series has had to date.
Overall I've been very happy with them and would buy again.
I'm tempted to try the Hankook RS2's next but for a stock power mx5 like mine I'm not sure I want any more grip than these k110 tyres offer as I think it might start to overwhelm the power/handling with traction, which is not what I personally want from an mx5.
Excellent dry or wet, road and track. Very progressive with good levels of grip.
I think it's still the ma5da racing control tyre this season. I spoke to one of the drivers last season who thought it was the best control tyre the series has had to date.
Overall I've been very happy with them and would buy again.
I'm tempted to try the Hankook RS2's next but for a stock power mx5 like mine I'm not sure I want any more grip than these k110 tyres offer as I think it might start to overwhelm the power/handling with traction, which is not what I personally want from an mx5.
treadstone said:
I'm not sure I want any more grip than these k110 tyres offer as I think it might start to overwhelm the power/handling with traction, which is not what I personally want from an mx5.
What he said. I've got the Toyos on at the moment - as said - when you take price into it, there almost unbeatable.
However I've also noticed an almost 'greasy' feel to them, and also the fact that when set at the correct pressures the sidewalls still fold over quite a lot, which affect the sharpness and urgency of the handling. I also think that in the dry, on a stock powered 5, the traction/power balance is perhaps a little off, and it was a touch more fun on the old 14's. Its a trade off between fun and security, bearing in mind its a daily driver, and the likelihood of needing to really lean on the tires in an emergency stop is quite high.
Next time around I'll be looking for something with great wet performance again, but a slighty 'tougher' construction.
Having used Eagle F1's and the Old T1-S on my Gti-6, I think I might go for the good years next time on the roadster.
Goodyear Eagle F1's have been discontinued,
Ive just had T1-Rs put on as I was unable to sources the F1's
The T1s seem fine in all conditions, feel a bit grippier in the dry than the F1's not sure about the wet, i think they will wear fastter than the F1's as they seem alot softer.
Oh and they where about half the price too so that makes up for it.
I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
Ive just had T1-Rs put on as I was unable to sources the F1's
The T1s seem fine in all conditions, feel a bit grippier in the dry than the F1's not sure about the wet, i think they will wear fastter than the F1's as they seem alot softer.
Oh and they where about half the price too so that makes up for it.
I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
snotrag said:
Odie said:
Goodyear Eagle F1's have been discontinued,
People were telling me that when I changed from them to the Toyos on my last car, that was nearly 4 years ago I bet.But people are still buying them from somewhere....?
Im assuming where talking about these?
http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/repository/Eagl...
And this is the other F1
http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/repository/Eagl...
This is what is suggested instead
http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/repository/effi...
I laughed at that one. Especially when the guy mentioned "lower" rolling resistance
Edited by Odie on Thursday 17th June 09:41
youngsyr said:
Odie said:
...
I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
In what size - you can get them in 195/50/R15 (as per the thread title) from Camskill for under £30 a tyre?I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
Which still gets you to just under £200
Matt UK said:
youngsyr said:
Odie said:
...
I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
In what size - you can get them in 195/50/R15 (as per the thread title) from Camskill for under £30 a tyre?I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
Which still gets you to just under £200
I used to live in South London and there were plenty of back street garages that would fit the tyre and balance the wheel for at the very most £10 a wheel in cash bringing you to £170. Even Kwikfit only charge £10 a corner, as far as I'm aware?
If anything I find I'm paying more for mechanics on very small jobs now that I've moved out of London.
Edited by youngsyr on Thursday 17th June 11:46
i've had goodyear eagle F1's and T1R's. they are fairly similar, good performers all round, and for the money. the best i had were the hankook RS2 but these are more suited to track work probably even tho they are a fantastic summer tyre too.
next up i want to try michelin pilot exalto 2 or dunlop sport fast response, both about £50 - £60 a corner. i prefer the feeling of a non v-tread pattern.
next up i want to try michelin pilot exalto 2 or dunlop sport fast response, both about £50 - £60 a corner. i prefer the feeling of a non v-tread pattern.
youngsyr said:
Odie said:
...
I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
In what size - you can get them in 195/50/R15 (as per the thread title) from Camskill for under £30 a tyre?I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
Just because it cheaper doesnt mean its always going to be a better deal.
Edited by Odie on Thursday 17th June 13:10
Odie said:
youngsyr said:
Odie said:
...
I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
In what size - you can get them in 195/50/R15 (as per the thread title) from Camskill for under £30 a tyre?I paid just under £200 for a set of 4 T1-Rs fitted.
Just because it cheaper doesnt mean its always going to be a better deal.
For info my local Kwik Fit will fit tyres bought on the internet. I think it varies by location though as I've been told elsewher that they wouldn't.
It shoudn't be too difficult to get 4 tyres in a '5 either: one in the boot and take the passenger seat out to fit in the other 3. It's only four 14mm easily accessible bolts and the seat can be taken out and put back in under a minute.
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