Toyo Proxes T1-R poor steering feel and response

[Pie-n-Peys]

Hi all,

I just wanted to get some of your opinions on this observation.

I got a full set of Toyo Proxes T1-R tyres for my Civic Type R recently. This was down to a mix of performance and affordability. A few people on here recommended them and they have decent reviews online. I'm aware they're not the pinnacle of sports tyres but should be a decent performing tyre.

However, I've noticed that when pushing on a bit, the tyres feel really spongy through the steering. The response between turning the wheel and the car changing direction seems to be delayed and there seems to be a definite 'give' in the tyres which dilutes the response and feel of the steering input. Imagine going through a slalom of cones and when you turn the wheel to change direction, it would feel like the car is still finishing off the last input or not quite finished straightening out.

This is made even worse when driving my other half's Fiesta ST with factory Bridgestone tyres. This car changes direction immediately with each turn of the steering wheel.

As you can imagine, this is pretty annoying when wanting to have an enthusiastic drive. It kills a lot of the enjoyment and response of the car/chassis. The tyres are inflated to Honda recommended pressures, but i'm not sure if adding/removing pressure would cure this issue? They do seem to have impressive grip, but its overshadowed by the poor steering feel and response.

Thoughts?

[Pie-n-Peys]

Approx 6,000 miles now. Maybe a tad more.

Id noticed the issue pretty much straight away, but I haven't had the car long and the tyres that were on it previously were a right mess of mis-matched cheap crap, so I was grateful just to get a set of decent tyres on it!

[Pie-n-Peys]

vsonix said:

Hmm. I think they are known for having slightly softer sidewalls

This might be the issue. The Bridgestones on the OH's Fiesta have a much firmer side wall. You can tell even by pressing them with your hand.

[Pie-n-Peys]

V8 TEJ said:

I did find that when they were new (on both cars) they felt a bit 'slippery' like a layer had to be worn off or something. After this point they feel really grippy and are quiet for a directional tyre IMO.

Its not a lack of grip that's the issue, its the feel of the tyre when leaning on them in longer corners, and when changing direction quickly that kills the response of the car. The progression to the limits of grip (to understeer) is all spongy!

[Pie-n-Peys]

Tran said:

Fixed that for you. Just buy some actual performance tyres.

Thanks.

[Pie-n-Peys]

chryslerben said:

Have you had the steering alignment checked recently?

Yep. That's the first thing I had checked and corrected before getting new tyres fitted.

Looks like it was just a poor tyre choice by me. whoops!