Please excuse this tyre post in the MX-5 Chat forum but I need a quick response and thought I might reach more people this way…
I’m having Toyo Proxes T1R fitted to my 2008 2.0 soon and quickly wanted to gauge opinion as to whether these tyre would be a good choice - or otherwise - on my car (16 inch standard wheels). I know about other recommendations such as Uniroyal Rainsports but the Toyos are a good price (£70 each fitted). I don’t want to live to regret my choice - any informed advice gratefully received!
Have them on both of mine, just keep them inflated about 1-2psi over the book is the piece of advice I got years ago and has been very true.
great tire- bit squirmy for the first 200 miles but bed in nicely great grip and quiet. there will be lots of other comments on this tyre and that but for the money you really cant go wrong on the T1-R
Thinking about it I have been running T1-s and T1-rs on MX-5s now for well over a decade.
I have them on two MX-5s on 15s and 16s and they are fine. Also had them on 18s on an Audi, also fine. Other good tyres are available but I have no problem at all with T1Rs…
Not really sure what you’re asking. You don’t tell us much on what you expect from the tires, ride quality, ultimate grip, longevity, etc. There will always be ‘better’ tires, though on a relatively narrow rim as OEM 16" there’s not much to gain from a more performance oriented tire.
Take a look at the Kuhmo Ecsta KU39, it looks like a better all-rounder than the Toyo (though I never try them on 16") for not much more.
I have had them on a MK2, and for the last six years on a MK3 2,0l sport.
Have always found them excellent. Because of this I have little experience of other makes. They were a big improvement on the Michelin tyres supplied on the new MK3 when purchased in 2007,
Am seriously considering them for as Audi Q3 Quattro when originals need replacing in next few months. I would agree that 29-30psi feels right. Good idea to rotate wheels to even out wear.
I like them. I’ve used them in all weathers over the last 12 months have done a trackday with them. I keep them at 29psi. I’ve never had any problems with grip and they’re like new after 5000 miles.
have them on the NC and previously NA & NB I rate them on all models though I think they transformed the NA the most.
had the KU39s on a BMW and would rate them also, not quite as grippy as the toyo and certainly noisier but on most areas very comparable other than fuel economy they really had quiet a bit of drag it was a marked 3mpg which then made cheap tyres quite expensive.
Sorry to go against the grain here, by what some might see as my crusade against the internet belief that the T1R is the best tyre ever.
My view is, and always has been that the Toyo is snappy in the wet and has a wobbly tread design that makes it imprecise until low on tread and suffers shoulder wear readily.
Read into Euro tyre label figures what you like, they are not the be all and end all, but they give you a clue.
This is a snap shot of the Mitchel Delver stock system. If someone asked you to pick a tyre, it’s not the one you would be choosing.
Got 16" Toyo’s on my Mk1 and have to agree these feel like a really good tyre after about 3k and I’ve had no problems with them as of yet. The fact I got them for about £280 with fitting was a bonus. I’ve also driven with them in torrential rain with no problems at all and they really do I still you with confidence, hope this helps.
I don’t want to sound like I’m taking the piss, but have the people saying “good grip” actually driven on proper (rain-oriented) tyres? Or are you all driving gods?
I’ve aquaplaned on track tyres (once) and there’s a world of difference between a good all-weather tyres and sport tyres. For example, I hit a standing patch of water at Llandow circuit at 60mph on “sports” tyres and got shot into the run-off area, yet hit a small pond on the M5 in ‘regular’ tyres at 70 and the car kept it in a straight line.
Just to follow this through, and not to pick on anyone, but a question was asked and replies made.
I see the statement frequently about tyres and the majority of them are about Toyo, that “for that price you can’t go wrong.” As we all know the tyre is the only contact with the road, unless you are upside down, and so unfortunately it is quite possible that buying a tyre because it is cheap can go very wrong. While everyone should be capable of driving appropriately to the conditions, if you happen to find yourself looking up at the rain from the bottom of a ditch, I doubt you will be thinking “It’s OK, because I got my tyres really cheap.”
There is nothing wrong with a T1R in the same way as there is nothing wrong with a typewriter, it will get you where you are going, but it absolutely is not the sure footed, brilliant in the wet tyre that the internet would tell you it is. 15 years ago, when it was introduced the tyre market and technology was very different. Compared to tyres like the Pirelli P6000, it was and still is a brilliant tyre but there are much better tyres out there for the same or even less money. Here is a part thread from a different forum, I have taken the other tyre out because this is not an advert.
On to track performance. Water has a far greater effect on things when you are on or near the limit than it will if you do not have the tyre loaded up. The problem you have is that when anything becomes more specialised in one direction it becomes less capable in others. “Wet” tyres are specifically compromised towards wet grip, they will have a more open tread pattern, softer rubber and higher load per square inch on that rubber to ensure good contact with the surface. This, as anyone watching F1 or other types or racing will know, means that in the dry they suffer. If you push a Rain Sport or similar tyre like a GSD3 hard in the dry, firstly it will not give you as good a grip as one not so orientated to rain, but also it will overheat and wear rapidly. I have seen all of this type of tyre with chunks out after use on track.
Equally however, put a set of “rain” tyres on a car worn to the level that most people run their “track” tyres at on circuit and hit a puddle at 70mph and you will still be clenching your bum.
Have had 195 / 50 / 15 T1-r’s on my Mk1 for a good few years have given them some abuse and on track.
I would take some convincing to use anything else.
Also have them in 17" on my NC RC 2.0 Sport again never had a problem with them, but if I were to be persuaded to change I would look at the Kumho KU39
And which other tyres did you try against the T1R?
Also, incidentally how did you come across the KU39? (unfortunately it is not available in 16 by the way)
I’ll cut to the chase, again, this is not a go at anyone. Toyo, probably due to sponsorship of Time Attack gained huge marketing through car club forums. Everyone who wears their baseball cap backwards thinks Toyo is the ultimate evolution in tyres. The fact they used the R888, which in its self is not a great track tyre compared to what is available is neither here or there, they just see Toyo. I see people all the time that literally are not aware that there are different tyres within a manufactures range and that if it says Toyo Proxy that they are all the same tyre.
Then, the internet being such a great place for gaining knowledge, turns up statements like “The T1R is a great tyre, I drive a 500 horse power Skyline and I have never ever lost traction even in the wet, and I drive really fast!” I once had a customer who complained that his 700 bhp RX7 snaked on wet motorway’s and scared him when he put his foot down, but he had been told that fitting Toyo’s would sort it out. It is just plain silly.
The other end of the scale is that it also seems to be the default tyre for so many that they have never tried a different tyre in the last 10 years or more. It is not a terrible tyre, it is just that there are many better ones out there.
Personally I would fit the Kumho KH31 ahead of the Toyo any day.
Fitted these to my 1.8 NC last year to replace a set of c**p GSD3’s, purchased 'cos they were a relatively cheap buy.
Points to note -
A couple of weeks after fitting travelled to Cornwall in torrential rain - no problems at all.
As someone said a pound or two over recommended pressure helps - I run mine at 30 psi, 31psi is slightly better but a bit noisier
They don’t like being rotated front - back! Steering was all over the place when I did this (putting them back on after Winter), fixed by putting them back where they came from
Not tried them in Winter
In common with other summer tyres they don’t like chilly weather much - if air temp is below about 10deg C on a wet morning they need to warm up a bit then they are fine. It’s the “where’s the steering going to point to next” (or tram-lining) problem!
