Tyre Tyres Tyres - Add your tyre reviews to the ROC database

Started by Anonymous, March 26, 2004, 13:49

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Anonymous

Year of Roadster: 2000

Rear wheels: 6.5"x15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Rear Tyres: Stock Bridgestone Potenza RE040 205/50/15
Front Wheels: 6" x 15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Front Tyres: Stock Bridgestone Potenza RE040 185/55/15

Supplier: Supplied with car from new
Cost: n/a

Suspension mods: None at the time.
Comments:

These were on my car when I bought it with 1k miles on the clock. In the past year done 15k and the rears are virtually down to the limit, and the fronts are mostly 4mm across. I say 'mostly' because I've been silly and not checked the car over properly for some time: result is worn inside edges on both fronts.   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  I put this in as a REMINDER to everybody: Check your tyres regularly! Still at least this means I can try different tyre brand (I didn't want to mix brands front and rear).

Enough pre-amble: tyres were reasonable. Grip in the dry is pretty hot, in the wet I don't push the car much (nasty experience in the past), although breakaway is actually quite reasonable. Even I could hold a good wide slide the other day without any fishtailing. However, tramlining is dire! OK, so that could be a result of the alignment (proven by the uneven tyre wear).

Verdict:

Glad to have the opportunity to try something different. Although my bank balance is shaking at the thought   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  ... I plan to have Goodyear F1's all round. I'm hoping for £80 a corner, we'll see.

markiii

#1
Guys please continue to post in teh format above, periodicaly I will prune this thread and move the content to teh website at

 m http://www.mr2roc.org/subdreamer/index. ... ticleid=22 m

Please remember thsi thread is for info only all discussion should be placed elsewhere.

I will be brutal and delete/move any threads that are not in the correct format.

LAST MOVED TO DATABASE SEPTEMBER 2004
Gallardo Spyder<br />Ex Midnight Blue 911 T4S<br />EX VXR220<br />Ex Custom Turbo 2001 Sahara Sun MR2 Roadster 269bp, 240lbft<br /><br />MR2ROC Committee 2002 - 2009<br /><br />

GSB

#2
Year of Roadster: 2004

Tyres: OEM Yokohama

Supplier: Supplied with car from new
Cost: n/a

Suspension mods: TTE Lowering Springs

Comments:

Having driven my previous '2 through 2 pairs of Bridgestone RE-040's and a set of Toyo T1-S's, these really are a let down... I've given them 2000 miles to show themselves in their best light, but quite frankly they're a dead loss. They have planty of grip on dry roads, although the feel of them could be a little more re-assuring, but put them on the damp slightly greasy kind of tarmac that Britian dishes up on the other 360 days of the year and they're hopeless. There's no progression, no feel of the limits, and a twitchiness that would see me out-cornered by a pensioner in a metro. They really are dire, but they're dangerous with it. Frankly I cant wait for them to wear out so I can justify binning the things and getting some decent rubber under the arches. Even the under-rated OEM  Bridgstones were a better tyre than these, The Toyo's were a different class.  A real disapointment considering they're from a company with such "sporting" intentions.


Verdict:

Awful. Truly, eye-wateringly awful...
[size=50]Ex 2001 MR2 Roadster in Silver
Ex 2004 Facelift MR2 Roadster in Sable Grey
Ex 2007 Mazda 6 MPS in Mica Black
Current 2013 Mazda MX5 2.0 \'Venture Edition\' Roadster Coupe in Brilliant Black[/size]

Anonymous

#3
Year of Roadster; 2002

Tyres; Toyo Proxes T1-R

Rear; 205/50/15 (6.5"x15", +45mm offset - OEM alloy wheels)
Front; 185/55/15 (6.0"x15", +45mm offset - OEM alloy wheels)

Supplier; Tyres King's Lynn

Cost £210 fitted and balanced for all 4 corners

Suspension modifications; TRD front strut brace, TRD member braces and a corky antiflex plate (more chassis braces than suspension modifications really!)

Comments;

The tyres previously fitted to the car were Continental Premium Sport Contacts (they were fitted when I bought it) and they were truly pants! Their soft sidewalls made the car feel wallowy and slow to turn in. The T1-R's make the car feel completely different - much "pointier" and more direct. The ride is slightly firmer, however I much prefer this (feels like and sports car should!) and feed back in all areas is much improved. Grip levels in the dry or wet are unnervingly good! I'm currently running stock tyre pressures and feel no need to adjust them as the car feels well balanced. There is no noticeable road noise with these tyres either - much improved over the T1-s which I had fitted to my last 2 cars; Mk1 Mr2 and a Rover 200 vi (the shame of it!   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  )

An added bonus is that these tyres are relatively quite a bit lighter than my old ones - so the car seems to be more responsive too   s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:  

Verdict; I know what I'll be getting next time - especially at that price!

Anonymous

#4
Year of Roadster: 2001

Rear wheels: 6.5"x15"
Rear Tyres: Avon ZV3 205/50/15
Front Wheels: 6" x 15"
Front Tyres: Avon ZV3 185/55/15

Supplier: Mr. Tyre
Cost: n/a

Suspension mods: None
Comments:

Bought before I joined the mr2-roc, followed advice from the tyre fitter.
Three days after they were fitted I took the car back coz it was driving like they were all flat. The fitter said that there was too much pressure in them and let some out, down to 31.
That night I span off the road into a tree, so no better then, I was ok but my car was a near right off. A month later I got the car back, with same tyres!, after many phone calls I finally got the tyre fitters to buy the tyres back, at cost so I lost £80 fitting/markup + my insurance excess £520. A very big lesson learned.

Verdict:

if you like hovercrafts these are the tyres for you, else avoid them like the plague

Anonymous

#5
Year of Roadster: 2001

Rear wheels: 6.5"x15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Rear Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S03 205/50R15
Front Wheels: 6" x 15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Front Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S03 195/50R15

Supplier: Pneus Claude (local supplier with a 30,000 tyre stock specialised in high performance tyres.)
Cost: approx. GBP 65 per tyre.

Suspension mods: TRD WayDo Sportivo 4-way adjustable struts + TRD Sportivo spring set (with roll angle correction spacers) + TTE anti-roll bars + TRD member braces set.
Comments: Excellent suspension set up that can be easily fine-tuned for track days.

I have worked several years with the European tyre industry where the S03 (and previously the S02) are still considered by the industry to be the No.1 max performance rain tyre. The technology going into these tyres is copied but still unmatched. I've personally used (amongst others on my 911C4 and MR2) S02, S03, GY F1... I'm now sticking to the best: S03s!

Grip on dry conditions is excellent. However in extreme conditions (race track), the tyres will eventually start to overheat and deteriorate. The tyres are very progressive (absolutely no nasty surprises in the dry.)

Grip in wet conditions is simply incredible. No sudden loss of grip at the limit, but nice progressive dynamics. The only tyres I've used that could compare to S03 are S02 and GY F1s (but the F1's sidewalls are IMO far too soft -- tuned for the comfort seeking american market.)

Just as with competition tyres, the very stiff sidewalls of the S03 will give you a very high level of responsiveness, albeit with less comfort.

The S03 will last a lot longer than the stock OEM tyres (provided you don't abuse them too much on track days).

The main difference between S03 and "low cost" alternatives is that the S03 will provide you the same level of maximum performance throughout its life (not just for the first 5000 miles).

The setup I'm using using is Bridgestone Potenza S03 for everyday driving and they are perfect for wet track days.

For dry track days I've started to use Toyo Proxes R888 competition tyres (to avoid killing my rain tyres.)

Anonymous

#6
Year of Roadster; 2002

Tyres; Toyo Proxes T1-s

Front 215/35/18
Rear 225/35/18

Supplier; Roadstar Services

Cost £340 fitted and balanced for all 4

Suspension modifications; TRD front strut brace, 30mm Gmax lowering springs

Comments;

Loads of grip in the wet and dry. Rubs a bit over bumps but uprated shocks will hopefully stop that.

Verdict; Will definatly buy again

Anonymous

#7
Year of Roadster: 2002

Rear wheels: 6.5"x15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Rear Tyres: Toyo Proxes R 205/50/15
Front Wheels: 6" x 15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Front Tyres: Toyo Proxes R 185/55/15 (new set are 195/50/15 as they are cheaper still and apparently fine as a replacement?)

Supplier: Camskill
Cost: £170 plus fitting

Suspension mods: Eibach springs (-30mm)

Comments

Been meaning to add my comments for a while - I am now on my 4th set of tyres since I bought the car in Jan 04. Only 12k miles but they do mainly track miles hence the wear rate.

Original tyres were no name somethings. They were despatched in a couple of weeks including a day of limit handling at Bruntingthorpe and a day at Bedford. Can't really comment on their performance as I had no reference point. That said they broke away quite progressively and didn't do anything that made me think help!

The Toyos.

1. Very cheap. If you are burning them up on trackdays this counts. 200 or less for a full set versus 350 plus for Michelins, Bridgestone, Yokos starts to add up.
2. Great grip in wet and dry until they are very nearly canvas. This too is critical for me as somethimes you get carried away   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  on a day and still have to get home safely on some pretty tired rubber.
3. Wear seems pretty good but they do seem to wear at the shoulders very quickly - this is very unscientific but a friend with an Elise (lighter and less power but.....) fitted a set at the same time and we did the same trip to the Nurburgring - a two day trackday and then a day at Bedford and his tyres were in noticeably better shape - of course this is inevitable on track especially as the sidewalls are very soft (in my opinion). I am hoping that the bracing added at the time of the Turbo install will help this a little - next step will be roll bars, strut brace and coilovers.
4. Pressures. They do seem to be very pressure sensitive - not in terms of outright grip where they maintain similar levels but in terms of wear. I initially followed motorcycle theory with the tyres on track days which is drop the pressures by several psi so they don't overinflate when warm with horrible consequences. With the Toyos this simply means more flex in the tyre and hence greater wear at the shoulder. I have now resorted to putting some extra pressure in the tyres +2psi to help with turn-in directness and prevent too much deflection of the tyre. Depending on ambient and track temperature I play with this during the day but so far haven't really coem to any conclusion - I think one of those lateral acceleration gadgets used by drifters and car mags may be the answer but: a. I don't have one and b. I really can't be bothered   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  

Summary: pros - cheap, great grip until very worn, predictable breakaway
Cons - shoulders seem to wear quickly but may not be a tyre issue more of a suspension/driver issue.

mrsmr2

#8
Year of Roadster: 2004

Rear Tyres: Toyo Proxes T1-R 225/40/16
Front Tyres: Toyo Proxes T1-R 195/50/15

Supplier: MyTyres
Cost: £171.60 plus fitting (June 2005)

Suspension mods: none

Comments

Very good grip in the dry and the wet.
Very soft sidewalls that really blunts turn in when using standard tyre pressures (26/32).
I'm running 28/34 which has significantly increased the turn in response.
But, there is an increase in understeer compared to the lower pressures.  Not sure how these pressures cope with the wet yet.
Terrible track tyres - far too soft.  Even running at 6-8 psi extra all round I've got terrible scuff marks along the side wall and into the tread.  In fact the car is pulling slightly to the left which seems to be due to the lack of tread on the front left outer wall.

Overall, good value, good grip but turn in is poor when on standard pressures.  Do not use on track.

I prefer the standard RE040s.
04 Astral Black, hard top, air con, black leather, Corky\'s MSMB; FSB;  RMB; RLCB, empty exhaust manifold, cg-lock.  Warranty: new wheels @ 20k, new pads and discs @ 21k, new wheels @ 26.4k

mrsmr2

#9
Year of Roadster: 2004

Rear Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza RE040 215/45/16
Front Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza RE040  185/55/15

Supplier: supplied with the car
Cost: n/a

Suspension mods: none

Comments

Very good grip in the dry and the wet.
Great turn in.
Terrible tramlining.
Reasonable tyres on track.  I did a handling day at North Weald but left the pressures as standard.  This caused a fair amount of scuffing to the side walls.  I increased the pressures for a track day at Bruntingthorpe and don't think I caused any further scuffing.

Tyres had done 16,300 miles and two track days and still had a tiny amount of tread left (wouldn't want to use them in the wet though).

Overall

Very good tyres, much better suited to my driving requirements e.g. sharp turn in and ability to survive a track day but let down by poor tramlining.
04 Astral Black, hard top, air con, black leather, Corky\'s MSMB; FSB;  RMB; RLCB, empty exhaust manifold, cg-lock.  Warranty: new wheels @ 20k, new pads and discs @ 21k, new wheels @ 26.4k

Anonymous

#10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Year of Roadster: 2003


Front Tyres: Toyo Proxy 195/50/15
RearTyres: Toyo Proxy 225/45/16

Supplier: black Circles
Cost: £230 delivered and fited

Suspension mods: None

Comments:  Changed from worn stock yokos. After adjusting the tyre pressures given to me by the fitter (35 front 40psi rear!!!) to a more reasonable 30front 34 rear I have found these to be excellent tyres.
The tread pattern is asthetically much more pleasing as well! Excellent grip in the dry. Not driven in wet yet. Tonnes of feedback.
I use a large dual carriagway roundabout as a traction benchmark. Before I could make it round at a steady 35-38mph before starting to feel understeer. This is now 45mph+ and it's very predictable, just squirt a bit of power on and balance into a gentle oversteer. All very predictable and alot of fun.
You wont regret buying these tyres, just play about a bit with pressures.

edit- And the tramlining effect experienced with the old yokos is much reduced.

Anonymous

#11
year of raodster: 2001

rear wheels: team dynamics pro race 1.2 gloss black 16" by 7"
rear tyres: pirrelli p-zero nero 215 40 16
front wheels: team dynamics pro race 1.2 gloss black 16" by 7"
front tyres: kumho ecsta 195 45 16

pirrellis are unbeleivable
kumho's are crap
car now understeers when pushed hard but the back has never ever given way yet.kumhos came in that size as part of a package on all for alloys,they were the size I wanted for the front asnyway so just changed the rears to good tyres,fronts will be pirrelli when the kumhos die.

raining now,kumhos really crap!!!!!!!

Anonymous

#12
Year of Roadster: 53 plate Dec-2003

Rear Tyres: Toyo Proxes T1-R 225/40/16
Front Tyres: Toyo Proxes T1-R 195/50/15

Supplier: Mr T
Cost: all 4 £270 (Feb 2007)

Suspension mods: none

Comments
Very much of a dissapointment compared with stock RE040s.  Sidewalls too soft - loss of stability, too much body roll.  Steering wheel now selltles 5 degrees out to the left when travelling in a straight line. Alignmement perfect based on the ware of previous stock tyres taken off.  Tried upping the pressures to limit sidewall movement -really really bad idea tramlining &  instability got worse.  Now setup as 25 on the fronts & 32 on rears.  Best setup you can get IMO. Pay the extra and keep with stocks -buying these for a post facelift 2' will result in a downturn in handling performance!


Edit:  went to 30psi on the fronts & 36psi on the rears. slight imorovement... Then took the hard top off for the summer months and things improved significantly!  Toyos suffer badly due to the soft side walls;  the extra weight of the HT contributed to pants handling IMO.  I bet most of the members who advocate T1-Rs don't run them with a HT?  Having said that I've been wrong before!  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Anonymous

#13
Just an update on my Toyos (T1R)
Have managed to get 17,000 of good use out of the rears and the fronts still have 5.5 mm of tread.
Definately need to up from standard pressures though.

When some people talk about their bad experiences with these tyres I can't believe they've driven the same rubber as me.
I really like them - compared to the stock yokos anyway.

Really is down to personal preference I suppose

red_leicester

#14
Year of Roadster: Sep 2001

Rear Tyres: Toyo Proxes T1-R 225/40/16
Front Tyres: Toyo Proxes T1-R 205/45/15

Supplier: Heathstimpson.
Cost: Cheaper than a shop.

Suspension mods: none


To be perfectly honest I can't say I've noticed much difference between these and the tyres I had on before (Continental SportContact) in the dry.

However, there is a big difference in the wet.  Whereas the Contis would 'snap' when the rears lost grip,  the rear Toyos lose grip more progressively giving me much more time to correct it.  Also, it seems as though the fronts start to lose grip at more or less the same time, which helps me to correct the rear (if you see what I mean  s:) :) s:)  ).  Better than the Contis at any rate, and much cheaper too!
[size=84]Jez[/size]
[size=75]2001 Red MR2[/size]

ChrisGB

#15
Year of Roadster: 2003

Rear Wheels: Stock Toyota 16"
Rear Tyres: Hankook RS-2 225/45R16
Front Wheels: Stock Toyota 15"
Front Tyres: Hankook RS-2 195/50R15

Supplier: Camskill Performance
Cost: £250

Suspension mods: 3.0 Racing Front strut, lower member, midship member, rear lower member and rear lower cross braces.

Comments:

First impressions are a slightly heavier tyre than the RE040s that these replaced, but smoother quieter ride. Pressures need to be lower than stock (I am at 24.5psi F and 29psi R). Sidewalls are stiff and turn in is very very strong.

Dry grip and traction is good when they are cold. The tyres feel a little vague at the limit when cold. Driven harder they warm up quickly and produce levels of grip the 040s could never manage. Feel and stability at the limit are excellent once the tyre has warmed up and it is possible to hold big cornering forces at quite big slip angles. At the limit, they do give a little warning of letting go by starting to squirm. Pushing harder, they let go quite quickly but can be recovered easily if you are quick with the corrective inputs.

In the wet, they are good in standing water, no unexpected aquaplaning. Lateral grip is good, traction is good. However, combine acceleration and cornering and the back can get to feel quite mobile without actually letting go. The couple of times I have had it sideways in the wet, gathering up the slide was not too difficult if caught early. As with the RE040s understeer is still the dominant bias in wet weather.

Verdict:

Comparing to the Bridgestone RE040s:

Pros:

More grip when hot
More progressive at limit (wet or dry)
Less snappy and easier to recover slide (wet or dry)
Smoother ride
Virtually no tram lining
Very strong turn in
Very accurate response to inputs
Very direct quick response to steering inputs
Good steering feel
Very throttle steerable (they seem to magnify the effect of the throttle position on the balance of the car)
Much more stable in high speed corners

Cons:

Very soft compound so may not last long
Can feel vague and disconnected at limit until you learn to read the feedback
Need to know if they are warm enough before really leaning on them
Larger diameter, lower pressure and wider tread all blunt straight line performance a little
Possibly a little less outright grip than the RE040 in the wet, but more exploitable.

I like 'em

EDIT: So I wore them out eventually. Grip stayed OK until they got down to around 3mm where both wet and dry grip was reduced and the tyres felt a little vague. Honestly no idea how many miles they did, it was more than expected. Replaced with Toyo R888.

Chris
Ex 2GR-FE roadster. Sold it. Idiot.  Now Jaguar F-Type P450 75 Edition RWD. Officially over by the bins.

cclarke99

#16
Year of Roadster: 2002

Rear wheels: Standard
Rear Tyres: Standard Bridgestone Potenza RE040 205/50/15
Front Wheels: Standard
Front Tyres: Standard Bridgestone Potenza RE040 185/55/15

Supplier: Local garage who does all my maintenance
Cost: approx £300

Suspension mods: None

Comments:
Previously the car had Uniroyal "rain tyres" which seemed OK untill I got the Bridgestones; but I now realise they were useless - too soft in the sidewall & hard in the tread. Bridgestones took about 200 miles to really work well but now seem excellent to me, sharp turn in, perfect balance, loads of grip, wet or dry, just drift nicely on a wet roundabout. No tramlining to speak of, front moves about a bit under heavy braking on poor or wet surfaces, but nothing alarming. I certainly haven't reached their limit yet (which I did twice with the Uniroyals). Too early to comment on wear, but I suspect they may not last that long

Verdict:
The tyre the car was designed for, they're not the cheapest and there may be better, but I'm very happy with them.

Update:
Rears worn out after 2.5 years or approx 15k miles, fronts after 3.0 years or 18k miles. Now the fronts are almost gone, they've started to tramline a lot more

Jaik

#17
Year of Roadster: 2000

Rear wheels: 7"x16" (OEM Toyota MY03 Offset +45mm)
Rear Tyres: Hankook RS-2 225/45R16
Front Wheels: 6"x15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Front Tyres: Hankook RS-2 195/50R15

Supplier: Camskill.co.uk
Cost: £248

Suspension mods: None
Comments:

Initial 29th Mar 08: I only had these fitted today so don't know what they're really like yet, but compared to the stock Bridgestone Potenza RE040s they:
- Have added a welcome extra bit of weight to the steering since the fronts are wider
- Feel a lot more progressive and linear in the way they lose grip
- Give a more direct feel when accelerating (this is likely due to the 16" rears compared to my previous 15")

Update 31st Mar 08: In the dry they offer more grip than any other road tyre I've tried, certainly a lot more than the RE040. They're also very predictable; the handling felt a little too nervous and edgy on the stock RE040s whereas now it's much more planted and solid if ever-so-slightly less "eager".

Update 26th May 08: Well after about 4500 miles the rears are starting to get quite low on tread (2mm on the outsides) which means they're wearing faster than I'd expected, but have had some spirited driving with slightly off rear toe angles  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

Update 18th Jun 08: After about 5000 miles the rears really need replacing. On the outside they're well into the wear indicators and it's a bit hairy in the rain. Not quite the lifespan I was hoping for but as in my previous update, this will most likely be in part due to my rear toe being slightly wrong.

Verdict:
Initial 29th Mar 08: We'll see; I'll update this post in a few weeks, but they seem better than the RE040s so far.

Update 31st Mar 08: I'm already very impressed. There is more grip and more importantly because it's so progressive when it does go, the available grip is much more useable on the road for an untalented/novice driver such as myself.

Anonymous

#18
Year of Roadster: 2003

Rear wheels: 7"x16" (OEM Toyota MY03 Offset +45mm)
Rear Tyres: Hankook RS-2 225/45R16
Front Wheels: 7"x16" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Front Tyres: Hankook RS-2 205/45R16

Supplier: Camskill.co.uk
Cost: £280

Suspension mods: Tein S-Tech Springs, C-One front and rear anti-roll bars (rear set to stiffest), High & Tight Drop links, 3.0 Racing MSMB, C-One front and rear strut braces.

Comments: I have had these tyres on since late August last year and have covered about 5-6000 miles on them. I have MY03 rear wheels on the front of my car, which takes away a bit of the feel from the steering, however allows me to fit the wider 205/45R16 tyres, rather than the 195/50R15's like ChrisGB and Jaik. I am running 24psi front and 26psi rear, which i think gives me a good balance.

The RS2's have reduced understeer in the wet quite a bit, but has not got rid of the problem completley. The heavier wheels might have contributed to this also though due to the additional weight at the front. There is no understeer in the dry anymore, unless you go into a corner way too fast.

Overall dry weather handling is better than the stock RE040's, turn in is really sharp and the tyres repond instantly to changes in steering input. the rear of the car only squirms about when pushing it over a rough b/c road but is easily controlable with the throttle.

Wet weather wise, I have not let the wet weather stop me from going for a drive this winter, mainly because I trust the tyres, the sidewalls are stiff enough to give good feedback to what is happening, where as the Toyos for example have soft sidewalls, and do not give good feedback in my opinion. Aqua planing is no worse than the RE040's but it is still there, probably due to the wider contact patch, and it still scares the s**t out of me!

The tyres do not take as long to get warm as the Bridgestones did. They are easy to get warm in the wet too, which i found a bit harder on the RE040's.

The tyres seem to be wearing faster than the bridgestones but that was expected, however they are not wearing as fast as I had first thought.

The only downside to the tyre over the RE040 is in the snow, where it is useless as there are no tread blocks, but for the amount of snow we get here its not really that much of an issue.

Verdict: A much better tyre then the Bridgestone RE040, in my opinion much better than the Toyo's too (T1-R obviously). An awesome tyre in the dry and wet which can carry more speed into a corner and maintain the speed throughout. Well worth the money and will be buying again.

ChrisGB

Quote from: "Tem"Anyone have anything to say about the Kumho KU31 or KU15 on the '2?

I have only run the KU31 on my tuition car, a Skoda Fabia vRS with a 190bhp / 280lb/ft remap. They were 205/45R16 87W with reinforced sidewalls.

Grip was good (as good, if not  a little better than the Toyo T1R I run now in the dry) but they were much less progressive once they let go. The Toyos are better for wet grip and traction.

I have only spoken to one guy who ran KU15s (on a front driver) and he reckoned not particularly good in the dry and very slippery in the wet.

Chris
Ex 2GR-FE roadster. Sold it. Idiot.  Now Jaguar F-Type P450 75 Edition RWD. Officially over by the bins.

Anonymous

Year of Roadster: 2003

Rear wheels: Standard
Rear Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza 215/45/16
Front Wheels: Standard
Front Tyres: Standard Bridgestone Potenza 185/55/15

Supplier: Save on Tyres
Cost: approx £195 backs £176

Suspension mods: None

Comments:
The car had these on when I purchased it, its barely done any milage in past few years, but backs now need replacing and I've done the fronts too as they were really perished. So far I have only replaced the rears and its such a better drive handles 10 times better, cannot wait untill Monday to get fronts done as theres road movement at the minute when driving 60. I won't be ablt to comment on the tyre wear and tear as I only do about 3500 miles a year (if that)! So i hope these tyres last. I did loads of quotes including one which came to onver £550 for a set!

Verdict:
Been told by Save On this is the  tyre that the car comes out standard with and to stick with them.

Anonymous

Rears 225/35/17 offset 45 (7.5 wheels) Yokohama SDrives on Team Dynamics 1.2 Pro Racers
Fronts 205/45/16 offset 38(7.0 /)

Lowered 30mm TTE.

Tyre pressure was initially set as 26 front & 32 rear and drove horendous! Tramlined.wandered.Definatly 50mph limit on a motorway.

Changed the ALL IMPORTANT tyre pressures to 30 front & 34 rear. Like a completly different car, handling in my opinion is perfect now.
Just goes to show, getting the correct wheels/tyres/offsetts etc dos'nt help the performance and handling if the tyre pressures out or unsuitable,despite what may be reccomended. changeing the wheels from stocks requires a change in tyre pressure.

It's had a good run on the M1 today  and a 'Cj spin' on a quiet of the beaten track round-a-bout, there  was no rear end loss whatsoever.Perfect hold!
These tyres are new and i wonder with the correct setup etc...if the talk on running in tyres is nessesary.People talk of slippy tyres because their new??? Mine are not slippery. If alls setup ok, i can't see why any new tyre would be slippy. unless they are a poor quality tyre or tyre pressures wrong.

Cj

ChrisGB

Quote from: "Cj"Rears 225/35/17 offset 45 (7.5 wheels) Yokohama SDrives on Team Dynamics 1.2 Pro Racers
Fronts 205/45/16 offset 38(7.0 /)

Lowered 30mm TTE.

Tyre pressure was initially set as 26 front & 32 rear and drove horendous! Tramlined.wandered.Definatly 50mph limit on a motorway.

Changed the ALL IMPORTANT tyre pressures to 30 front & 34 rear. Like a completly different car, handling in my opinion is perfect now.
Just goes to show, getting the correct wheels/tyres/offsetts etc dos'nt help the performance and handling if the tyre pressures out or unsuitable,despite what may be reccomended. changeing the wheels from stocks requires a change in tyre pressure.


My guess is that the wider tyre combined with lower profile (as a result of 16" rim at front, combined with increased camber on the unloaded suspension (as a result of the 30mm drop) has made the inner edges of the contact patch bear most drag. This increases tramlining as the drag acts inboard of the steering axis and castor is applying increased load into the steering arms as the front end tries to pigeon toe. As the road undulates, this translates to pulling at the steering as road surface imperfections tug at each side differently. Increasing the tyre pressures reduces the contact patch width, moving the drag nearer the steering axis and alleviates the problem, but also loses contact patch area. Generally, wider tyres need less pressure for a given vehicle if contact patch area / shape are to be increased / retained respectively.

Chris
Ex 2GR-FE roadster. Sold it. Idiot.  Now Jaguar F-Type P450 75 Edition RWD. Officially over by the bins.

Innocent

Year of Roadster: 2000

Rear wheels: 6.5"x15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Rear Tyres: Yokohama Advan 043's 205/50/15
Front Wheels: 6" x 15" (OEM Toyota Offset +45mm)
Front Tyres: Yokohama Advan 043's 185/55/15

Supplier: Event mobile tyres
Cost: ~£300

Suspension mods: None

Comments:

1st Comment is on Event Mobile Tyres - order on line and they'll be round to your house or at the track the next morning anywhere in the UK for full fit and balance. Great company!
Tyres in the summer - awesome!! So much grip that on a dry warm day it can be difficult to get the rears to break traction from a standing start (completely standard 138bhp). Cornering is superb. Have used them on a number of sprint and autocross days this year and the tyres perform perfectly on both low speed slalom precision and 100mph out sphincter clenching corners. Even on a warm but wet day you can have lots of sideways fun without ever feeling out of control.
Tyres in the winter - terrible!! The soft compound tightens up so much in the cold that even in dry weather you're going to understeer through every corner. Lift off to correct the understeer and the back steps out so quickly you spin before you know whats happened. Get on the brakes too late and the back fishtails like you're on ice.

Verdict:
Much cheaper than cut slicks, but will have similar grip if you're on standard power. Unbelievably good all through the summer, but get some good winter tyres as soon as the nights draw in or you might be loosing your no claims bonus! Oh, and they only lasted 10k miles (though one 32 degrees C autocross day took off about 3mm).

fstsven

Year of roadster: 2004

Front wheels: OEM 15" 6J
Front tyres: TOYO Proxes R1-R 205/50/15
Rear wheels: OEM 16" 7J
Rear tyres: TOYO Proxes R1-R 225/45/16

To make everything as clear as possible I'll split comments up according to conditions.
-warm (+10 degrees), dry: These tyres were obviously made for these conditions. After just one or two kms of decent driving they are up to operating temperature and then they grip, grip, grip. Give loads of confidence and very strong braking.
-cold (-10 degrees), dry: Difficult if not impossible to warm up, less grip but not dangerously so. Let's say comparable to any decent sport summer tyre.
-warm, wet: After warming them up for a bit, very good grip; better or at least equal to T1-R's (very good wet tyre).
-cold, wet: Considerably less grip than T1-R; quite snappy break-away.
-very heavy rain: grip according to temperature, but be careful with deep standing water: aquaplaning quite soon, though obviously better than R888, A-048 and the like.

In all circumstances they are a bit noisier than a road tyre; sidewalls are stiff enough for steering precision and communication, but not as stiff as to make the ride uncomfortable.

Conclusion: A great tyre. Semi-slick-like dry warm performance; confidence-inspiring in the rain, but they don't like cold temperatures. For me, the perfect tyre! Though I do think that for some people the T1-R might be a better compromise between all-weather ability and tyre-life (R1-R has a projected lifespan of roughly half of that of T1-R; treadwear 140 vs. 280).
Important note: Toyo say you can't drive these tyres in freezing ( below 0 ) temperatures because a)they don't grip and b) the compound loses its flexibility, leading to cracks in the rubber.
2004 fire red TOYOTA MR
K&N air filter
BLUEFLAME single exhaust
APEX progressive rate springs (-30mm)
3.ORACING breastplate
TOYO proxes R1R 205/50/15(f)-225/45/16(r)
25 kgs extra lightness

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