Toyo T1-R tyres - perf in snow?

catkins · May 3, 2011, 15:49

Hey all

After giving the forum and the tyre thread a good read around, I am looking to replace my two rear wheels with Toyo T1Rs (as mine are now illegal, haha). Lots of comments re how good grip they have, particularly in the wet AND in dry, summer conditions. However, anyone have any advice re snow and ice grip/handling? Apart from the obvious when driving a MKIII MR2 s:lol: :lol: s:lol: e.g. How much PSI change is recommended considering Toyo seem to advise 4psi higher than other tyres as standard.

Cheers

aaronjb · May 3, 2011, 15:59

Ice, well.. nothing will have much traction on ice bar a pure winter tyre (or studs/chains), but they perform fantastically in snow IMHO, got through several winters with them on; much better than the part worn Bridgestones that I had on a couple of winters ago.

Wabbitkilla · May 3, 2011, 16:02

Erm - jolly good question, I find a steady and smooth style is best in snow whatever the tyres.
The Toyos obviously aren't designed for snow and they won't be great.
I found the Eagle F1 GSD3's were actually quite controllable in the snow their grooves are a bit wider and straighter than the T1R's.
Saying that I never giot stuck when I had T1Rs, but like I said, smooth & steady

sh4branze · May 3, 2011, 16:23

T1-R tires are stiff in the cold.Like hard shopping cart wheels.My advice is to get a spare set of wheels with snows/Blizzaks.I drive year round in Buffalo NY.

nathanMR2 · May 3, 2011, 17:24

I note in your post you suggest your going to replace your rear tyres for Toyo's... does that mean you have another make of tyre on the front?

Not recommended to mix tyre brands or treads. Be as good as having bald tyres in the wet!

MisterK · May 3, 2011, 18:04

Just ordered a set of Toyo Proxes T1R to be fitted at Demon Tweeks at the Spring Ding day. Had Bridgestone Potenza's fitted to date. Ordered 195/50/15 for the fronts & 225/45/16 for the rear. Saving £200 over a set of Bridgestones. Not worried about the grip in snow. Bridgestones were aweful so I got a set of Autosocks last winter just in case. Didn't need to use them and they will also be OK for use with the Toyo's - let's hope I don't need to use them this year!
MarkK

s12vea · May 3, 2011, 19:51

I ran toyo last winter and they perfomed very well in the snow. Couldn't rate them enough!

frogger · May 3, 2011, 20:01

T1R's are great tyres for the price (but as said above, match your tyre brands all round).

For proper driving (not crawling around) in proper ice and snow, T1R's or ANY standard width tyre on the MR2 are generally poo in my opinion, compared to proper snow tyres. Autosocks are also okay if your stuck on a slope for instance, but compared to proper snow tyres, are still poo.
Anyone who says otherwise, hasn't tried proper snow tyres! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

With a set of autosocks I still slip about, with colway mud and snow arrow head tracks I fly past everything, frequently find myself overtaking 4x4's who are friggin around struggling to get up hills. Even carried on ploughing through when I went off into the valleys, up lanes where people previously had only manages to slide down, not go up!

My advice would be by a front wheel drive banger and with skinny tyres for ice and snow days, it will work out cheaper, quicker to drive, be much less to worry about, and much much more fun to drive in the snow!

Anonymous · May 3, 2011, 20:07

I found Toyo's ok in the snow but bought some snow chains just in case,however having just bought this I don't think I will need them. s:D

s:D

catkins · May 4, 2011, 15:41

LOL!

Thank you everyone for the fab advice. My other half and I have been on the case but not many garages around us stock Toyos. Have managed to get a set of four now for around £250.

Re mixing the tyres. I know that I should really have all four the same. At the mo, my current rear are a pair of Michellins and I had a pair of Goodrich on the front but after one blew out and I went to the nearest, convenient tyre place to have it replaced, they "did" me on the cheapest, most awful tyre possible s:evil: :evil: s:evil: I hadnt had the car long and was a little clueless admittedly, but having owned cars in general for several years I know the importance of at least having matching pairs. They didnt even ask me what I wanted and just got on and did it.. probably thought "silly little girl racer" when I turned up in my '2, which is frustrating. Although whats more frustrating is it took me a while to realise what theyd done and I couldnt go back by then s:evil: :evil: s:evil: So, yeah, I ended up with a nasty piece of work on my drivers front and I have kicked myself lots for it but didnt see the point in replacing it until I could afford to do all four and NEEDED to do at least one more s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

I need a new pair on the back as they are bald... and as the fronts are now not matching my other half has offered to get me a whole set for my birthday.. (bless!.. you know youre getting old when your OH buys you tyres for your bday haha). So, yeah we have now ordered four Toyos for four corners. REALLY looking forward to seeing how it handles now, as I didnt think it was actually doing THAT badly before.

nathanMR2 · May 4, 2011, 15:46

Good news.... i hate to possibly burst your bubble but did you get wide size tyres for the rear? Again very important no matter what make of tyre you have.

The difference with a lot of cars most people own is that the MR2 is rear wheel drive and can handle very differently to a front wheel drive car when they let go.

catkins · May 4, 2011, 16:11

Yep, 205/50 for the back and 185/55 for the front... theyre standard alloys

nathanMR2 · May 4, 2011, 16:59

Great stuff s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

You may not notice a massive difference until you push the car a little but your far more likely to loose it with incorrect tyres in either case.

I always say you can spend as much money as you want making the car go fast but don't scrimp on tyres and brakes. They are the only thing that will stop you and the only thing that will keep you on the road... amen!

catkins · May 5, 2011, 13:21

Totally agree. Thanks again for all the advice. My other half has turned on his "geek" and gotten really into looking at the tyre reviews. He needs new ones for his Hyundai too so he's loving it. Managed to find a dealer local that has got all four tyres in to fit my car, so shes getting new shoes on Monday. yay. Very suprised to hear though that apparently the T1R 205/50 R15 rears are a rare size and not even Toyo UK has them in stock at the moment! They have to import them from America which is about a 6 week lead time. Lucky this guy had them in. Something to do with them being only a 15" alloy but very fat. T1R 205/50 R16s are easier to find according to the geek s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Looking forward to giving it a push to the limit. I thought that it handled as well as can be expected in the snow this winter and I have only managed to get it to step out by accident on a gravelly bit of road doing a 100 degree turn to get into my village. If I take it steady its fine but in the wet it has a twitch but nothing I cant handle and I'm assuming it would probably be the same on new tyres anyway! She tends to behave herself pretty well actually.

catkins · May 5, 2011, 13:28

Forgot to ask also.... am I correct in understanding, having read somewhere?!, that Toyos should be around 4psi more than the dealers recommended because they have such soft walls? Mine is a daily drive, without too much hardcore driving. I realise that varying the psi according to weather/time of year and road conditions will make a difference, but generally...... whats the score?

frogger · May 5, 2011, 20:45

I find the XL toyo T1Rs (which I think you'll end up with on std wheels) are absolutely perfect at the stock pressure.
Its personal preference really though.

On the limit its v v predictable and the back end can be held out at a nice angle with confidence

calaerial · May 10, 2011, 21:13

I really dont get why the specified tyre sizes for the '2 show a 5mm reduction in sidewall height for the rears.

Ive known sports cars with BIGGER wheels on the back, but smaller? Cant fathom that to be honest. Is it actually necessary? Would 185/55/15 and 205/55/15 not work just as well? Or perhaps 185/50/15 with 205/50/15.

Also are there any consequences to going up to 17" rims? I've been considering it recently because shortly mine is going to need a full new set of rubbers, and ive found some decent looking deals for "Alloys with tyres" almost approaching the same prices i'd be paying for a decent set of tyres alone. Granted i doubt they're Toyo's.

Would 185 & 205/25/17 fit? I would imagine it would improve stiffness as well as the looks. Though probably at the expense of making the ride a little harder.

kentsmudger · May 11, 2011, 00:23

Quote from: "calaerial"I really dont get why the specified tyre sizes for the '2 show a 5mm reduction in sidewall height for the rears.

Ive known sports cars with BIGGER wheels on the back, but smaller? Cant fathom that to be honest. Is it actually necessary? Would 185/55/15 and 205/55/15 not work just as well? Or perhaps 185/50/15 with 205/50/15.

The middle number is not a measurement in mm, but is a ratio expressed as a percentage of the width of the tread.
In this case 185/55/15 means 185mm wide tread / Sidewall height is 55% of that width / wheels 15" diameter. The rear tyres are wider tread so a similar sidewall height is a smaller percentage of the greater width.

185/55/15 = 55% of 185 = 101.75mm sidewall
205/50/15 = 50% of 205 = 102.5mm sidewall
Therefore - Rear tyres are a tiny bit bigger than the fronts - All OK!

Quote from: "calaerial"Also are there any consequences to going up to 17" rims? I've been considering it recently because shortly mine is going to need a full new set of rubbers, and ive found some decent looking deals for "Alloys with tyres" almost approaching the same prices i'd be paying for a decent set of tyres alone. Granted i doubt they're Toyo's.

Would 185 & 205/25/17 fit? I would imagine it would improve stiffness as well as the looks. Though probably at the expense of making the ride a little harder.

I believe the ride quality and handling will not be as good, according to many here who have tried 17" and not liked it

FGrob · May 11, 2011, 06:32

Quote from: "kentsmudger"505/50/15 = 50% of 205 = 102.5mm sidewall

That's some back tyre width s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

kentsmudger · May 11, 2011, 20:27

Quote from: "FGrob"
Quote from: "kentsmudger"505/50/15 = 50% of 205 = 102.5mm sidewall
That's some back tyre width s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Oops! Typo corrected , thanks!

catkins · May 12, 2011, 15:47

Well, I have my four new tyres. They stick like sticky stuff alright!! My other half took the car to the garage, and apparently it was remarked by all how soft they are. My OH reckons the treads are like "moulding putty" they are that soft lol

Went for a drive, and left a little of them behind on a couple of roundabouts s:shock: :shock: s:shock: s:lol: :lol: s:lol: but wow, they really make a difference. So much more positive about every move the car makes. It didnt help that I had different tyres on the front before, but I can really feel how much more secure the drive feels. No twitching, front or back, which I sometimes used to get if braking heavily or turning into a bend too tightly.

Those of you who have Toyo T1Rs - what kinda mileage do you get from them??? After realising exactly how soft they are, we started to get worried about having to replace them every 3000 miles s:shock: :shock: s:shock: I dont drive like a maniac. I commute up the motorway to work, and now and again enjoy a "proper" MR2 drive (you know what I'm talking about s8)

s8) ) but nothing extreme and/or frequently heavily stuff.

aaronjb · May 12, 2011, 16:57

I reckoned on about 10-12k out of a set of T1Rs - they're really not that soft at all

frogger · May 12, 2011, 17:43

The above milage sound about right for a set of rears under 'normal' use - i.e. driven v hard at times, but with a mix of dual carridge way/mway travel too
Bear in mind you'll get through almost two set of rears for every set of fronts too, so that puts the front's milage much higher.

catkins · May 13, 2011, 15:38

Yeah I expected around 10K and also to have to change the rears more frequently. Phew!

What do you do IF something happens to your precious tyre and you need a replacement but as the T1Rs seem difficult to get hold of do you a) wait and use the space saver until you can get the Toyo b) buy something cheap which will "do for now" or c) buy a "spare" set of Toyos so you can take them down the garage and have them fitted.

s:? :? s:? s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anonymous · May 13, 2011, 18:18

Generally enjoy the car and worry about stuff like that as and when it happens. s:D

s:D