RIP Old Tyres

[black_bird_blue]

It had got to that time when the Michelin Pilot Sports on the back and the Goodyear Eagle F1s on the front were both past their best before dates. Rather than just take them off and throw them away, I felt the need to celebrate their passing....

Following the tomfoolery on camera (not on the public road, I hasten to add) I fitted four new Toyo Proxes T1-R. Right now I'm wishing I'd gone with Goodyears but we'll have a play with tyre pressures and let them scrub in a bit before I'm too hard on them. Lovely supple ride, though - but that's no surprise since the old ones had no cushioning from the tread form...

Marks out of 10 for style?

Damian

[winfred]

that'll do pig.....that'll do

[bimmerd00d]

Very cool, needs M5T sways and bilsteins though :D she rolls like a fat chick :D:D:D

[black_bird_blue]

Well, I've had a few days to let them settle in and the Toyos seem OK. I wouldn't say they're great, but the car seems to have lost little of its linearity. The ride is way better, but there was pretty much nothing left on the old tyres, so that's not a surprise. I'm sure it's lost some grip, too, but again with the full height tread profile that's probably not a surprise. The car seems to respond well to tyre pressure changes, which is always nice.

Biggest surprise has been the steering feel - the Toyos help mask the steering box slack on-centre really quite nicely. It still has a big centre-window compared to a rack and pinion car but it doesn't feel like it's sloshing about any more. Oh yes, and the dreadful tramlining under braking has been banished compared to the old tyres.

YMMV, of course...and I haven't tried them in the wet yet.

Damian

[bahnstormer]

great feedback thanks very much.
what country are you from?

[black_bird_blue]

great feedback thanks very much.
what country are you from?

I'm in the UK - what prompts the question?

[paul p (chi-town)]

I'm in the UK - what prompts the question?Either the somewhat quirky use of the english language, tyres, centre..........or the fact that u have a 540iT (possibly even manual).

Yes we’re jealous.


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[black_bird_blue]

...haven't tried them in the wet yet

Well, it being the UK I didn't have to wait long for a little rain. I have to say the Toyos have gone from being "not too bad, I suppose" in the dry to positively astounding in the wet. As I hope my pix prove I have no difficulty with sideways car control, however on the Toyos I have to be astonishingly aggressive to get the rear of the car out of line; there's no way I could do it without meaning to. It holds on and holds on and holds on, then finally drifts out with just a touch of understeer unless you are applying some very definite technique (e.g. loud pedal all the way down with aggressive tip-in, or back out and tip-in at high latacc or some similar) and even then it's really very graceful when it lets go.

I am deeply impressed with the wet grip on these tyres, my only criticism is that it's made the car a little boring in the wet, but I can't help feel I'm being somewhat churlish in that observation. Sigh.

Damian