Change All 4 Tyres Or Just The 2?

[lee_ts51]

Hi All,

I've just done a forum search and it appears that Toyo Proxes T1-R are recommended by many people. But everyone has their own personal choice of course.

At the moment I have a T-Sport with standard rims and Premium Continental Contact tyres (185/55/R15). My two front ones need replacing. I am thinking of changing them to Toyos 195/50/R15.

The question is, can I have two front wheels on a 195/50/15 and two back ones on 185/55/R15? Or is it recommended to have all tyres the same size/profile?

Oh, and I called up the closet garage to me and they tell me they don't have any T1-R's in stock :( because they are discontinued and replaced by Proxes 4?? He's quoted £37. I also tried calling up other places, but all dont even stock Toyos.

So in summary, can I have different profile/size tyres on the front and back and what do people think about T1-Rs compared to Proxes 4?

Cheers!

[T600]

Best to change all four if you're changing the profile. Though I think legally you can do what you're asking; after all many cars such as the MR2 have different profile back and front, but in that case the wider wheels are on the back. Putting wider ones on the front may be very dodgy as far as handling goes, so if you must change just one pair, put I'd put the wider ones on the rear.

What spare do you have, or do you just carry repair foam? In the case of the MR2 it has a narrow profile limited speed wheel so it can be used as a spare for both back and front, but not sure how you would stand using a standard tyre as a spare - it can't match the profile of both front and rear if they're different.

The Toyo website has a section to find local dealers for you. When I used it I found one that was local to me who beat the prices I'd been quoted elsewhere on Toyos.

[lee_ts51]

Changing all 4 makes sense.

I was just wondering if I was changing them for the sake of changing them.

I have the standard spare tyre - The yellow rimmed one which is very slim and states a max speed of 60km - if I remember correctly.

The standard spare tyre should be okay if i go all tyres on Toyos with 195/50/R15??

Thanks.

Looking into the Toyos website now.....

[Jason.s]

can have wider on the front no problem. many people have wider on the front on FWD cars for added traction.

the spare will be fine yes as 195/50 and 185/55 are pretty much the same height

[cfc1]

195/50x15 = a rolling radius of 288mm

185/55x15 = a rolling radius of 292.25mm

So not even the difference between a bald tyre and a new tyre, so obviously no problems in that respect.

As for running two different sizes, yes.. it's perfectly legal, all the law asks is that the tyres on the same axle must be the same size.

Where's best to fit them?.. well, it is normal for the wider tyres to go on the rear, but with a car such as the Yaris (no disrepect, I used to own one) it really won't make much of a difference if you put them on the front.. it's really the more high powered cars that get the type of serious handling problems if they aren't on the rear.

Your spare wheel will be a space saver, will work ok along with the 195/50's.

Toyo Proxes 4's are indeed the latest Toyo in the 195/50x15's and are/have taken over from the T1-r.. but it may still be possible to get the T1-r providing a dealer has them in stock.

[Jason.s]

just hope they`re better in the wet that t1-r`s/

putting wider on the back on a fwd car is pointless..its not doing anything lol. putting them on the front will give more tyre surface contact therefore more traction off the line and all round grip as the front wheels are doing two jobs at one.

[cfc1]

With a car such as the Yaris coupled with the very minor difference in both sizes of tyre any changes made are unlikely to be felt by an average driver. But to say it won't make any difference putting them on the rear isn't quite right.

What you would be doing is giving the rear a wider track (albeit only 10mm either side of the car) this, in conjunction with the lower profile (meaning in the way of aspect ratio of the tyre... not the differences between both sizes) would help keep the tyre tread flatter on the road during body roll in a corner, this in turn can make the steering of the car more responsive. However, like I said above... with a car such as the yaris and the minor difference in size, the average driver wouldn't feel the slightest difference. To further attempt to explain what I mean, think about how anti-roll bars work... rear bars stop body roll and keep the tread flat to the road, this improves front end responsiveness and helps keep the rear end in check, this is why a lot of high powered sports cars (such as the MR2 Roadster ;) ) have wider tyres on the rear.

Your are correct in saying putting them on the front will improve traction though, so what you would have to think about is what you want more... more traction or better steering response... also remembering we are talking about a Yaris here.

I'm not dissing the Yaris.. I owned a little 1.0 for a few years and I have to admit I loved every minute I had driving it... fantastic little pocket rockets.

[Jason.s]

and of course mr2`s and a lot of other sports cars are rwd so they put wider tyres on the rear for traction....as usually those sports cars are produced with more power than most fwd cars. i`ve looked into putting a wider tyre on the front but 205/40/15s are stupid prices for my liking

[forde]

no point changing two tyres that arent worn out yet

just put the bigger ones on the back, wait till the other old ones wear out, then get two more proxes...