Should I Be Worried?

[silvercelica]

Hi Guys on saturday i bought myself some new alloys and tyres, the tyres being Toyo Proxes 4 as these are meant to be good well all i can say is my worn out crappy old tyres put these to shame!!!

I cant understand whats going on? My other tyres were on the standard 16 inch alloys (GEN 7 Celica) and were all different makes and i had only heard of one of the brands that was yokohama. Others were really low budget and perished.

But what i cant understand is the new tyres when i go into the corner the steering is so much less responsive, the sharp turn in i enjoyed before has been replaced with what seems like understeer even at lowish speeds so what has happened how have i lost my great handling Celica? Im turning the wheel loads more than i used to feels like im pushing the tyres round rather than them steering me round.

And i opted for 17's as i thought by going up one inch it wouldnt affect handling lol and they were fitted at a professional alloy wheel suppliers so it wasnt a backstreet garage etc.

What pressures would you recommend for 215 - 40 - R17?

Thanks for reading.

[DefiantFrog]

Odd...? I'm on 17's with Toyo Proxy 215/40/17, and handling's a dream! I've got to really push it hard to understeer. It may be because they're taking a few miles to scrub in?

Mine are at 32 all round, and I've never had any probs cos of it!

[Black Knight]

How many miles have you done on them?

It takes a few hundred miles to wear the separating compound off of the outside of the tyres from moulding so could just be that

[silvercelica]

Well i reckon i have done around 50 miles so far took them for a long drive first of all when got them but wasnt pushing them then yesterday i tried wheelspinning and the traction off the line is really good its just when you come to a corner you can hear the front end sliding and it doesnt feel safe or grippy atall.

Ive had the t1-s on my old car and they handled great from day one so im really worried ive messed up buying these tyres as although my last tyres were perished around the edges and had 1 mil of tread left they threw me round corners and you could feel the g-force.

My tyres are at 30 all round as thats what toyota recommend just done it now they were only on between 30 - 33 before i changed them.

[gazbrown]

You will be suprised how much of a difference a few psi can make, the higher the psi the smaller the tyre footprint (the amount of tyre in contact with the road.

50 miles is not a lot especially if you have been taking it easy, give it another 50 miles and they should be scrubbed in ok.

That said they are prob gripping ok but you are used to your old tyres which from your description were basically "slicks".

With only a mill of tread there is alot more tyre in contact with the ground (more grip) which is why F1 cars used to use tyres with no tread at all (well in the dry anyway).

I think that coupled with them not being scurbbed in is what you are feeling.

Like you say, an extra inch in height, is not going to change the handling of the car to a degree you will notice, unless you are a professinal driver of course. :D

Stick with them and I'm sure you will soon be launching it around the bends again in no time.

[silvercelica]

You will be suprised how much of a difference a few psi can make, the higher the psi the smaller the tyre footprint (the amount of tyre in contact with the road.

50 miles is not a lot especially if you have been taking it easy, give it another 50 miles and they should be scrubbed in ok.

That said they are prob gripping ok but you are used to your old tyres which from your description were basically "slicks".

With only a mill of tread there is alot more tyre in contact with the ground (more grip) which is why F1 cars used to use tyres with no tread at all (well in the dry anyway).

I think that coupled with them not being scurbbed in is what you are feeling.

Like you say, an extra inch in height, is not going to change the handling of the car to a degree you will notice, unless you are a professinal driver of course. :D

Stick with them and I'm sure you will soon be launching it around the bends again in no time.

Thanks mate :)

Hope so, went for a longish drive tonight and they seem abit better but there definately improving, but yea my others were pretty much slicks i couldnt find the limit lol

[MIP]

I don't think the Proxes 4 are v. good, they arn't well rated on mytyres.

You want the Proxes T1-R's.

Proxes 4

Proxes T1-R

[silvercelica]

I don't think the Proxes 4 are v. good, they arn't well rated on mytyres.

You want the Proxes T1-R's.

Proxes 4

Proxes T1-R

Seems like its a mixed bag

But i was recommended these tyres saying they are meant to be better all round than the T1-R :( And they cost me more lol

To be fair to them there starting to be abit better will have to keep you updated on them.

[Kenyamike]

My opinion only for what it's worth. , many, many years ago, used to test drive for Ford at their high performance development circuit at Boreham in Essex! We always said about road tyres in those days, 200 Miles and the surface is just scrubbed! 500 miles and it's run in completely. We would find that at 500 plus miles the tyre was at it's optimum and the lap times tumbled. Mostly we tested to destruction, so we did notice the tyre difference. You are saying that 17" road wheels lift the standard car, which normally runs on 16" by 1" and of course this depends on what tyre you run on the rim and how much wear you have on them. There are tables which are quoted elsewhere to show this., personally I run 17" on my gen 5 with no problems and with good as you get out of the standard import, suspension handling. I use good quality budget tyres and defy anyone to tell the difference in safe road use.

There I said it was only my opinion, but if your driving fast and safe on the road, you won't honestly notice, even if you think you can. You should stick with the standard manufacturers tyre pressures as the suspension is designed to match that.

Good luck :(