Tires (Toyo Proxes?)

jdlynch99 · 04-09-2009, 06:46 AM

Anyone running Toyo Proxies?

I'm still getting some wandering with the tires I have, went to 16" rims with yokohama 195/45R16's on the front, and 215/40R16's on the rear.

The yokohama's have a fairly straight tread pattern, and they still want to follow the rain grooves on the freeways here in SoCal. I was looking for other options, and the toyo proxies have a more angled tread pattern, I found them in the same sizes, and they also have the 225 width if I wanted to go with the widest tires possible on the rims I have.

Just wondered if anyone has had any experiance with the toyo proxies. Pros? Cons?

Thanks
JD

jdlynch99 · 04-10-2009, 06:15 AM

Well no responses,

I think I am going to get the Toyo's if they work out, I'll have some Yokohama S-Drives with about 1000 or less on em for sale. 195/45R16 and 215/40R16.

Let ya know.

JimDantin · 04-10-2009, 06:28 AM

Regarding the problem with road grooves -- has anyone experimented with adjusting the toe-in slightly? I wonder if we could improve the stability and reduce wandering. I know that toe-in can impact mileage and tire wear, but maybe there's a happy compromise setting.

fortow · 04-10-2009, 12:37 PM

I'm not sure what you're referring to as "rain grooves".

On highly travelled roadways, particularly ones that have heavy trucks, depressions are created where the wheels track. Some cars will tramline in these grooves, that is to say, they will be deflected by the rise on one side and wander over to the other and be deflected by that and so on - effectively being 'caught' within these worn grooves. This is caused by several factors - wheel alignment, tire design, tire width, axle width, weight distribution perhaps and I don't know what else.

It will be exacerbated by incorrect toe-in of course. I don't think that exaggerating toe-in is such a good idea since it will cause fast tire wear.

SubSlr88 · 04-10-2009, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fortow

I'm not sure what you're referring to as "rain grooves".

They are the grooves cut into the road surface, mainly concrete, that help guide the rain off the roadway and also create a traction surface on areas that may become slick during rains. You see them mainly on large freeways - especially in California. They can often guide the car and make steering touchy; causing the car to follow the direction of the grooves.

Hope that helps . . .

fortow · 04-10-2009, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SubSlr88

They are the grooves cut into the road surface, mainly concrete, that help guide the rain off the roadway and also create a traction surface on areas that may become slick during rains. You see them mainly on large freeways - especially in California. They can often guide the car and make steering touchy; causing the car to follow the direction of the grooves.

Hope that helps . . .

I suspected that was what you were referring to.

Changing toe-in won't help matters there at all. Wider tires might help.
Those types of grooves are particularly annoying for motorcycles.

iconpyro · 04-15-2009, 03:20 PM

I have had a set of Toyo Proxies on an A4. I loved those tires, much better than the Pirelli Neros that came with the car. As far as the road grooves, I do not get them as much on my smart that has been equipped with the Kumho AST. The pattern of the AST is a large V pattern where as the Proxies have a double V patter and then two grooves on the outside.

I couldn't tell you if you will or will not get that same result, as I never had an issue with that on my audi. The smart is different since it is so much more lighter. Also I noticed I still once in a while get that feeling with the Kumhos which have two grooves towards the outside of the tire, but for the most part I rarely get that now.

Outside of the grooves, the Proxies handle great. Well worth the price as they are pretty good M+S rated tires. The Kumhos are rated M+S but I wouldnt trust them in the mud + snow for some reason. Also road noise will increase with the Proxies, I noticed that on my audi, so I know you will definitely hear it in the Smar. However I did feel like the driving and cornering were better on wet surfaces with the Proxies...

jdlynch99 · 04-20-2009, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iconpyro

I have had a set of Toyo Proxies on an A4. I loved those tires, much better than the Pirelli Neros that came with the car. As far as the road grooves, I do not get them as much on my smart that has been equipped with the Kumho AST. The pattern of the AST is a large V pattern where as the Proxies have a double V patter and then two grooves on the outside.

I couldn't tell you if you will or will not get that same result, as I never had an issue with that on my audi. The smart is different since it is so much more lighter. Also I noticed I still once in a while get that feeling with the Kumhos which have two grooves towards the outside of the tire, but for the most part I rarely get that now.

Outside of the grooves, the Proxies handle great. Well worth the price as they are pretty good M+S rated tires. The Kumhos are rated M+S but I wouldnt trust them in the mud + snow for some reason. Also road noise will increase with the Proxies, I noticed that on my audi, so I know you will definitely hear it in the Smar. However I did feel like the driving and cornering were better on wet surfaces with the Proxies...

Thanks for the response, I am still trying to get the Proxies, but no one has the size I need for the front 195/45R16 (Backordered) I will try looking at the Kumhos.
Thanks

iconpyro · 05-04-2009, 11:53 PM

I got the ASTs for a little over 75 a tire which was a steel. It is very hard to find Proxies these days, I had to special order them for the audi a while back. If you find them let me know, I think I want a pair again for my smart when these Kumhos eun out.

Here is a 15k update...

The kumhos tread is holding up fine. Handling is still great, cabin noise is still the same. THough I did notice with the 2.0 smart update that I did this past weekend, the car seems a lot smoother with the upgrade/tires. The smart center in cerritos did a nice job, Oh and they were able to turn off the TPMS... I had mine removed when I went with the aftermarket tires... Sweet no flashing yellow light. I don't think they realized they did that.