FTS

A quick update on how these tires are doing under the GT3 after 500 miles:

When they were put on (MPSCs were taken out) and I left the dealership, I immediately noticed 3 things:

• Turn in was noticeably less sharper compared to MPSCs
• There is also less road noise coming into the cabin
• Ride is significantly smoother

I have been driving the car in frigid dry, wet, snow flurry conditions on back roads, interstates and what ever I can find, the tires are gripping very well, especially in the wet. Under DD conditions, I cannot find a fault with the tires thus far compared to the MPSCs or the Bridgy 050As (I haven't tried RE-11s).

I am especially pleased with the cold weather grip (most days have been right around 32 deg or below) as most max perf summer tires won't do too well in these conditions; however, these tires are doing very well.

During off/on interstate ramps, the initial turn-in is not as sharp as I mentioned, but as soon as the car settles on the outside, the tires do grip very well under power; I haven't tried to approach the limits yet under the slippery conditions of course on the street. Also, quick lane changes right/left/right are without drama thus far.

If I were to find any down side, they are $1400 a set.

http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/proxes-1

Cheers,

Billy Wyatt

why are you saing $1400 a set is downside??Compared to Mich Sport Cups at $2400

FTS

Well, these are after all street tires, they are not MPSC replacements at the track

CRex

Am running them on my AMG and IMHO they're not as streetable as Mich PS2s (which are comparable in cost), be it in terms of grip or NVH qualities. Our roads here are worse than the surface of the moon, and the Toyos just can't handle them bumps...

e46 zcp

Fatih, I am a very good friend of Paul's and am glad you took the opportunity to experiment with these tires. Your feedback is appreciated. I have heard and experienced nothing but good from these new Toyo's as well and am glad you are experiencing the same. Coming from MPSC's it is no wonder that you are feeling a slightly slower turn in as we are comparing R-Compounds to a street tire, but overall your experience sounds positive. For those standard 997 owners considering a replacement for PS2's these tires more than fit the bill.

Larry Cable

wait for the Michelin Pilot Super Sports ... you wont be disappointed!!!

mdrums

The Toyo RA1's have a softer side wall than the MPSC...also the MPSC you had were 19" witha shorter side wall. The Toyo R888's has a stiff sidewall and turns in better...but the R888 is noisy on the road. These are DOT tires but not really built for the street.

If I had a GT3 and wanted street tires I would put on the Pirelli Zero or PS2's or wait for the new Michelin Super Sports that Larry got to audtion.

On Pole

Tires with less than 100 tread wear make tires the weakest link on any GT3.

e46 zcp

Mike, while I agree with your assertions I don't know where the RA1 came into the conversation. Fatih seems to be testing the new Toyo Proxes 1's which are rumored to be a better street tire than the PS2's.

e46 zcp

My very limited understanding of tread-wear ratings finds your comment counter intuitive. Unless it is like the confusion my wife and I have over the house thermostat "Can you turn the air up" ..."so you want it colder?"

mdrums

Oh Geez...my bad! I saw the number 1 and my mind went to the RA1....ha ha toofunny I'm such a track geek that is all I think about.

e46 zcp

Ha Ha! Understood. Who does the track prep on your car there in TPA, Vortex?

FTS

I sent a detail review to Paul about two weeks ago, I hope it is useful.

Larry, after your review, I am very much looking forward to these tires, it is almost too good to be true, but I certainly trust your judgement. So, as soon as they are available, I am going to get a set and live with them on/off track this summer, and see what happens

The Proxes 1 has threadwear rating of 240, but I suspect you were talking about RA1s. Also, as I understand, threadwear rating comparison between brands is misleading, and can only be compared within brand.

Overall, I put about 1200 miles on the tires and they have really good qualities. Road noise is lowered significantly, ride is significantly smoother compared to MPSCs, probably in-line to PS2s as I remember from few years ago that I used them last. The wet handling is really good, almost impressive (I say "almost" because I only driven them on two rainy days, so not enough time yet). In the wet, the straight line tracking is perfect, corners very well and braking is on par, at least, to many A/S tires. Tramlining is nearly non-existent in the dry or wet.

If there is one negative it is this slight floaty feeling on some roads. I think it is due to sidewalls being softer than I am used to with other tires I have used. It may actually be that the rears only are tramlining while the fronts are tracking straight (due to size difference), but I cannot distinguish it yet if it is something else.

As soon as autox season opens in our area, I am going to try these in couple of events, but I don't intend to take them onto the track. On the road, during my 35-mile commute one way, the tire pressures increase by about 4-5 psi, which is a little surprising to me as the air is as dry as they come right now with temps below freezing, so I am not sure these tires can stand the track work. But considering the weather, dusty roads due to salt, a heavily rear-biased car, and so forth, the performance of these tires are really impressive as a daily/street tire. If the price of them were a little lower, let's say $300-400 less than PS2s, I think they would be a "no-brainer" choice.

Cheers,

e46 zcp

Fatih, A good friend of mine who recently put a set of Proxes 1's on his 997 C4 actually felt that the tire had a less floaty feeling at speed than his PS2's so I would tend to agree with your assertion that the softer sidewall compared to a track-spec tire like a MPSC is probably to blame. As for the price...do you have a hook-up on PS2's? Last set I bought was almost $2000 from TRack, so $1,400 for the Toyo's seems good to my cautiously optimistic wallet.

PNUT

anyone compare these to the bridgestone re-11's. i have the re-11's and love them all year. with a 180 treadwear rating, they are a great compromise tire for all uses. have had them on track with good success. in the rain, over 70mph is no problem. but still have a very agressive tread design.