Toyo R1R - which size?

[NigelO]

It has been suggested that I get rid of the Toyo T1-R on my newly acquired Westy - the car is a bit nervous in the dry and according to the previous owner, virtually un-drivable in the wet.

I don't think I want to go for full trackday rubber like the 888, so I'm looking at the Toyo R1R. I can see plenty available in 195/50R15, but they are pretty much impossible to find in 205/50R15.

From my general reading on these forums, it looks like 205 is the preferred width. Is 195 going to be a problem? I know that tyre width has very little effect on overall grip, but I also know that it has an effect on the way it grips (and more importantly for a longstanding FWD driver) how it lets go

All opinions / suggestions welcome

[Peter (Monty)]

Do you have 7" or 8" wheels?

[NigelO]

Just now, Monty said:

Do you have 7" or 8" wheels?

7" - the T1R currently fitted are 195 and they aren't stretched at all - tyre still protrudes beyond the wheel

[Peter (Monty)]

Mechanically I wouldn't worry about 195s, unless maybe if you're up at the higher power levels (well clear of 200). S2000 and Sport 250 have 205s as standard all around I think. I have 205 R1Rs on mine, although they haven't had to do any gripping of anything yet 

[BugMan]

As a Sport 250 builder, i have sourced R1R 205's from eBay as they are somewhat in short supply.

As Monty says unless you are up in the higher power band, i would suggest 195's will be a good choice.  I spent a lot of time looking at tires and decided not to take the T1R's or 888 from WF as part of my kit, as they only have these as options down to supply

[Peter (Monty)]

Nankang NS2Rs might be a good alternative if the supply of R1Rs is drying up

[CraigHew]

30 seconds on google showed

https://www.bosstyres.com/toyo-proxes-r1r-205-50-r15-86-v-12400

must still be some around...!

[NigelO]

2 minutes ago, CraigHew said:

30 seconds on google showed

https://www.bosstyres.com/toyo-proxes-r1r-205-50-r15-86-v-12400

must still be some around...!

I'd already landed there from a Google search - That site says "Availability: Out of stock"

[Kingster]

I have 195/50 x 15” on my 7” rims and they are fine. 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

10 minutes ago, Chris King - Webmaster and Joint North East AO said:

I have 195/50 x 15” on my 7” rims and they are fine. 

Absolutely.

Most of those with 205's on more recent cars only have them to suit the 8" Team Dynamics rear alloys!

[CraigHew]

14 minutes ago, NigelO said:

I'd already landed there from a Google search - That site says "Availability: Out of stock"

Ooops sorry..!

[Steven Thorne]

How old are the tyres and has the car ever had the suspension set up correctly? It has been known for cars to handy badly on new tyres with poorly set up suspension.

[Onliest Smeg David]

41 minutes ago, NigelO said:

It has been suggested that I get rid of the Toyo T1-R on my newly acquired Westy - the car is a bit nervous in the dry and according to the previous owner, virtually un-drivable in the wet.

I don't think I want to go for full trackday rubber like the 888, so I'm looking at the Toyo R1R. I can see plenty available in 195/50R15, but they are pretty much impossible to find in 205/50R15.

From my general reading on these forums, it looks like 205 is the preferred width. Is 195 going to be a problem? I know that tyre width has very little effect on overall grip, but I also know that it has an effect on the way it grips (and more importantly for a longstanding FWD driver) how it lets go

All opinions / suggestions welcome

Unless your T1Rs are very old and hard they should be fine. I had 195 T1Rs for a couple of years on mine and they are what I would call progressive and predictable rewarding good smooth driving technique. They shift water well. A much grippier tyre may hold well up to the edge but when it does go it may go big style. Mine benefited hugely with a good geo set up, as a very nervous rear can also be due to the suspension being too stiff at the rear or too light at the front.

I really rate my current 195 R1Rs on road and track and are fairly progressive and good in the wet. Other tyres of this sort from other manufacturers I'm sure will be similar performance, so look at recommendations of others if R1Rs cannot be sourced.

195 should be plenty for general driving and track use, as others have highlighted. Some 185 would still be fine on 7" rim, as my old sprint Avon ZZR were. If going wider expect to aquaplane more easily.

My thoughts are that many 'over' shoe their light weight cars!

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Equally, older tyres can be like driving on marbles with lightweight cars like these!

[NigelO]

Not sure how old the tyres are - pretty sure they are more than three years old, possibly even older (the car has only done 89 miles since October 2015 and only 3200 since October 2013)

Geometry was set up properly by ProComp in 2011, but is probably overdue a tweak. There's a couple of settings that are making me scratch my head - caster is 2.25 degrees on the left and only 0.75 degrees on the right. Also, rear toe is 2.1mm toe-in at the rims - this feels a bit much, but is probably helping stability.

I have no problem with running 195 tyres, especially as I'm not (yet) running huge power  - just wanted to tap into the existing forum expertise. I happily run 215 section tyres on my Fiat Coupe and I'm putting down 2.5 times the power of the Westie, so I have no desire to fit fat rubber just for the sake of it.

Off to find some cheap R1Rs in 195.....