I've had the 225/45R16 Toyo T1-R's mounted up for about a week now, so I thought that I'd share my input now that they're a bit more, uh, broken in...

Turn-in is INSANELY crisp, to the point that I think I'm going to revisit my alignment a bit... On the street, it's a bit darty because of it, but manageable. In high speed sweepers at the AX it took a steady hand to keep on line.

For the street, they are very quiet and provide excellent handling characteristics. It was raining cats and dogs this morning, and they are really quite nice in standing water - excellent, I would say, in fact. They provided ample grip, too. In the dry, they're stable and stick pretty well - but not like the RS-2's they replaced.

At yesterday's AX, I found myself searching for grip on the dry, smooth asphalt at LaGrave Field. Most notice was wheelspin on corner exits, where I didn't use to have issues with the RS-2's. Even so, the tires were uber-predictable and allowed for some entertaining 4-wheel drifts in some higher speed transitions. The turn-in, as I said before, is almost insanely crisp, and they handled the slaloms and fast transitions with finesse and control. You can't quite put it on line and expect it to hang there, though, without copious inputs of the throttle and steering (car is setup to be neutral). Also, the thinnish ribs can be felt searching for grip at times, but it's not unsettling once you get used to it.

All in all, I'm quite surprised at how well they handled the AX - much, much better than some other street tires I have been on, but nowhere near what the RT-615 or RS-2 provides in terms of grip on dry pavement. For a wet AX, though, I'd think they would be pretty daggone nice. For the track, I'd expect them to be predictable and stable, too. They will likely see their first track work in November...

Also, FWIW, I went over and chatted with the Bridgestone guys for awhile and begged them to make the RE-01R in some MINI friendly sizes (not 17", mind you, they have some in that range that should work well). I told them that I'd give my first born for a 225/45R16 RE-01R, at which they laughed. They currently have no plans to make any other 15" or 16" sizes, and promptly showed me their corporate presentation on wheel and tire trends in the OE replacement market. Ugh, it bodes not well for those of us that like 15 and 16" rims. They were out there with a Semi truck, tons of cool swag, and had a full mounting and balancing rig. Oh, and a very cute tire model, too, who squealed when she rode in the LS-1 powered e36 318 built by Vorshlag Motorsports (yep, they're getting ready to produce a kit to allow said swap with a T56 tranny!).

 

Thanks for the in depth review.
The T1R tends to get not much love around the old forums...
I have been quite happy with the 195/50R16's mounted to X-lites on my '04 Cooper.
As you mentioned, very confidence inspiring in the wet.
And if I do take the plunge on an R56 next year, I'm afraid I'll never again see such instant turn-in as described...

 

Thanks for the review.

For about $106 each Toyo Proxes T1R competes with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3.

see
http://www.toyo.com/docs/tires/tires...category=sport

Many sizes available good for the MINI.

Hey, giving away of small children is strictly forbidden according to NAM Guidelines! Especially in exchange for super duper Autocross tires.

I got a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R already in the mail arriving tomorrow for autocross use on 15x7" rims. (intermediate wet course).
I'll drive them to and from events and keep them ready as backup.

 

I had 225/45R16s on my WRX sedan and wagon with no alignment issues (pink springs)... regular alignment settings with Firestone lifetime alignment.

And I would love to have them on my new 2007 MCS (unlowered with sport suspension on 16' X 7 ET 40 Konig Feathers)...

But, I thought I saw a post somewhere that wider than 215 we might run into the need for a "custom" alignment.

can you confirm or disconfirm this "rumour".

i had Yokos but was looking at the Toyos in that size before I sold my wagon - recommended vendor?

thanks,

tim

 

My guess is that you would need some camber adjustment to get them to fit, yup, and the right offset... I've baaaaarely got enough clearance between the strut and the tires with a 16x7 with a +37 ET on my '03 Cooper, with -2.5* camber up front and -1.5* in the rear. And, I had to trim the plastic fender liners (car is lowered ~1.5") to get them to stuff.

Bought the Toyos from Edge Racing (RA-1's and the T1-R's), where we also get our Hankook RS-2's...

 

Agreed there might be a problem.

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp is showing 3mm LESS clearance for ET 40 compared to ET 38.

SO I guess I need different wheels with a "better" offest (ET 30 or less) which may create other problems.

I think I will go with a 215 tire close to OE diameter rather than muck around with alignment and cutting of plastic.

Appreciate your feedback.

tim

 

I just put 215/45/17 RE01Rs on....so far so good The T1-R was my other choice.

one of the Subaru guys bought a rolling chassis '95 M3 and did the LS1/T56 swap in his garage. He modded the LS1 before install....600hp I think. Yeah, it's fast He also replaced every last OEM bushing...12 years old, it's probably a good thing with that much powah!

 

Can you comment on ride/noise difference between the T1-R and the RS-2?

 

The RS-2's were quiet once initially installed - they got louder with wear, to the point that they became annoying when driving back from AMVIV last year after the MC2 Track Shootout. And, then they lost all 'semblance of grip.

The T1-R's are even quieter initially - they'll get a bit louder when they wear down, too, but we're 'babying' this set (if you can call daily driving, autocrossing and DE's babying... hah!).

Ride is about the same - although the RS-2's did feel a bit softer. The T1-R's have more remarkable turn-in, for sure, though. Way, WAY crisper than the RS-2 and on par with the RT-615 Azenis (or better). Of course, ultimate grip in the dry isn't the same - they give way much easier, which necessitates planning your line for the drift well in advance...

I'll keep you posted...

 

I have run the T1-Rs for the longest time. They seem to be kinda secret weapon for the MINI crowd. I have used the other usual suspects and can say the T1s compare very favorably to the old SO3s and the F1 GSD3s, but in my experience they suffer from very rapid treadwear and after about 8-10k miles, depending on usage they get really really noisy. Will be interested to see what you think after you have gotten a bit more use out of them.....