I know what everyone thinks about the handling, but what do you think of the ride harshness and road noise as compared to the stock tires?

 

I have these tires. Best ZR tires I had so far. I don't have a CLS, so no comparison to stock. If you want performance, T1S is what you want. They do wear quick. Don't expect more than 30K out of them even when you drive like a grandma. If you want longer wear and still good performance. Try Bridgston RE730.

 

Ride quality is better than stock I think. Less noise over grooves and such. Treadwear of the T1-S proxes is 280, stock is 300. That's BARELY different man. 30k miles out of a pair of tires is AMAZING! For ZR it's UNHEARD OF!!!!

Just get them... My friend is getting them for his Lotus after riding in my Type S.

 

Today I had 235/45/17 Toyo Proxie TS1 installed on my cl-s. All I can say is WOW!
Very nice ride quality, handles like a dream in cornering. The only complaint is the road noise that I was able to hear. It's like a humming whovering sound that changes pitch as you speed up or slow down. Maybe I was hearing the sound reflection off the sides of the highway walls.

Example of how much better these tires handled for me: Their is a curve in my neighborhood that I can hardly take at 40mph. TOday, I was able to take it at 50mph, and felt I could have pushed it with NO problems to 60. I just did not want to because of two reasons. #1 the curve is nickednamed Dead Mans Curve, and #2, the road was wet, which supprised me, because the tires NEVER LOST GRIP AT ALL!

I suggest these tires to ANY CL-S Owners in the 235 size. If I would have had these tires 1 year ago, my cl-s would NEVER Had gotten loose on the highway and slammed into the wall.

Oh well, Should have, would have, could have. I've learned my lesson.

SO GO OUT THERE AND GET THOSE TIRES!

 

I have the T1S on 17x8 rims also in the 235/45-17.

My thoughts are that, as you mentioned, the handling is considerably improved over the stock tires. Road noise is slightly less, possibly because of the "softer" compound. The threadwear is comparable. The ride quality I think is more harsh over bumps and other pavement 'imperfection.' This last characteristic is most likely due to their requirement of 50 psig (as stated on tire sidewall). I have considered dropping the tire pressure to something lower, but I was told not to go less than 40 pounds. I have not lowered the pressure yet, so the ride is still "hard." Just MHO! I WOULD/will buy them again after these wear out. I think they are a really good value for a performance tire.

 

Dude, are you joking???? 50 PSI is the MAXIMUM pressure the tirecan withstand. You should be using 32PSI, same as stock. Some others like me and EricL are running higher PSI cause we do high speed driving, I run at 36PSI and EricL runs at 38. I will raise to 39-40 when I do sustained 130+ MPH runs.

Hopefully some others will chime in here and let me know if I'm totally off base.

 

You are correct. The pressure listed on the side of the tire is the max allowed for this tire. This info is listed on all tires. The tire pressure you run on a daily basis should be the same as stock or at least close.

 

I have ordered these tires for me vcar and thery should be arriving on rims moinady... OI cant wait, I ve heard great things, the thread looks so aggressive and this post has gotten my a$$ anxious to roll onto the street with them....

by they way... when driving at high so=peeds oir any speeds, when the tires heats up, your air pressure expands to around 50PSI, so isnt his tire ready to explode soon... Thats how the bubbles form on the side walls etc... be careful cause my friends car had a blowout at 60 mph and slamed a wall after spinning... spin put him at an estimated 80-100 mph... all because his tires w=ere too inflated.....

 

Technique,

Just using your post to clear up something about treadwear ratings on tires. Unless the industry has changed, treadwear ratings can only be compared between tires from within the same brand.

So a Toyo tire with a treadwear rating of 300 does not necessarily last 3x longer than a Michelin tire with a treadwear of 100. But the Toyo should last 3x longer (all conditions being equal) than another Toyo tire with a treadwear rating of 100.

[ 07-27-2001: Message edited by: Al Uminum ]

 

Casper98CL - I don't see how a car traveling at 60 mph have a blowout that accelerates his car to 80-100mph. There would be some physics laws being broken here (unless he went over a cliff then into the wall). If you made a typo, I apologize. BTW, the pressure max on the side is for cold tires and the manufacturers have taken the heating (and rise of pressure) of the tire into account. You shouldn't have to worry how the tire pressure changes when driving.

Al Uminum - You are only partially correct in your statement about the ratings and tire manufacturers. The Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG , NOTE "Uniform") is an attempt to compare apples to apples. So, in a perfect world, you could compare Toyos to Michs or whatever. The problem arises because the testing is left up to the manufacturers. They do have a control tire, but you know what people can do with tests if they have their own agenda. Having a uniform test is the intent, but who really knows how well this works in practice.

 

Huh? The pressure expands to 50psi??? What the hell was the cold pressure?

The most I've EVER run cold pressure was 42 - and that was at an autocross! I usually run 35 or so - in FL!

50psi is just CRAZY! I found that with higher pressures, grip went significantly down. 38-42 seems to be the best range but like I said I run 35 or so every day.

 

The 235/45ZR17-97W* is an XL rated tire -- the 97 load rating is provided at 44 psi, the tire being XL rated, has a "higher" MAX pressure than "load rating pressure".

1. I run the tires at 39-40PSI – I started that way and after lowering the pressures and testing different pressures I will be staying with 39-40 PSI.

2. The wear rating is 280 and can be compared to other tires (brands, makes, etc)

3. The tires will support the weight of the car at 32 PSI, but are not at their best in my opinion.

The 50 PSI max is only for the XL/reinforced tires (235/45-17, 225/45-17, and others). The 215/50-17 does NOT have the 50 psi/XL rating. The XL rated tires have a “*” in the Toyo tire table – the max pressure shown is incorrect on their page.

4. The tires are not at noisy as the stock tires. However, I don't carry a B&K sound meter around with me and the surface conditions will change the amount of road noise generated by different tires.

 

So according to some, as regards comparing treadwear ratings (not temp or traction) between DIFFERENT BRANDS of tires, there is no flux on the TREADWEAR say between $250 Michelin tire rated at 280 and a $65 Firestone also rated at 280. I'll hope somebody would please inform me as tirerack and most tire sellers mention a possible difference in standards.

 

If you mean -- would I bet my life on the way that a given manufacturer does THEIR test -- no way.

But, as a way to get in the general ballpark -- sure!

The manufacturer does the test and they will always "fudge" figures. However, if these guys get caught "fudging" too much, it gets around and doesn't exactly "help" sales or their reputations...

BTW -- some of the "cheapo" 300 rated Firestones and no-name specials will go a ton of miles. The rubber is so hard that they don't stick worth a damn, but will crack before the tread wears out...

 

#1, i love the Toyos, they stick great and are not louder than stock. Due to that stick,they due grab grooved pavement more than stock. My advice, get them now !
#2, i am more confused than ever on pressures. The high performance shop who put mine on took them up to 44psi, which is max.
They told me they always do that. When i called Toyo, they recommended same as stock which is 32psi. So i compromised and am right in the middle at 38psi. I might experiment and go down a little. Do you really lose grip at higher psi. Can the car be quicker at higher psi ? Anyone ?

 

Well, yes, I guess I was joking. Or, rather, passsing on incorrect intelligence provided by the persons who mounted & balanced my tires/rims. I apologize for the error, although I suppose if one wants to they can run at 50 PSI.

However, I called TOYO earlier and asked them what they suggest using for tire pressure with our cars and the 235/45ZR17 Proxes T1-S. As EricL indicates above, they will support the vehicle at 32 PSI. TOYO said that 32 is the MINIMUM pressure to use. Of course, 50 is the MAXIMUM as stated.

Even before reading EricL's posts above, I went and dropped my tire pressure to 40 PSI. Then I went for a 'little ride.' The harshness of the ride greatly diminished. The grip stayed excellent. I am going to keep the 40 PSI pressure setting from now on and I thank this forum for all its valuable information.

EricL: Do you think that at 40 PSI the tires will hold the road 'optimally?' At what other pressure settings did you experiment? TIA,

Pete

 

How many have 235/45-17s compaired to 225/45-17s ?

Difference in Ride ?? Noticeable ?

 

Acuraman, EricL,

Guys are your sigs. up to date so I can assume you guys are riding on the 235 width tires without your cars being lowered? This is torturing me as I've yet to hear anybody using the 235 width tire on a lowered CL in either 17's or 18's. Never mind an offset of +45 and a rim width of 7.5.

I think Astroboy might be in there some where but with his spacers and those sexy and necessary Big Brembo's I've got nothing in common with that.

Thanks much for any info.

 

Al: As for me, what you say is correct.

Signature is up to date and car is riding on the 235/45-17, WITHOUT being lowered. I know what you mean about the torture!! :p

I'd LIKE to lower mine, but I fear the whole "rubbing" thing. I would love to hear from ANYONE that has lowered & put 235's on their car to see what problems, if any, they might have experienced. However, I will only lower mine if there is virtually NO probelm with doing it AND I can find a fairly priced WINTER car to drive.

[ 07-28-2001: Message edited by: Acuraman ]

 

Acuraman

Thanks for the update about your update.

I hear you man as concerns actually knowing if the 235 width tire will be just fine as regards the lowered CL. Not sure if it would make a huge difference compared to a 225 but the speedo/odo issues are much better with the 235 and today I checked out the tires on a Jag XKE (I think), and those 255 fat rear tires were scrumptious looking.

Thanks again

Rob

[ 07-28-2001: Message edited by: Al Uminum ]

 

they don't rub

i have a 50lb sub setup in my trunk, only occasional rubbing when going 10 mph over a large speedbump

 

PhatPat

BLESS YOU

I am now chasing my pair of soft and happy little goats so that I may slice their curly pretty throats and sacrafice them to you. I hope you do not mind?

Ps… What was wrong with SpeedyRonin? Have you got something against Kurosawa?

Thanks again.

 

Phat Pat: I'd like to read your post correctly so please don't mind if I ask for a clarification.

And that is: You have 235/45-17 tires on 17"x8" rims AND you have lowering springs (which ones, BTW??) and there is NO Problema with the set-up. Is this correct??

PLEASE say YESSSS!!
Because I think I found a WINTER CAR!!

 

It will rub if you lower it. If you DON'T lower it, it won't rub.

 

I believe when Phat Pat made that statement, it was in relation to his stock OEM rims with the 235/45/17. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

yes stock wheels

 

Pete,

I tried the following pressures in order:

Starting from my despised tire dealer:

40 front / 40 rear (the start was great)

39 front / 39 rear (Might as well be 40)

35 front / 35 rear (Ok, but lost something)

33 front / 33 rear (no way for me)

39 front / 39 rear (Ah, how nice!)

39 rear / 40 front (PERFECTO!!!!)

I like the 39/40PSI -- but that is just my opinion. The ride is nice; there is no bulging in the front. The ride on the "road" is comfortable and quiet. The performance in the hills (twisties), in the wet, and on the freeway in lots of water at speed rocks!

Good luck!

 

Stock lowered with the Toyos in 235/45-17 is no problemo.

The 17x8 SSR Comps with the 235/45-17s are reported to rub in the front when the car is lowered with the Comptech springs.h

I have heard that the 225s on the 17x8 SSR with Comptech lowering springs DO NOT RUB.

(There is a fine line here...)

 

EricL

Two things. Whats the offset on that rim? And, is it possible to know where the rubbing is? Is it on the tires outside or inside? Thanks much.
Rob

 

well, if you want to bring physics into it, or common sense... When you begin to spin =on a cold road(winter time) and you have no traction... yu r car accelerates as opposed to decelerate in warm conditions... Therefore as my buddy began to spin out of control into 360s, he accelerated to approx twice his speed prior to smashing the wall... and that statement comres from the police investigation report!!! believe it or not.. but i know its true

 

i called toyo and he said to keep psi at 45

 

The offset is +48 (for my 17x8" rim)

I don't have rubbing. I was talking to a member via e-mail and he has a lowered car with the Toyos, SSRs, and Comptech lowering springs. He initially reported that he had NO rubbing problems. I asked him if he had tried putting a few people in the car. Two weeks later, he said that the front rubs (he refused to be specific...)

I would tell you more, but we don't get along, and he has never admitted that the fronts rub in public...

 

I know this is going to sound picky, but who is he?

I know the tires like the 39/40 PSI, but I am curious who told you to run the tires at 45 PSI. And did they say under what conditions to use this pressure?

I called them in the past, and got a low-ball pressure of 32 (minimum pressure to support the front load of the car), and got the higher pressure as a good racing pressure.

Perhaps you can clarify the answer you got...

 

If a tire is inflated to the max psi all of the time it will wear more in the center of the tire. I have done this on accident on my old car..a GSR. I put the max psi because I didn't like the bulge on the tire on the ground. I was told but the tire place that I got new ones from that also if the tire is under inflated like below the min of 32 psi it will wear more on the outside of the tire as well as other things. It was also the stock tires on the GSR. It sounds like you should keep the Toyo's at 40 or so psi to produce the best ride.

 

I'm trying to keep an eye on the wear, so I look at the tires every few days (I even inspect the tires for nails, etc). The wear so far looks very even. I even stuck a depth guage in the tire and it looks like the fronts and rears are wearing well with the 39/40psi rating. I do plan on changing rotating the fronts-to-rear and the rears-to-front often!

 

i dont remember exactly who but i remember it was a correspondence through email