Varying impreza tyre profiles. Bad idea?
Discussion
i need to get some new tyres soon for my RB5, and i have decided i want toyo t1r`s.
Now i know that from factory the are a 205/45/17 sized tyre but i also know that many people swap them and use a 215/40/17 tyre, but then also there is the option of using a 205/40/17 which is about £88 cheaper for a full set.
i know it may mess very slightly with the calibration of the speedo although the difference is so minimal i really would expect hardly any difference at all, and also the ride quality might be slightly worse, but then its not like the difference between having 18 inch alloys and 17s, it is just a very small difference in the profile of the tyre if anything surely it should make for less sidewall flex.
I used to be a tyre fitter for mercedes and personally i think it would be fine but i was wondering if anyone else had any 1st hand experience of this sort of thing.
These are camskills prices:
http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m54b0s457p... £78.60
http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m54b0s103p... £71.60
http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m54b0s13p1... £56.70
So quite a difference in price.
Now i know that from factory the are a 205/45/17 sized tyre but i also know that many people swap them and use a 215/40/17 tyre, but then also there is the option of using a 205/40/17 which is about £88 cheaper for a full set.
i know it may mess very slightly with the calibration of the speedo although the difference is so minimal i really would expect hardly any difference at all, and also the ride quality might be slightly worse, but then its not like the difference between having 18 inch alloys and 17s, it is just a very small difference in the profile of the tyre if anything surely it should make for less sidewall flex.
I used to be a tyre fitter for mercedes and personally i think it would be fine but i was wondering if anyone else had any 1st hand experience of this sort of thing.
These are camskills prices:
http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m54b0s457p... £78.60
http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m54b0s103p... £71.60
http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m54b0s13p1... £56.70
So quite a difference in price.
As long as you're maintaining the correct correlation between front and rear tyre profiles you should be fine, bar the points you've already mentioned. However running one size on the rear and a different one on the front without setting up the diffs for it would probably be the fastest way of ruining the AWD system.
ManOpener said:
However running one size on the rear and a different one on the front without setting up the diffs for it would probably be the fastest way of ruining the AWD system.
I've heard this said on here a few times, but I've never seen any diffs falling to bits because the tyres on one axle were slightly bigger/smaller than the tyres on the other.EDLT said:
ManOpener said:
However running one size on the rear and a different one on the front without setting up the diffs for it would probably be the fastest way of ruining the AWD system.
I've heard this said on here a few times, but I've never seen any diffs falling to bits because the tyres on one axle were slightly bigger/smaller than the tyres on the other.I cant advise you strongly enough not to put toyo's on your subaru (unless 888's).
They have sidewalls like jelly and ruin the feel of the car, they are not much good in the cold/damp conditions the only thing thats good about them is they are low price (for a very good reason).
In the past few months I've had the misfortune to use these Toyos on an Integra type R, a 106 gti and an Impreza. I took them off the impreza and threw them away they were that bad compared to decent stuff.
They have sidewalls like jelly and ruin the feel of the car, they are not much good in the cold/damp conditions the only thing thats good about them is they are low price (for a very good reason).
In the past few months I've had the misfortune to use these Toyos on an Integra type R, a 106 gti and an Impreza. I took them off the impreza and threw them away they were that bad compared to decent stuff.
For working out the difference it will make to your speedometer go here (near the bottom of the page):
http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_size_calculators.htm...
http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_size_calculators.htm...
rallycross said:
I cant advise you strongly enough not to put toyo's on your subaru (unless 888's).
They have sidewalls like jelly and ruin the feel of the car, they are not much good in the cold/damp conditions the only thing thats good about them is they are low price (for a very good reason).
In the past few months I've had the misfortune to use these Toyos on an Integra type R, a 106 gti and an Impreza. I took them off the impreza and threw them away they were that bad compared to decent stuff.
well i have been recommended them by many users, many on PH AND including most people on the RB5 owners club, and surely with an even lower profile the sidewalls should be stronger? also they are extra load tyres so should take heavier cars if needed and the impreza only weights around 1250kgs so i would have thought they should have pretty strong sidewalls to cope with heavy cars. There was also a guy in here with an integra whose post i read just today who thought they were great.They have sidewalls like jelly and ruin the feel of the car, they are not much good in the cold/damp conditions the only thing thats good about them is they are low price (for a very good reason).
In the past few months I've had the misfortune to use these Toyos on an Integra type R, a 106 gti and an Impreza. I took them off the impreza and threw them away they were that bad compared to decent stuff.
EDLT said:
For working out the difference it will make to your speedometer go here (near the bottom of the page):
http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_size_calculators.htm...
thanks for that, it says that at 70mph i will actually be travelling at 67.67mph, so at least i would be on the safe side when it comes to the scameras.http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_size_calculators.htm...
Its only based on my experience of lots miles in lots of different cars/tyre combo's (including RB5's) there are far better tyre choices for your car than cheap toyo's.
Buy a set now then you've got about 15,000 miles ahead of you to think about what else you could have bought instead!
Buy a set now then you've got about 15,000 miles ahead of you to think about what else you could have bought instead!
rallycross said:
Its only based on my experience of lots miles in lots of different cars/tyre combo's (including RB5's) there are far better tyre choices for your car than cheap toyo's.
Buy a set now then you've got about 15,000 miles ahead of you to think about what else you could have bought instead!
well for a start they are hardly cheap and come well recommended. i have had continentals before on my focus st which i never rated at all, goodyears and dunlops have never really done anything for me either and i think yokohamas are a bit cack in wet weather. the only tyres i have really ever rated that highly are michelin ps2`s but i am not willing to pay the sort of money they want for them.Buy a set now then you've got about 15,000 miles ahead of you to think about what else you could have bought instead!
any other suggestions?
rb5230 said:
rallycross said:
I cant advise you strongly enough not to put toyo's on your subaru (unless 888's).
They have sidewalls like jelly and ruin the feel of the car, they are not much good in the cold/damp conditions the only thing thats good about them is they are low price (for a very good reason).
In the past few months I've had the misfortune to use these Toyos on an Integra type R, a 106 gti and an Impreza. I took them off the impreza and threw them away they were that bad compared to decent stuff.
well i have been recommended them by many users, many on PH AND including most people on the RB5 owners club, and surely with an even lower profile the sidewalls should be stronger? also they are extra load tyres so should take heavier cars if needed and the impreza only weights around 1250kgs so i would have thought they should have pretty strong sidewalls to cope with heavy cars. There was also a guy in here with an integra whose post i read just today who thought they were great.They have sidewalls like jelly and ruin the feel of the car, they are not much good in the cold/damp conditions the only thing thats good about them is they are low price (for a very good reason).
In the past few months I've had the misfortune to use these Toyos on an Integra type R, a 106 gti and an Impreza. I took them off the impreza and threw them away they were that bad compared to decent stuff.
On Impreza's the Goodyear Eagle Asymetrics give excellent grip, sharp turn in, amazing in the wet (for me thats important), ride can be a bit jiggly due to stiff tyre construction. Currently got these on a Type 25 Mk1 with 370 bhp (on 225/45/17) and it feels very good, puts the power down much better than the Bridgstone Re040's that were on it before (but were still a good tyre).
The goodyears won the Evo tyre test a few years ago and seem to work well on 4wd turbo cars.
Conti's won the most recent Evo test so they might be even better but not tried them yet.
Mid range tyres on the Impreza I'd go for Falken Fk452.
Recently had these on an early Spec C (S202 with 315 bhp), an old M5 E34 and a Civic Type R. They were really very good, couldnt fault them, good grip even in the wet, good feel especially on the Spec C when it loads up the tyre and starts to oversteer it has a nice progressive feel as it starts to slide. Good value. Feel much better than Toyo's on an Impreza and similar mid range price.
Also really impressed by the Hankook RS2's which I put on an Integra Type R, ultra stiff sidewalls, good feel and grip, they gave almost as much feel as from the A048's that were on before but changed these at the end of summer. Never got to try the Rs2's in the cold weather but suspect they wont be good in cold wet winter use.
http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m54b0s16p6...
Could you run 225/45/17's on your Rb5 wheels?
It would give you a bigger choice of tyre possibly at a lower price as well due to being such a common size.
My feeling having recently driven a number of cars with nearly new Toyo's on them (having previously driven the same cars with other tyres) is that Toyo proxy's are not a good performance tyre, they are excessively soft and take the sharpness out of a cars feel, they are poor in the wet, and they are not very good in the cold dry / cold damp (really need all weather or winter tyre compounds for that).
The goodyears won the Evo tyre test a few years ago and seem to work well on 4wd turbo cars.
Conti's won the most recent Evo test so they might be even better but not tried them yet.
Mid range tyres on the Impreza I'd go for Falken Fk452.
Recently had these on an early Spec C (S202 with 315 bhp), an old M5 E34 and a Civic Type R. They were really very good, couldnt fault them, good grip even in the wet, good feel especially on the Spec C when it loads up the tyre and starts to oversteer it has a nice progressive feel as it starts to slide. Good value. Feel much better than Toyo's on an Impreza and similar mid range price.
Also really impressed by the Hankook RS2's which I put on an Integra Type R, ultra stiff sidewalls, good feel and grip, they gave almost as much feel as from the A048's that were on before but changed these at the end of summer. Never got to try the Rs2's in the cold weather but suspect they wont be good in cold wet winter use.
http://camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m54b0s16p6...
Could you run 225/45/17's on your Rb5 wheels?
It would give you a bigger choice of tyre possibly at a lower price as well due to being such a common size.
My feeling having recently driven a number of cars with nearly new Toyo's on them (having previously driven the same cars with other tyres) is that Toyo proxy's are not a good performance tyre, they are excessively soft and take the sharpness out of a cars feel, they are poor in the wet, and they are not very good in the cold dry / cold damp (really need all weather or winter tyre compounds for that).
ok thanks for that, i know continentals did really well in the evo tests but in my experience they were really pretty lame in regards to grip levels on my focus ST and the michelins were a night and day improvement, also they wore out in about 8k miles, the falken 452s i think are pretty good to as i have experience of them but every review i have seen rates the toyos a fair bit better as do recommendations from people that have used them.
i wont be buying hankooks as yours is the only opinion i have ever heard that rates these tyres.
the goodyears are just far too expensive for what i want, i am not up for spending £450 for a set of tyres.
when i was at mercedes i had a customer bring back a set of dunlops after not many miles (200 or so) complaining how much better his previous michelins were but again i am not spending the sort of money michelin want on tyres.
i dont want to put a 225 tyre on my wheels as i feel this is too wide for the wheels and will not make it handle very well and will also look rediculous.
i think i am going to be giving the toyos a try or possibly the falkens but i have had these before so fancied something new that came with good reviews.
i wont be buying hankooks as yours is the only opinion i have ever heard that rates these tyres.
the goodyears are just far too expensive for what i want, i am not up for spending £450 for a set of tyres.
when i was at mercedes i had a customer bring back a set of dunlops after not many miles (200 or so) complaining how much better his previous michelins were but again i am not spending the sort of money michelin want on tyres.
i dont want to put a 225 tyre on my wheels as i feel this is too wide for the wheels and will not make it handle very well and will also look rediculous.
i think i am going to be giving the toyos a try or possibly the falkens but i have had these before so fancied something new that came with good reviews.
Edited by rb5230 on Friday 10th December 16:09
rb5230 said:
ok thanks for that, i know continentals did really well in the evo tests but in my experience they were really pretty lame in regards to grip levels on my focus ST and the michelins were a night and day improvement, also they wore out in about 8k miles, the falken 452s i think are pretty good to as i have experience of them but every review i have seen rates the toyos a fair bit better as do recommendations from people that have used them.
the goodyears are just far too expensive for what i want, i am not up for spending £450 for a set of tyres.
when i was at mercedes i had a customer bring back a set of dunlops after not many miles (200 or so) complaining how much better his previous michelins were but again i am not spending the sort of money michelin want on tyres.
i think i am going to be giving the toyos a try or possibly the falkens but i have had these before so fancied something new that came with good reviews.
Why are you bothering to ask for advice, if all you're going to do is dismiss it when it doesn't match the answer you want?the goodyears are just far too expensive for what i want, i am not up for spending £450 for a set of tyres.
when i was at mercedes i had a customer bring back a set of dunlops after not many miles (200 or so) complaining how much better his previous michelins were but again i am not spending the sort of money michelin want on tyres.
i think i am going to be giving the toyos a try or possibly the falkens but i have had these before so fancied something new that came with good reviews.
Yes, the Toyos are cheaper. They're also not that good, as has been explained to you.
If you just can't afford decent tyres, then just say so!
10 Pence Short said:
Why are you bothering to ask for advice, if all you're going to do is dismiss it when it doesn't match the answer you want?
Yes, the Toyos are cheaper. They're also not that good, as has been explained to you.
If you just can't afford decent tyres, then just say so!
Please read the thread title, i was asking about sizes, then on a side note as someone said toyo t1r`s are no good i briefly asked if they had any better suggestions, and in my opinion they dont without spending £450 on which i said i am not spending, so i did say so but obviously you must not have seen this. I can afford decent tyres and there are plenty around that do not require spending almost £500, if you enjoy throwing your money away at the opinion of one person you have never met then please feel free but i am not you and thank god for that.Yes, the Toyos are cheaper. They're also not that good, as has been explained to you.
If you just can't afford decent tyres, then just say so!
Sorry should i just accept his opinion as gospel when everyone else has recommended them when i have asked/enquired on the rb5 owners club site etc?
Do you actually have anything worthwhile to say or are you just here for a rant? If its the latter please feel free to close the door on your way out.
Edited by rb5230 on Friday 10th December 16:20
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