255/55-18 Toyo Proxes ST

[joseph]

I got my new tires thanks to a nice tax refund ($1000+), they are great, look tough, are M&S rated, diameter of 28.50, I put a tire on my scale and they only weigh 33.4 lbs. each, pretty damn good for that size, that's KDW2 and GS-D3 territory, only cost me $119.40 each plus shipping http://www.tires-easy.com/start.html and $60 to install at my local flat repair shop, they put new short valves and they put the balancing weights inside the rim, so they are invisible.
While I was at the flat repair place, I weighed a stock 18 RT rim and they only weigh 22.2 lbs. each, which is pretty light.
The Proxes ST have a max inflation of 50 psi. and before I left the shop, I set them all to 36 psi.
They are very quiet, very smooth, my steering feels like it's riding on clouds, less effort to turn. I had the eagle LS2 before, they had no traction, they were hard and noisy, and weren't worth a damn in the rain.
I still have to drive the Proxes ST in the rain and on the highway around 75mph to see if they are still quiet at speeds and if they grip in the rain.

[joseph]

I drove on the freeway, very, very quiet, went to the carwash, wet tires, I stepped on hit hard when I got out (drive -thru wash), it held up great, ESP didn't even intervene, now I need some real rain and try 3/4 and WOT, and take hard turns to see when they break loose.

[FloridaRT]

Good write up, thanks for sharing. I like the thread pattern better than my BFG KDW's...........and they are cheaper to boot.

Bob

[06SilverSteel]

good lookin tires there.....awaiting the wet weather report.

[Glazeworld]

I've had a pair of Proxies (255/55/18) on the rear of my RT since December, and forget the rain (they did well), they are awesome in the snow (not an AWD RT). We had a nasty ice storm this week, and I was able to get up the hills in my neighborhood that others failed miserably trying to climb. Just this week, I had the other pair of Proxies installed (to get rid of the worn GY Assurance's from the front) and the ride is even better.

I share Joseph's views on these tires. After 4000 miles on the rears, they have great all weather traction, they're solid in the bad weather (provided you don't drive like an idiot), and they're quieter than my old Goodyears. I only have about 300 miles on the fronts (which were actually rotated to the rears) and the car got even quieter.

I purchased my tires at Tire Discounters (nationwide stores). They were $174, and with the road hazzard, they were $410/pair after taxes and gov't disposal fees.

Overall, I am very pleased with these tires. I think the extra width and tread pattern goes a long way to giving great all season tires. There's even icing on the cake. According to other threads in this wonderful forum, these tires will last longer than a year (I drive about 25k miles/year) and should make it well into the 40Ks!

[Deep Lava]

I drove on the freeway, very, very quiet, went to the carwash, wet tires, I stepped on hit hard when I got out (drive -thru wash), it held up great, ESP didn't even intervene, now I need some real rain and try 3/4 and WOT, and take hard turns to see when they break loose.

Be careful! Mine suck in the rain. I can get squirrelly even at 70+mph with only moderate throttle. (Squirrelly = a$$ end breaks loose and starts to involuntary lane change!) From a stop, forget about it. Instant wheel spin with anything above 2000rpm. Oddly, they handle and brake well in the rain. On dry payment, excellent tire. Drove in the snow this morning and they faired well, all things considered.

[joseph]

Be careful! Mine suck in the rain. I can get squirrelly even at 70+mph with only moderate throttle. (Squirrelly = a$$ end breaks loose and starts to involuntary lane change!) From a stop, forget about it. Instant wheel spin with anything above 2000rpm. Oddly, they handle and brake well in the rain. On dry payment, excellent tire. Drove in the snow this morning and they faired well, all things considered.

The other guy said they're great in the rain and snow and you say they suck, are you sure they were properly installed and not facing the wrong way?

[BToohey44]

I had a set of these on my Mustang and while I was skeptical at first they turned out to be pretty good tires. Great in the rain, almost no sideways action unless I really wanted it (i.e. no surprises) however, I never got to test them in the snow.

I will say one thing (which others have confirmed) these Conti's that I got on the R/T rims I bought suck ass. I need to get these things off quick.

Looking at the Coopers and Goodyear Assurance.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[joseph]

I was looking at many tires and read many reviews, and this is what I deducted:
1) Kdw2: great traction dry/wet, not worth a dime in snow and many reported them as being noisy and hard, but inexpensive, about $100.
2) GS-D3: best tires ever in dry/wet, not for snow, very expensive, cheapest I've seen were $200+ each.
3) general grabber, good review, good in dry and wet, but not all season, bad in snow, highest speed ratings, and very inexpensive, cheapest I've seen them were about $103 or so.
4) then, I saw theToyo S/T, great ratings, great numbers, light weight, good speed rating, good load rating, mud and snow rated (only tire with that rating), very aggressive thread, look like they kick a*s just by looking at them and make the car look great overall, very deep tread, very sticky, now when I floor it I just take off, no ESP intervention, and when I saw them priced at only $120, I just forgot about all the other tires, this is the best compromise in price, looks, dry/wet/snow performance, just very happy with my purchase.

[Bubba's Dragon]

I have the same tires but they are a few years old.. They dont grip so well when I jam on the gas with ESP off but they sound nice though.
Actually good tires no problems need to check the air pressure... 36psi correct?

[joseph]

36 psi, that's what I use, 50 is max psi, do 32 if you'd like or 40 or 45, it's up to you.
All you need is to find a good compromise between max tolerable presssure and comfort.

[Deep Lava]

The other guy said they're great in the rain and snow and you say they suck, are you sure they were properly installed and not facing the wrong way?

Thats what I thought after the first time I went sideways in the rain. Checked and the tires are rotating the correct way. However, I might be asking to much from the tires. She's a torquey beast and I'm putting down a lot of power to the rear wheels. Even on dry pavement, I can rip them loose with a 30mph punch and chirp them with a 65mph punch. With the stock conti's, I couldn't do much of anything due to constant wheel spinage. The Proxes' are definitely better than the stock conti's, the price was right, and I love that tread pattern!
** NOTE: In the same motion that I turn the key, I always "disable" ESP. Exceptions: Rain, Snow & Ice **

[BToohey44]

Thats what I thought after the first time I went sideways in the rain. Checked and the tires are rotating the correct way. However, I might be asking to much from the tires. She's a torquey beast and I'm putting down a lot of power to the rear wheels. Even on dry pavement, I can rip them loose with a 30mph punch and chirp them with a 65mph punch. With the stock conti's, I couldn't do much of anything due to constant wheel spinage. The Proxes' are definitely better than the stock conti's, the price was right, and I love that tread pattern!
** NOTE: In the same motion that I turn the key, I always "disable" ESP. Exceptions: Rain, Snow & Ice **

Well with my mighty powerful 2.7l wheel spinage is such a problem. I can barely leave a stop light with out burning out...

Yeah, I don't have the wheel spinning problems, but judging by the reviews I read online and here I may try them out.

[MattRobertson]

The other guy said they're great in the rain and snow and you say they suck, are you sure they were properly installed and not facing the wrong way?

I'm not sure what kind of wheels he has (18's or 20's) but what he reports is not unique by any stretch for the Proxes ST in a 255/45/20. I loved mine until the first time I had them on a rainy street and HOLY COW! It was as if they were greased. ANY throttle at all it seemed would cause the back end to break loose. After having that happen a few times I drove scared but did try and push it a tad as a test. Strangely they could take corners decently if I applied zero throttle, and it seemed as if, on a corner during braking, they also had no problems. But by this time I was not inclined to try anything severe so we are talking gentle amounts of yaw and brake power.

Now, over time this went away. The tires wore in somehow and their rain performance went from frightening to ok after a few thousand miles. CoolVanilla had the same expierience I did IIRC.

Their snow performance was acceptable or a 255-width tire, as long as you kept moving and didn't try to back up a gentle incline (I did and had to push the car over the crest of the hill, then jump in before it rolled down. No fun).

I wouldn't buy that tire again. Went to RS-A's next and will probably try the Falkens next.

[joseph]

that's how my crappy eagle LS2 used to behave in the rain, lightest throttle and it would act as if it was snow.
I'll report on the toyos when it rains here.