what do you think about toyo proxes all seasons, its not what i wanted but i got them as a gift. probably will end up selling or returning them if possible

 

Wendy, I know exactly how you feel. Has happened to me a few times, I wanted to hunt down the responsible parties and go medieval on their ***.

I had a set of Proxes4 on my Protege at one point. They were decent tires. Grip was good wet/dry and handling was pretty decent. This was on a car with modified suspension and I push hard when I can.

 

Pretty decent daily drivers. More warm weather than cold for an all season. Not as good as a good summer tire, but probably better than a lot cheap ones. You'll get a good amount of life out of them for sure.

If you're going for sticky tires like Star Specs, Toyo R1R's, Hancook RS3's etc, expect to replace them by the end of the summer (if they last that long) if you plan on daily driving the car. This is going to be true for any sub 200 treadwear tire. Plan on ~7k-10k miles max. Something like Hancook v12's, BFG KDW's, Toyo T1S, or Yoko S-Drives will be 240-300 treadwear and last quite a bit longer. If you're lucky you'll get 10k-15k miles out of them. It all depends on road conditions and driving style. I still had a ton of life on my R1R's after 4k miles, a track weekend, and an autox. Well over 50% left, but they were only 10/32nd to start with, and the second 50% doesn't last nearly as long as the first. It was unexpected that they were lasting as long as they did. The Bridgestone RE050A PP's i had on it when i bought it (also 140 treadwear) only lasted about 6 months 7k miles.

IMHO, if you aren't going to autox regularly or go to the track, don't bother with super sticky (200 treadwear or under) summer tires. They're expensive, don't last long, and you'll never get to their potential on the street. Sure, they're awesome and you'll feel like the car is on rails, but for even spirited street driving, regular summer tires won't be much different. They are more forgiving in the wet and cold too. My R1R's were awesome when it was warm and dry. The were awesome when it was warm and a little damp/wet. Standing water was sketchy and they'd hydroplane easy, so getting caught in a downpour sucked. When it was cold they were like skate board wheels. Cold and wet, and you might as well just take a cab. Most really sticky summer tires are the same. Very few of them do well in heavy rain/standing water because of tread patterns, and none of them like sub 50-60 degree temps. Not good for a daily driver, especially in this part of the world.

 

Truva, can you tell us exactly the tire you have on hand? Is it the Proxes 4, T1S etc. It should state on the sidewall. They're probably fine on a DD. I had the T1R (discontinued) but were great. Also, are they used tires?

 

toyo proxes a20 225/45 r18 300treadwear, and they are brand new. i had bridgestone potenzas on it before they handled pretty good until they went bald, also used em in the snow while they were bald might as well walk hah

 

Tact, won't be at the do on Sunday. Been having a miss/stutter on the Miata, thought it was connected to my road tuning of the MS. Got worse today when I was out, came home and pulled the plugs to check the gap. Found coolant in cylinder #3 so the head has to come off. Plus Robyn has some work for me before I go back in 10 days so time is tight. Hopefully there will be something when I get back mid-summer.

 

We're dropping like flies for Sunday.

 

I'll still be up there. Though I did find out a guy I know has a sexy garage with a lift, and has a Cobra and a Chevelle stored under wraps in there. Pretty impressive.

Either way, despite the cold, my rotors and brakes are all waiting and ready. Just need to grab jack stands from my friend, and I'll be there Sunday morning Tact.

 

>chief,
no problem. hope the miata will get fixed soon. will see you at the autox in summer (or maybe at the fuel today or next week?

for Sunday, if the weather is to bitter, we can work on two cars at a time in garage. I just moved my mower out of my garage, so there should be plenty of space to have 2 cars jacked up at the same time in there.

 

Well we had a coworker break his foot at work yesterday and I needed the money too bad to turn up the hours. Unfortunately, that meant working this Sunday morning so I will have to bow out also. I will plan to for sure make the next one and I appreciate the hospitality Tacti. Hope the weather stays good for you guys!

 

I'll be there Tact, probably in the brick(Camry) to lend a hand to anyone who needs help. I have an appointment at 7pm to do a final walkthrough on the house, but I will be there.

 

Anyone know of a good automotive machine shop in our area? I am looking to have the Miata's aluminum head skimmed (if I'm lucky that's all it will need) and I want it done right the first time. IOW no hacks.

 

Today is the day!
I ended up working on my car till almost 3ish, and still got up by 6:30.... sometimes I hate my biological alarm clock!!

does anyone have oil filter wrench (cap) that will fit the factory filter? and why our oil filter located in such a crazy place??? If I wan to grab it with hand, I need to have 3 elbow joints with 2 wrist joints, with 2 year old arm thickness...

 

Tact, I apologize. I had an emergency I had to take care of last second around here.

 

no problem.
let me know if you need help, tool, or space to work on your brakes. I always love working in my garage.

 

...glad I could be your human filter wrench Tact.

 

^^^lol
Thanks for the help BBRX8, I'll give you a call next time when I need you as my human filter wrench with extra long extension. no way my short fat arm will reach there...

> Bobbydigital211,
thanks for the hood dumper. hopefully the lug will come out okay for you.

 

Took it to Lexus up in Kings Automall. They had it out in an hour. $100 screw up on my part. O well. I think I'm gonna take over my parents garage and get the work done today or tomorrow.

 

Put the springs and shocks on today. Looks good. Not sure about needing to preload them or not. I assume that I do but I can't figure out what to loosen in order to do it. The IS forums are not a plethora of information like rx8club is unfortunately. Mostly just a bunch of ricer BS.

 

Bobby,

I assume you mean unloading the front for full engagement of the spring here. It should be just as simple as the RX8 by loosening the upper A-arm bolts on each side. This can be done carefully with the wheels on. Just crank the wheel full lock to gain access to two of the bolts (one on each side)... carefully loosen the bolts but don't remove (obviously)... then crank to full lock in the other direction... loosen the other two you can reach... drive around the block... re-tighten both sides in the same manner... look cool. It probably will drop a little more this way assuming you didn't compress the springs when you tightened everything up in there.

This is what people have referred to on here as "pre-loading" although you are actually unloading the spring allowing the full weight of the car to rest on the springs and do it's job.

 

sorry to hear that lexus charged you $100 for that, but glad at least it worked out.

 

Same thing on the rears as well?

 

Pulled my daily wheels and wing to refinish them before she had gone into the shop - looks so naked. She should be ready Thursday they said, woo-hoo! Stupid people in parking lots ....need to bubble wrap this car I swear.

 

James, you're not hurt again are you?

 

So when can I put my rims/summer rubber back on? I was thinking by the end of March but salt on the road March 21? I'm moving south or west.