Driving in the (RAIN) with Toyo Proxes R888 tires ...
Information,

As many of you know I changed tires not long ago.
I changed from the Continental DW Extreme Tires to the Toyo Proxes R888.
One of my main concerns was driving with them in the, (Rain).
Most of us running these tires probably would not intentionally jump out there in the rain.
But once we are out there and get caught in a down-pour you only have a couple of choices.

(1) Stop at next off ramp/exit and wait.
(2) Slow down and keep driving with Caution.

On with my story.

This past Saturday I drove to Louisville, Ky. and then to Sadieville, Ky. from there.
I met up with Family in Louisville, Ky. to watch my Niece Ice Skate in a Christmas program.
Then from there drove to their home in Sadieville, Ky. and spend the weekend.
I drove back home to Franklin, TN. on Monday morning leaving at 5.30 am.

The miles covered were like 500 plus round trip.

Now to get on to the real point of this Thread/Post.

Driving in the rain with the Toyo Proxes R888 tires.

This was done with (New Tires) with hardly any miles on them and No-Burn Outs at all or Drag Racing passes on them.

Tires had 32 psi in all four.

And weather conditions temperature wise was like Low 40's to mid 50's.

If you don't know these tires are not designed for Cold Weather driving.

These are Summer Performance tires ..... Only !!!


Now to give you the information with not to many useless words.
Here we go .......

You can definitely drive in the rain with these tires but here is what you need to know.

(1) As long as the road smooth and the water is (Not) standing.

(2) Watch your Butt if you are on a road that has the (Ruts) in it.

(3) If you try driving in those ruts where the water is standing you won't for long.

Your Mustang will start moving around on you as the (Tread Depth) cannot get rid of that much water.

(4) Water standing on the road will have your Mustang, (Hydroplaning).

(5) Also passing Semi-Trucks is sometimes Scary as they push a lot of water into your lane as you are passing them.

The rest of the story.

The above is what I personally observed while driving in the rain.
Sometimes it was raining pretty darn hard.
Other times it was a mild rain.
Almost all the time I was driving on a wet surface going and coming back home.

I actually made this trip to find out just how bad it would be to drive with these tires in rain.
And also when it was Cold outside which these tires are actually designed for Summer Use Only.

So if any of you have been wondering about these tires and driving in less than ideal conditions.
You can as long as you use Common-Sense.
My opinion is you would be much better off driving with them in the Daylight hours.
You can much better see what is in your lane on the road surface as long as it is not just "Pouring-Down".
If it was raining so hard you cannot see the vehicle in front of you I think I would pull over at that point and wait until it lightened up some.
I think you would be taking your Life in your hands if it was trying to drive with these in the above condition.

I took a few quick pictures I will post to show you what I was driving in.
They are not great but give you the general idea.
I wish after seeing these Pics. enlarged I had left the windshield wipers on taking them.

Here is another Thread Link on these tires if you are not familiar with them.
http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93351



















Terry

 

**** Terry, these tires were supposed to be so you could safely get home if you got caught in the rain, not make a 500+ mile trip in the winter, in the rain. Glad you made it safely but we don't want to loose you so don't keep doing this kind of s**t.



Earl

 

Earl .....

No worries buddy just making sure they were going to work when I do need them.

Actually for the most part the trip with them was uneventful to be honest.

A few times things got a bit Hairy but for the most part it went smooth.

Don't think I would want to do the same thing in the (Dark) though.

Terry

 

Glad you got home safe, thanks for sharing. I have Conti DW Extreme (Summer, not the all-seasons), about half-way through their lifespan. Driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles this past summer, got caught in a monsoon for about 45 minutes. Could not see 100 feet in front. Slowed to 60MPH, let others pass me, the Contis were great, even in standing water. I probably could have gone faster, but I wanted to be safe. I also use these same tires on the track, and their grip is fantastic for a street tire, although they do howl some at the limit.

 

It all depends, I've driven in similar conditions with summer tires, you just have to repsect the conditions and adjust your driving habits to compensate. Its when you forgot that things get real.

Hell I've driven on summer tires in the snow, albeit very slowly with lots of space ahead (I tend not to care about behind unless I'm being followed by a truck carrying nitro-methane and hydrazine or some other awesome explosion inducing combination)

 

Pete .....

As I posted I was running the DW Continentals before these.
They do A-OK for sure.
No complaints with them/
But they are not anywhere near the traction of these New Toyo Proxes R888 tires.
(I'm obviously now speaking of in the summer)
That is why I changed to them to see how they do this coming summer 2013.

Bob .....

One certainly has to be Alert when driving with these type of tires.
And no screwing around at all passing others using POWER.
I'm referring above to Highly Modified Mustangs with lots of RWHP & Torque.

Speaking of driving in the Winter with Snow and shall we say Summer-Tires.
Check the below Pics out I did do this when caught in it leaving Brenspeed in Pierceton, IN.
Fats & Skinnies and Summer Tires !!!

 

Wow, I just saw a picture of these (Toyo Proxes R888 tires) for the first time, man that is an agressive summer tread!

 

^what tread?

 

Pete .....

Here is a Thread I did on the Toyo Proxes R888 tires being installed if you want to check it out.
Tons of Pictures.

Toyo Proxes R888 tires, 265/30/19 & 295/30/19 installed W/Pics.

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93351

Sample picture on the above Thread.



Terry

 

---
That site won't let me view as a Visitor...

 

Pete .....

I think you can view the same exact Thread over on IMBOC where I am a Moderator.
Let me look up that Link.

Here you go and I am confident you can view the Thread/Post as a (Guest).

I just Logged-Out and then tried the Link so you should be good to go.

Toyo Proxes R888 tires, 265/30/19 & 295/30/19 installed W/Pics.
http://www.imboc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2264065&postcount=6675


Terry

 

Terry, your Bullitt looks amazing! I see all the pics in the IMBOC link, thanks. The new Toyo tires look very grippy, indeed. I have the same size wheels (Ford Racing) F-19x9, R-19x10. I think I have the same tire size as your old Contis, F-255/40, R-285/35. They stick great on the track, and the staggered size gives great controlled understeer when needed. I was considering moving up 10mm each on my next set of tires, but keeping the aspect ratio the same (F-265/40, R-295/35). Any reason you moved down to 30?

 

Cool write up. I've been a Toyo fan for a while now. I run the Proxes ST on my Tahoe and nothing else has been better in wet weather. The R888 wasn't designed for water at all but the technology Toyo uses can't be beat for the price. Just not sure if the 888 has as much grip as the Nitto drag radials though on dry surfaces.

 

Pete .....

Actually I would have preferred the 35-Series.
But, No-Choice with the Toyo R888 as they are only available in the 19"
in the 30-Series Aspect Ratio.
So 30-Series it is and as it has turned out they seem so far to be working out just fine.
Also to complete the tire choice I gained some gearing with them.
I use to be running the FRPP 4.10 gears.
Then I changed the complete rear-end assembly to a New Shelby GT-500.
That came with the 3.73 gears.
When I changed to the Toyo R888 tires because they are the 30-Series I now have a rear gearing of 3.90.
Which really seems to maybe be an excellent ration for my use.
Driving and occasional Drag-Racing.
I'm hoping that these R888 tires hold up for maybe 1-Yr. of my driving.
I'm retired now so the Bullitt is not a DD (Daily Driver).
And I only Drag Race it at certain Mustang events through the year.
If they will make it a year I will be a Happy Camper.
The Major Plus that I just found out is you can drive with these in the rain.

Here is a Post you might want to check-out.

1st test drive with the, Toyo Proxes R888 tires today ...

http://www.imboc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2264302&postcount=6713

And also this Post.

Your New "Gear Ratio"
http://www.imboc.com/forums/showpost...postcount=6726

The next Links are to the Toyo Tire Sizes:

http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/pr...petition-tires

FEATURES
SIZES
SPECIFICATIONS
APPLICATION
SET-UP & CARE


Al .....

The Toyo Proxes R888 tires are rated at 100.
I know that the MT ET Street Drag Radials are rated at ... Zero.
The Toyo R888 tires are as close as one can get to the Drag Radial for Softness/Stickiness.
The difference between them is you can drive on the street miles and in the rain with the Toyo R888 tires.

Terry

 

Patrick .....

I have been through Indianapolis, IN. many-many times over the past 4-Yrs. on the way to Brenspeed Engineering & Performance.
(Pierceton, IN.)

Terry

 

Terry - are you old Contis in descent shape?

 

Glad you survived your trip in the rain with those (mostly) slicks!

However, I think the moral of this story is one that I try to tell people over and over again, it's much less about what you drive, and much more about how you drive. Where I live we get cold snowy winters, in fact there's two inches on the ground outside right now, and every car I've ever owned has been RWD, including my winter rig which is a 2wd pickup. I've never crashed, never lost control on the freeway, and never been stuck badly enough that I needed to call anybody for help.

And every winter I pass countless front and four wheel drive rigs upside down or smashed up on the side of the road because people wrongly assume that what they're driving makes up for a lack of talent, or just plan common sense.

long story short, is it a good idea to drive a mustang on R888s through a rain storm? Probably not, but can it be done? Absolutely, as long as you respect what you can do as a driver, and what the car can do. The same thing holds true for driving in any sort of adverse conditions.

 

Hi Pete .....

Here is the story on the Conti DWs I was running.

http://www.imboc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2264817&postcount=6729

Terry

Very well stated

As I posted what I did was me doing it and I have been around for a very long time.
And driven performance vehicles for many-many yrs.

I would not tell just anyone to get out there and do what I did with the Toyo R888 tires in the same conditions I did.

Nice Post you did !!!

Terry

 

Contis...nice gift to your friend.

 

Hi Pete ..... Look for a PM from me.

For the rest of the Story.

Terry