I bought some Toyo R1R's ready for track day at Cadwell Park next week
When I received the Tyres, they had stickers on. The stickers were a print-off of this advisory:
PDF Here
The rubber compounds used in these tires have unique properties that, when compared to other tires, can cause them to lose some of their flexibility when stored and operated at sub-freezing temperatures. This loss in flexibility can lead to potential cracking and other damage to the tire.
TO MINIMIZE THE CHANCES OF THIS HAPPENING, CONSUMERS AND INSTALLERS ARE ADVISED TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS DURING SUB-FREEZING CONDITIONS:
1.Do not operate the car with these tires, as the tires may suddenly fail.
2.Always store these tires indoors at temperatures above 32°F (0°C).
3.Before mounting or dismounting, store these tires for at least 24 hours in a temperature-controlled environment of 68°F (20°C) or warmer.
4.Remove these tires from the vehicle and deflate to half the normal air pressure during prolonged periods of non-use or storage.
5.Do not move a car that is in storage with these tires, as the tires may crack.
As you can see, the photo on the pdf file looks very worrying, as does the wording of the advisory itself.
The problem is that I was going to put them on this evening and the weather forecast is for -2°C tonight.
After some digging I found a revised advisory:
PDF Here
- mostly the same wording but with this at the top:
Recommendations on the Proper Use and Handling of Certain Toyo Tires This advisory supersedes TSD-07-001, dated November 15, 2007, and applies only to the following products:
All Proxes R1R. All Proxes R888. All Proxes RA1.
and a very important difference here:
1. Do not move or operate the car with these tires in conditions below 15F (-9°C). ALWAYS INSPECT FOR SIGNS OF CRACKING! NEVER USE TIRES THAT HAVE CRACKED!
2. Avoid moving these tires in conditions below 15°F (-9°C).
Which caused me some confusion. If the revised advisory was correct then I had nothing to worry about, but he stickers on the tyres were the 2007 advisory. The DOT code on the tyres showed them to be produced in week 24 of 2009.
I contacted Toyo UK and spoke with Alan Meaker (Technical and Motorsport Manager).
He explained that the latest advisory is the correct one and that the Tyres should be OK as long as the temperature isn't excessively cold, so if it goes down to -2°C tonight, the tyres should be fine (they're already fitted to the wheels now - the wheels just have to go on the car).
I will inspect the tyres over the next couple of days and in the unlikely event that there is cracking, I will report it to Toyo and here on the forums.
