Toyo R888

[John McCain Racing]

Any thoughts on the R888's? My last set of tires I bought are Kuhmo Street Turds and I'm sick of them. I was driving my car to work on occasion and made the mistake of buying cheap tires. Doing a few track events this summer and I need better tires!!!

 

[nsxtasy]

The R888 is a very good R compound track tire. There are a whole lot of very good R compound track tires on the market now: Toyo R888 and RA-1, Hoosier R6, Kumho Ecsta V710 and V700 Victoracer, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup, Pirelli PZero Nero Corsa, Nitto NT-01, BFGoodrich g-Force R1, Yokohama A048, Avon Tech RA, and Hankook Z211 and Z214.

 

[John McCain Racing]

The R888 is a very good R compound track tire. There are a whole lot of very good R compound track tires on the market now: Toyo R888 and RA-1, Hoosier R6, Kumho Ecsta V710 and V700 Victoracer, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup, Pirelli PZero Nero Corsa, Nitto NT-01, BFGoodrich g-Force R1, Yokohama A048, Avon Tech RA, and Hankook Z211 and Z214.

Well now your making it harder with a menu of tires to choose from!!! I've only heard good things about the RA-1's, but the R888 is a new tire right?

 

[nsxtasy]

Well now your making it harder with a menu of tires to choose from!!! I've only heard good things about the RA-1's, but the R888 is a new tire right?

The R888 has been around for several years overseas, but only recently became available in North America. I've heard that the compound and construction of the R888, RA-1, and NT-01 (Nitto is the same company as Toyo) are the same, and the tires differ only by tread pattern and tread depth (the RA-1 comes with 8/32", the other two with 6/32"). The greater tread depth and smaller tread blocks of the RA-1 make it better in rain and a bit more streetable, although it doesn't give maximum track performance until the tread starts wearing down (unless you shave it, of course). I've been using the RA-1 for a long time, and have been considering the R888 and NT-01 for my next purchase. All of these three have a price advantage over the Pilot Sport Cup, R6, and A048, and may last longer than the R6 and A048 too, maybe similar to the Michelin in treadlife. Performance differences aren't huge; I think the R6 is probably the best performing R comp tire you can get, if you don't mind the price and treadlife, and that's probably what you would want if you're actually competing rather than just HPDE type events.

Yes, you have a lot of good choices in R compounds. You can narrow it down first based on what's available in the sizes you need, then you might talk to your dealer and see what they say, if they do a lot of business in track tires.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

Any thoughts on the R888's? My last set of tires I bought are Kuhmo Street Turds and I'm sick of them. I was driving my car to work on occasion and made the mistake of buying cheap tires. Doing a few track events this summer and I need better tires!!!

John, which Kuhmo turd did you get? For street tire, I recommend the Dunlop Z1 star spec, great great street tires, wet and dry.

I had RA 1 and now using Nt01 since last year. NT01 felt a little better than RA1. They are actually very closed to A048...

 

[angus]

I have both tires and I find that the 888 is actually better at full tread depth than the ra-1 , I am thinking that the large tread blocks squirm around less , I also find them actually better in the rain ,and so far (6000 km ) they are lasting longer than the ra-1s too , the nitto nt-01 was worse in the wet and ,although I have also heard that the rubber compond is the same , I have owned all three tires and I find it difficult to beleive. I think that people are over looking the fact that nitto and toyo parted ways around the time that the nt-01 came out , they can't possibly be the same compound , they sure feel different(worse) .

 

[John McCain Racing]

John, which Kuhmo turd did you get? For street tire, I recommend the Dunlop Z1 star spec, great great street tires, wet and dry.

I had RA 1 and now using Nt01 since last year. NT01 felt a little better than RA1. They are actually very closed to A048...

Ecsta SPT's :redface:

 

[NSXDreamer2]

Ecsta SPT's :redface:

no wonder....:wink: They were good tires for my wife's TL though.

 

[NSXAMG996TT]

So where can I order a set of R888 or Nitto NT-01???

 

[John McCain Racing]

So where can I order a set of R888 or Nitto NT-01???

1010tires.com online or your local dealer is what I'm looking at. I need 235/17 and 275/17 so R888 it is!

 

[NSXDreamer2]

So where can I order a set of R888 or Nitto NT-01???

Not sure R888 but I can get a killer discount from my local Discount tire store with NT-01... The kid there hooked me up on installation and fill them with Nitrogen too...

 

[phoenixR34]

I'm not a fan of the R888 at all.. I tried them last month for the first time and they just never seemed to *feel* warmed up. The temperatures were fine, but they didn't feel like they had as much grip at any point in the heat cycle as the NT01. The A048s felt similar to the R888 to me as well.. I did not like either, which is strange because the RA1 and Yokohama A032Rs were some of my favorite tires (the old A032R felt amazing).

For a street/track tire, in my opinion the Nitto NT01 is in a class by itself. It's streetable, lasts a long time, excellent grip and they're reasonably priced. Of course the Hoosier, V710 and Hankook Z214 offer better performance on track (in the dry), but they're not very practical if you street drive on a regular basis.

For strictly street tires, the new Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec is amazing, as someone above mentioned. I use them daily on my car and pretty much everyone in the local autocross street tire classes are switching to the Z1. Tire Rack is selling them for very cheap right now too.

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

Brady's talking about this:
http://www.scienceofspeed.com/revolutionized/ScienceofSpeed/S2000/ScienceofSpeed_Race_S2000/

When we drove the car, we were on higher spring rates than what the tire could support. Brady - you should give it another try now that I've brought the spring rates down. The tires are no Hoosier tires, but they should grip as well as the RA1 now that we have the proper rates on the car.

The RA1 has the same compound as the R888 - so results should be similar.

Cheers,
-- Chris

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

So where can I order a set of R888 or Nitto NT-01???

http://www.aimtire.com/

I'm not a fan of the R888 at all.. I tried them last month for the first time and they just never seemed to *feel* warmed up. The temperatures were fine, but they didn't feel like they had as much grip at any point in the heat cycle as the NT01. The A048s felt similar to the R888 to me as well.. I did not like either, which is strange because the RA1 and Yokohama A032Rs were some of my favorite tires (the old A032R felt amazing).

Hmm. You might try SRD or Stimpo, they are right down the street from you. Their engineers do a first rate job on chassis setup. Get those tires staggered and matched perfect for you. :wink:

 

[nsxtasy]

So where can I order a set of R888

U.S. CA AIM Tires http://www.aimtire.com 707.938.9193
U.S. CA Les Schwab http://www.lesschwab.com
U.S. CA OnLineTires.com http://www.onlinetires.com 877-465-8473
U.S. DE Sports Car Tire http://www.sportscartire.com 800-752-TIRE
U.S. FL Edge Racing http://www.edgeracing.com 800-495-8306
U.S. IL Frisby Performance Tire http://www.frisbyracetire.com 800.798.7201 or 1.847.244.7050
U.S. IL TireDeals4Less.com http://www.TD4L.com 888-598-9200
U.S. IL Vilven Tire http://www.vilventires.com 800-251-0017 or 888-77-KUMHO
U.S. MD Radial Tire http://www.radialtire.com 301-585-2740
U.S. NV Sierra Tire http://www.sierratire.com 702-433-7390
U.S. NY Phil's Tire Service http://www.philstireservice.com 845-429-8943
U.S. PA CJ's Tires http://www.cjtire.com 610-404-0224
U.S. PA The Tire Shoppe http://www.thetireshoppe.com 866-208-6551
U.S. SC Bob Woodman Tires http://www.bobwoodmantires.com 843-571-2277
U.S. TN Appalachian Race Tire http://www.racetire.com 865-681-6622
Canada BC 1010tires.com http://www.1010tires.com 888-825-MAGS
Canada BC TireTrends.com http://www.tiretrends.com 877-920-TIRE
Canada QC Talon http://www.talontire.com 514-337-0833

I'm not a fan of the R888 at all.. I tried them last month for the first time and they just never seemed to *feel* warmed up.

Just about any R compound track tire needs a good hard lap, sometimes two, to warm up before you get its full effectiveness.

For a street/track tire, in my opinion the Nitto NT01 is in a class by itself. It's streetable, lasts a long time

The NT-01 is a track tire, not a "street/track tire" (a description that applies to tires like the Star Spec, RE-01R, and Azenis, not the NT-01). Like most track tires, it's an exaggeration to flatly claim that it's "streetable". "Lasts a long time" is relative for any tire, especially track tires, where the lack of qualification as to usage (all track miles?) makes any such claim meaningless.

 

[Hrant]

http://www.aimtire.com/

I wouldn't recommend AIM though many racers use them for their convenience and what was relatively good pricing.

Both Steve and I can give you first hand info how they damaged the wheels with their antiquated if not already collector's tire mounting machine with claws ........

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

I wouldn't recommend AIM though many racers use them for their convenience and what was relatively good pricing.

Both Steve and I can give you first hand info how they damaged the wheels with their antiquated if not already collector's tire mounting machine with claws ........

Ikes. Sorry to hear. I can't speak to their service, but online has been ok.

A lot of places don't have the right tire machine to do the job, but take the work anyway.

 

[L8apex32]

As far as I can tell, we can take Avon Tech-RA off the list. Tire Rack had them on close-out for a long time and now are completely out. I did not find any other retailer of Avon Tech-RA tires.

 

[stuntman]

The R888 has a different construction than the RA1. The belts are layed in a different fashion which results in a stiffer carcass (but not sidewall). The R888 also has a much rounder carcass/profile which usually leads to a more nimble in transitions but resulting in relatively less stable characteristics (not saying that the R888 is an unstable tire by any means).

The characteristics of the R888 is more like a Yokohama A048. It is also a little 'peakier' than the RA1, feeling more like a racing slick with a slightly more abrupt breakaway than the smooth street tire-esque breakaway of the RA1. A lot is due to the stiffer tire and larger continuous tread blocks (reducing squirm).

I can't remember if the compound is different between R888 and RA1. The tire test I did for Toyo was early last year so I can't quite remember.

Back to back testing with a set of scrubbed RA1s to new R888, we were a little over 0.5 seconds faster with the R888 than the RA1.

RA1 is a (relatively) better street tire than the R888 IMO.

RA1 is a little easier to drive on, more user friendly, but the R888 is slightly faster.

0.02

 

[L8apex32]

spring rates and tire performance

When we drove the car, we were on higher spring rates than what the tire could support. Brady - you should give it another try now that I've brought the spring rates down. The tires are no Hoosier tires, but they should grip as well as the RA1 now that we have the proper rates on the car.

-- Chris

Would you mind sharing more info about how spring rates affect tire performance? And, how one tire may work better with stiffer springs than another? I would not have guessed that's the case and am eager to know more.

 

[CL65 Captain]

I keep going back and forth on whether to get a set of 17/18 track wheels to run R comps...

I see that Toyo R888s come in 225/45/16 & (245/40/17 or 255/40/17). It seems that this will work on the OEM 16/17s. Is this correct???? Which would be a better match for the rears?

 

[nsxtasy]

I see that Toyo R888s come in 225/45/16 & (245/40/17 or 255/40/17). It seems that this will work on the OEM 16/17s. Is this correct???? Which would be a better match for the rears?

They can be mounted on the stock rims. (The approved rim widths for the 225/45-16 are 7.0-8.5 inches, and the rims are 16x7.)

I would be inclined to get the 255 rears, since that's a 10 mm increase in treadwidth on the fronts. The fronts may rub a bit on full lock, but that's not unusual with track tires.

 

[docjohn]

They can be mounted on the stock rims. (The approved rim widths for the 225/45-16 are 7.0-8.5 inches, and the rims are 16x7.)

I would be inclined to get the 255 rears, since that's a 10 mm increase in treadwidth on the fronts. The fronts may rub a bit on full lock, but that's not unusual with track tires.

I concure with Ken.:smile:

 

[Markus]

Back to back testing with a set of scrubbed RA1s to new R888, we were a little over 0.5 seconds faster with the R888 than the RA1.

Stuntman - just curious, what track was this and what is your average lap time there?

Also, any thoughts on how "even" the performance of the R888 is through it's lifespan - ie, does it get faster at the end like an RA1, is it consistent, or does it drop off after a couple of heat cycles like a V710?

Thanks!

- Mark

 

[Hrant]

I keep going back and forth on whether to get a set of 17/18 track wheels to run R comps...

I see that Toyo R888s come in 225/45/16 & (245/40/17 or 255/40/17). It seems that this will work on the OEM 16/17s. Is this correct???? Which would be a better match for the rears?

If you do not have (or intend to add) a supercharger or turbo, I recommend staying with 16/17 wheels even with R compound tires. This is will help improve your driving skills further.