Crazy Eddie

RA1 vs the R888 or will the Nitto NT- 01 245 50 16 fit on my stock turbo S wheels ?

Hi Guys
I need to tires for my 88 944 Turbo S
I had Yoks 008R's 245/45 /16 all around fit fine, back in the day, when I tracked the car, but that was with the (Mg) Turbo cup wheels which were 8's in the front and 9's in the rear. Sadly, those tires are no longer avail in my sizes
The car is not going to be tracked (at least for the now) but for spirited driving around town. NO driving in the rain as well
My plan was to use the Stock Turbo Club Sport wheels that came with the car ( So I am guessing the Nitto 01 245/50's would prove to be too wide for a 7 inch rim) As well as the profile of the side wall being a bit larger 50 series vs the 45 on the stock set up...
So, I need to know which tires to buy ? ( I was also considering the Fusions, but wanted to go with a more aggressive tire ) Then I was planning on going with the R888's but, I have read a few postings that seem to dump on the R888's, do to Heat cycling break down, after minimal use ... ( Don't know if that would be an issue for me, as it will be used for mostly street use ? )
Any experienced input would be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance
Regards
Ed

NZ951

Ed, my friend...

I run R888 on my track car. I would not run them as a street tyre, you will end up with rubber fragments all over your car with spirited driving! They are an awesome tyre on the track, but yeah, just get a nice Bridgestone or similar for the road. If you will send it to the track eventually and drive there, the R888 is extremely hard to beat.

Crazy Eddie

Hi Andy
How the hell are you ... ?
Hope all is well
I was looking for a very aggressive tire. Why were so many dumping on the R888 saying that they Heat Cycle and become worthless ?? I can deal with the rubber flying on the car I had the Yoks 008R's and they were sticky as hell. I think they had a tread wear rating of only 80...
What Bridgestone would you recommend ?
I had the Yoks 008 as a street tire and loved them but they don't make them anymore. Then the Dunlop S9000, they were good, but not as good as the Yoks As I stated, the rain is not a factor. I just want a really grippy tire that lets the car handle great.
Is it that the R tires need to come to temp, as to why you don't recommend them for the street ?

333pg333

I've used the 888s many times on the street. They're fine if you drive in generally dry conditions and don't cover a lot of miles on a day to day basis. When they wear down they, like most R specs, are pretty dangerous in the wet. I prefer the NT01 but it seems even softer than the 888. The Nittos seem very cheap in the US too.

NZ951

Im good bro, just brought a 996 C4 6 speed today! So I am back in the game. Firstly EVERY tyre in the world goes through a heat cycle. Im guessing they are saying that once they go through some heat cycles they become hard? Im my experience with them on my AE86 track car (light) they have remained very soft.

If you want an aggressive tyre then the Bridgestone (SO3's) may not be the way to go, they would be a great all rounders though, thats what I ran on 18's.

I still think R888's would be they way to go if you want an aggressive streetable tyre then. The fact is you wouldnt really be putting them through extreme heat cycles anyway... but they are soft, so wont last as long as a SO3 etc... (if you can still get them?)

NZ951

Oh and I had Toyo RA1's on my previous race car (stupid I know) and they were not that good...

MC 968CS

I have also used R888 on the street plenty of times. They are fine in the dry if not too cold (near freezing, and in light rain are still ok. Heavy rain = stay off the road in them. One point...above around 100km/h, or 60mph, they really are very noisy as they are not harmonically balanced. The other options you mention - I have no insights into their harmonics. Happy shopping.

Crazy Eddie

Hi Patrick
I hear ya... Wet and R tires don't mix ..
We only get rain here (N CA) in the winter months and I don't use the car when its raining. I was all set to go with the Toyo R888 tires but read in the racing forum that the tires were disappointing.... They were recommending the RA1 ... or Nitto's (but they wont fit my set up) they only have the 50 series and not the 45 I need ( they also don't have a 225/50 series tire )in the 16"

The SO3's do come in my size ( I just checked ) but I don't need an all around tire, so I would be giving up some dry handling in lieu of wet handling...

For a race tire maybe not, but it may be a good tire, for my purpose? It seems that the track junkies were saying that shaved, they performed well.
Thanks Guys for you input
Regards
Ed

Crazy Eddie

Thanks
No cold temps here and I don't drive the car in the rain, but interesting about the harmonics
So I should be aware that after 60mph is going to get loud ?
Thanks
Regards
Ed

Crazy Eddie

Oh Congrats on the car
Best of luck bud
Regards
Ed

333pg333

Try the 888 Ed. They cop a blast on the Racing forums, but moreso in the US for some reason? They're still a good tyre and I went through quite a few sets for both road and track. Couldn't be bothered taking them off and loved the grip level in the dry on the street. I don't think you'll cycle them out on the street nearly as fast as the track so you will get a pretty decent lifespan for an R spec.

911-32

I get about 3000+ miles from 888s on street/track usage and they are the only tyre i have for my 911 track car. I drove from the UK to France, Belgium etc and they wear pretty well for a soft tyre. I have used them a lot in the wet and they are great. The soft compound is much better in the wet than road tyre so long as there is not so much water that the grooves cannot evacuate it - ie., aquaplaning. I strongly disagree with people who think they need to be run at ~40psi hot. I run them at around 32psi hot just like every other R-comp tyre I have used.

Overall I like them a lot more than the Michie Cup Sports I had before which only really seemed to perform on a really hot track, which is less than ideal in the temperate climes of the UK.

rlm328

I had a set of R888s and will never own another set. They are not as good as an NT01 in the dry and in wet they are miserable at best.

NZ951

Seems like ROW guys love them, and US guys dont, wonder if you get a different compound...

The R888 is the tyre of choice here in the DOT market, pretty much every Lotus here runs them.

Nikon FM

For road use I think they would be fine per the ops description of use. I ran them on the track for HPDE days and they worked fine for awhile but lost grip before they were corded. My experience was the grip goes away even though there may be a bunch of tread left. It's all about how many heat cycles.