Spiffyjiff

have any of you gone from 888s to RE-11s?

i had a great experience with my toyo's - performance and longevity - but due to other circumstances, am switching to the b-stones this week. i think i'm correct in assuming, in general, the 8's are better all around track tire...but to put my question in perspective: i originally came from RE-050A's to the 8's and that was a "drastic" diff to me on the track. but since the 050's are more of a street tire, what can i expect going from 8's to re-11's (which i think is a similar compound, right??)

can i expect a "drastic" difference? or hopefully an only "noticeable but acceptable" one?

side note - i am having damptronic suspension installed at same time so am thinking any tire differences that i would have noticed will be blurred by the new susp anyway, but just thought i'd ask.

thanks all.

alexb76

Are you seriously comparing Toyo 888 track tires to RE11 street tires? Not a fair comparison IMO. RE-11 is one of the better street tires, but definitely won't give you the same dry performance of Toyo 888. I'd say you will notice a drastic difference.

RE-11 has had some good and some mixed reviews. People say it handles better than RE050, but it retains heat a lot more and you gotto be playing with tire pressure a lot more and watch it during hot days and lapping.

If you're happy with Toyo, then WHY are you changing it?

PS. I had Toyo 888 on my Nubrugring track day and it was the BEST track tire I've ever driven.

Spiffyjiff

i know i know.

a couple of things happened all at once: old tires are DONE and i needed replacements quick (i waited til last min - car going in shop tomorrow and doing DE next week at VIR), my fav local supplier out of them/not expecting until mid sept so i panicked and picked the only other AFFORDABLE tire that i knew anything about, but for the most part, i got lazy and didnt feel like putting effort going outside of my local guy.

oh well, live and learn. maybe i'll do VIR then try to sell them/get toyos.

Nugget

I've got over 10,000 miles on my RE11s now and they're still in pretty decent shape. They're my top choice for street tires right now and they make a fantastic wet day tire for track. I wouldn't suggest them to replace 888s though. They're not in that league. Have you considered Nitto NT-01s?

Previous threads:

• Impressions of RE-11's
• Bridgestone RE 11's for the track?

Spiffyjiff

they dont make NT-01 in 19" (or at least i havent seen a site yet listing them).

ok ok, i am simply gonna run VIR on my street tires and wait for toyos to come in stock. i had a momentary lapse of reason - i guess it's better to have only 1 event running toyo-less rather than 10 waiting for the RE-11's to wear out!

thanks.

mdrums

For the street the RE11's...for the Track R888 or RA1. You can drive the R888 or RA1 on the street but they are not as good in the rain as a street tire like the RE11 will be.

sin911

RE-11's heat up too fast on the track. I have them on the car and after a 25 min session I had pressure go up 10-12 psi!

mdrums

My R888 or RA1 R-Comps go up 10-12 PSI at Sebring. Florida humidity and heat make it this way.

Spiffyjiff

i was just going to say...almost every session i had on the 8's (summit point, jersey, etc...hot and humid) i gained about 8-10 on the track.

996toomey

I currently have RE-11s on my GT3. I had 888s on my 2006 997S. Give the RE-11 a chance and do not pre judge it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Spiffyjiff

realllllllllllllllly...how much track time do you have on them? can you expand on your thoughts?

Nugget

There's pages and pages of expansion on that thought in the threads I linked in post #4 above.

savowood

I assume your local guy is Paul at Radial Tire. I recently moved to Austin, TX and I still use Paul for all my tire purchases.

If it is Paul, I'm surprised he's out. He usually does a great job of keeping the popular sizes in stock. It could be something to do with the rumor of the R888 changes. However, the following story comes courtesy of a very similar situation. =-)

I was looking recently for some tires for my Jetta TDI Cup. I didn't really want the R888 on there, but I didn't want to use the crappy tires that came on the car. He suggested Toyo's R1R. I'm incredibly happy with them. Technically, the compound is the same. The belting and tread pattern is different. I haven't driven a better tire in the rain in a very long time. In the dry, they're very sticky, but the longevity is much better than the RA-1 or R888.

I like the R1R so much I put them on my Boxsera. Now I have a fantastic street/wet tire and a decent track tire. If you're really looking for "noticeable but acceptable" over "drastic", this is what I'd do.

-Michael

Spiffyjiff

unless i'm missing it somewhere...none of the posts talk about going from 888 to RE-11 or even compare directly. lot of talk about heat, psi's, comparing to other street tires (MPS2, re050a, etc). which post(s) specifically were you referring?

and i just wanted 996toomey thoughts personally since he's gone from one to the other...

Nugget

SCCA Nationals have really drained performance tire inventories nationwide. My R6s are backordered until first week of September.