James A

I am going to try a set of R888s out, but when I look at their website I don't see any instructions for an initial heat cycle. Any thing different with these?
Bring up to operating temp for 10 - 15 minutes allow to go back to ambient over night?
Also I see the Toyo recommended inflation pressures, any cold inflation recommendations based on experience?

P.J.S.

I ran 38 rear 36 front hot on 18s
I am sure the initial heat cycle and cool is the best way to go, but I always seemed to just put them on and go.
First couple of heat cycles they are slick so go 7/10ths and work up to full pace... you will know when.

James A

High 30s with 2 psi more in the rear seems to be the consensus from past threads also.
I am going to find a way to get in one heat cycle before my first event on these tires. There is a closed K Mart not far from here.... with a big parking lot...
thank you PJS

va122

r888's suck, and toyo knows it. They are going back to the RA-1 due to demand per my toyo dealer.

I had only one set, for one race only and sold them, hated them, too slick vs the RA-1 that's magic out the box. Granted I use slicks now...

iLLM3

Agreed, on both of my previous sets I just broke then in first day then by second day they got good, still ****ty though overall compared to other tires ! Get then heat cycled first if you don't want to have an on edge scary experience de greasing them lol!

I ran 28 cold then adjusted the hot temps which got to over 40 to 38 all around! Then I did 36/38 which I liked best!

Agreed with Vic! I run them for street only now since I bought up so many, after picking up 6-8 seconds at vir back to back between Hoosier r6's I'll never run them ever again!

mdrums

I have used both RA1 and R888 and I do not find the R888 to be as bad as some people say. I will tell you that I found the R888 at full tread to be better than the RA1 at full tread. Those small tread blocks on a RA1 really squirm. Once they get worn down they are great but I find the R888 are nice too worn down.

Anyway, a lot of people say they use "other" tires that are better. What tires are out there that are better that I can drive to and from the track on? Michelin Cups which do not have the sizes I need in 18 and the 19" are not real Cups anyway plus I'm told the Cups do not last for anything. Yokohama A048 which really do not have the sizes for my 09 Carrera S and they are super expensive. The Pirelli Corsa System has nothing in 18" but the correct sizes in 19" are over $2000 for a set...NO WAY!

P.J.S.

FWIW I went thru about 5 sets of R888 and I bought them instead of MPSC only becuase they were cheaper... I would not say that R888 is "****ty" but they were only getting sold to me becuase the price was so much better at $1100 a set...

Now my second set of R6 is at the shop and going on this week... I think it is safe to say I have purchased my last set of R888...

10 GT3

Big issue with these tires is they have very soft sidewalls. They are a lot softer than a RA1, MPSC or Corsa. The compound is very soft, but you have to run a lot of pressure to get them to run right if yo go wide. This is why Toyo specs them for a minimum of 2.5 degrees of negative camber and optimal at 5 degrees. If you increase tire pressure, you lose contact patch and any grip advantage. I learned the hard way running 255/35 and 315/30 on my 18x9/18x11 CCWs. They never ran right. Turn-in was poor and not a lot of grip. I had to run 5-8 psi higher than MPSCs or Corsas to keep them from rolling over and grinding the corners (with -2.2 camber). I was going to give up on them and then I decided to switch to 235/40's and 295/30's on my next set. All the issues went away. This stretched them out and stiffened them up. I was able to drop cold pressures back to 27-28 psi with even wear and no camber issues. Turn-in was a day and night improvement. They even felt a lot better at and over the limit. I go 7 seconds faster on a 2 mintue lap after switching to the narrow sizes.

mdrums

Interesting, I run 245-40-18 front and 305-35-18 rear on 8x18 and 12x18 CCW's. I was thinking of running the lower profile and slightly wider 255-35-18 front and 315-30-18 rears as suggested to me by other but you say they do not work. Was it just your cars set up and weight ...not sure what car you have.

Also what confuses me is Toyo claims the R888 sidewall is stiffer than the old RA1 but you are saying the opposite.

I'd love to try some other 18's but it seems like Toyo R888 or RA1's are the only R-Comp tires I can find the sizes I need.

I'd love to run Hoosier R6's but I drive to and from the track.

todinlaw

on 19 inch rims 38/40 hot works for me.

RonCT

Took me several track days to find the right combination for the 19" R888 in 245/305. At first I didn't like them at all, but in the end, they were pretty good, turning 1:01s-1:02s at Lime Rock in a stock 997S (control arms for -2.3 degrees up front). Key was to get them worn down and get just the right pressures. 36/37 hot was what I liked best and the spike on the last time was about 10 PSI (so in the range of -8 to -10 cold depending on what tire works hardest on your track).

Now that the OZ Allegerita is here, I picked up a set along with some 245/305 RA1s in 18". This is a combination I really liked in the past. Back at Lime Rock on Friday - will see how the RA1 compares with my experience with the R888.

DFW01TT

If I remember correctly, you've had extensive experience with Corsa's.
I'm coming off Corsa's and I've heard some comment that 888's are less than ideal for heavy cars. Given the Black Series crosses 4,100 pounds in track trim, have you (or anyone else) any experience to reference with them on a "heavy" car? 997TT maybe?

va122

I need to respectfully disagree with some parts of this. 5 deg of camber is waaay excessive for these tires and it would be a pain in the *** if not impossible to get this in our cars save for the ones that are all cup parts. The world challenge guys don't run this much camber

Cold pressures don't mean ****. Toyo recomends up to 38 hot.

Shave the tires. big difference.

I find 245/305 to have the ideal balance but know very well set up GT3's with 265/315

I have been using RA-1s for like 7 years and find them vastly superior. I know some world challenge guys and they say that the RA-1s were faster. Toyo agrees as they will go back to the RA-1s soon.

mooty

tires are personal pref.
for me, you can't pay me to run mpsc.
i would pay a lot more for RA1.
R888, i run 44psi hot. crazy.... maybe, but i like it at that temp.
btw, i run identical time within 2/10 lap after lap at 36psi also, but wears out faster.
someone said R888 has softer sidewall than RA1, that's incorrect. RA1 has softer walls.
5 deg of camber will shred the 888's.

DFW01TT

Thanks, I thought that tp might figure into the equation. I've only got 2.5 degrees, so no problem there.