Land Jet

Bought my first set of R compound tires for DE's, Toyo 888's, and am looking for input about the transition from street tires to R compounds. Is there any sound feedback as you approach the limit? Any different driving strategy with R compounds? Pluses vs minuses?

P.J.S.

HOT
38 Rear
36 front
I found this to be good on my 996-3

as to transition from street tires -- ease into them -- get some heat into them and gradually add speed.

as opposed to the "I have r comps, I can fly" approach.

Sound feedback -- on the street I found the R888 to transmit a lot more road noise... but at the track with a helmet on and window down I did not notice them.

different driving style -- once you get a feel for them, you will be able to brake later and carry more speed through the corners and be able to get on throttle sooner exiting.

You will love them... I went through 4 or 5 sets before buying a trailer and moving to R6s

himself

The limit won't be hard to detect, R888s will talk to you and they won't break free with no warning. If you could drive on street tires, you'll be fine - just going faster. It's not that hard to switch, as R888 is a pretty "easy" tire to move into.

Also, you might need to contemplate upgrading other components at the same time. R-comps will grip better, so your brake pads/fluid might need to be upgraded. And since you will be going faster, a roll bar, seats harnesses, and HANS would not be a bad idea.

-td

Jim Michaels

I have R888s now also; my latest drive-to-and-from-events-on R-comps. While they'll sing to you on the highway, they won't provide the useful audio feedback that street tires do under hard cornering. R-comps provide significantly greater grip, but they let go quicker than street tires, so you'll want to develop a feel for when they're near their limits of adhesion. When they do let go, you'll need to be quicker to catch and correct. Discovering just how many lateral g's they'll take before letting go might be more safely done at an autocross than on a fast sweeper on track. The only way to discover their limits for sure is to go there. If you approach those limits very gradually, you may be able to feel the early warning tire slip in time to correct.

You can also brake a bit later, and get on the gas a bit earlier than with street tires, but they won't provide their optimum grip until they have some heat in them.

FTS

In my experience, the R888s whine almost like street tires, but not as loud, as you approach the limit. However, even if you keep pushing them after they start howling, there is still some grip left. Also, their break away has been very gradual and easy to catch, but it is quite dependent on the speed of course. R888s are not like R5-6s and they are closer in behaviour to street tires than to full slicks.

Bob Rouleau

With brand new R888's expect them to squirm for the first track day. Toyo has revised their suggested hot pressures to the range of 32 to 35 lbs. On my RS I liked 34F 35R. Like all R compounds, grip will improve a lot after you get heat in them so take it easy for the first couple of laps.

Best,

IcemanG17

I really like my R888's......good grip, and LONG LIFE....I have 25 heat cycles on mine and I would say they have at least 60% life left....I like to run mine around 36 all around, but thats front engine-rear drive.....

I've also driven R888's on spec miatas and like those too...but the kumho V710 felt like it had more grip on the same car...

mdrums

unshaved R888? if so they will squirm and move around especially under braking. They will feel a little weird during this time but after 3-5 track days they will wear down and become very predictable.

I do not have any special suspension components on my car so the max camber upfront I can get is -1.4. I run a little hight pressure than what Toyo recomends to keep the tire from rolling over. I run 37 to 38 hot in front and rear and the tires are wearing really good.

gaddiel14

R888, is the best.... ever i seen...

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DanR

hhhmmmm first post..... now shall I click you link sig below or should I trust my judgement that you poor english and first post could suggest someone from overseas who starts viruses????

BostonDMD

Dan, I think you are on something here......

If it smells like curry, it probably is curry.....

C.J. Ichiban

the toyo r888 when new has a LONG life cycle- somewhere between 3 and 7 track days depending on how hard you drive them because they've got huge chunky tread blocks.


brand new full treaded r888 have huge squirm under braking- basically the car will feel like it's correcting "mini slides" on its own while you go from max braking to turn in. they're definitely a better (less performance variation) transition tire from street tires rather than a full out hoosier r6 or bfg r1.

when you drive an "all-season" tire (vs an r-comp) on the track it tends to chunk and curl up on the teeth, whereas the r888 gets pretty gummy once you get the heat into them... the best way to do that is by getting the brakes warm, which warms the rim, which warms the tires. just driving around easy for 3 or 4 laps might never really get you up to temp and you will be slipping around a lot more than you think you should.

R-comps are very pressure, heat, and alignment sensitive- and each brand is different. you can annihilate the insides of them with an improper alignment so make sure you spend the extra few hundred at your shop and have them set the car up to the toyo specs- otherwise they won't heat up or grip as well as they should.

lastly- you will be stopping harder and possibly getting into more ABS with the same amount of pedal pressure, so adjust your braking zones accordingly and also be wary of how much faster the weight shifts in the car because of this-


switching to more "track/race" tires is a big step- but it can lead to big loss of control if you try and charge too much into corners...the limit is higher but make sure you work up to it progressively.

sorry if that was too much info!

I loved the r888s on my Gt3RS because they lasted and you could play with the slides which would be much more progressive- the car would slide out in small steps 1-2-3-4-5 instead of the MPSC or worse yet a hoosier which can go 1-1-1- gone.

BobbyC

Larry - all good advice above (especially post #2 & #3 pretty much sums it up)! I have gone thru 4-5 sets of R888s and now alternate between them and R6 depending on weather/surface conditions. I have found that if one scrubs in the unshaved R888s (a few hundred street miles) before the first track session, you'll feel less of the "full tread squirm". Have fun!

slvr993

You will love them. Moving to R-Comp tires will feel great. R888s were my transition tire on my 993 and they were perfect for that. It's like all the other slippery slope "drugs".

If these R888s feel this good maybe I should try MPSCs or Hoosiers...I'll just try them...one set.. I don't need them.... I could stop anytime.

Have Fun

MUSSBERGER

Larry where and when are you planning on popping your cherry