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Toyo R888 first impressions

2K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  SnakePilot 
#1 ·
I ran the Toyo R888's for the first time at Reno-Fernley Raceway. I am quite happy with how well they worked. The 275/40/17 is a touch wider that the NT01, but a perfect fit on the 97 Cobra with the Cobra R wheels. On the front they are about 1 inch from the coil-over collar, and look like they were custom fit to the outside fender. ( 2.5 degrees camber, keeps the top right at the fender line ).

Performance wise, I didn't notice much difference from the NT01's I replaced. But this track was new to me, so I'll get a better comparison next week at T-Hill. My lap times were right there with the cars I normally run with. Road noise wise, they are much quieter. ( With the NT01's people would ask if my axle bearings were going out. ) The turn in seems better than the RA1's, as expected with the tread design.

Wear has me a bit concerned. After a 2 day weekend, they look like they have been through about 5-6 days. But a lot of people were complaining about how hard that track configuration was on tires.

I went ahead and left them on for the drive home. They have no bad manners as a street tire.

So, overall I'm pleased with them. I liked the RA1's and NT01's also, but if these wear OK, I'll get them again.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I ran the Toyo R888's for the first time...

...I liked the RA1's...
Please, if you can, let us know how they compare to the RA1's at Thill? The R888 is the new spec tire for CMC and AI next year.

Also, did you have the 888's shaved or did you run them full-depth? There's a lot of talk about them not needing to be shaved.
 
#4 ·
Cost is about the same and they are a DOT approved tire. I got them at AIM Tire.

Mine are not shaved. I was told that the tread blocks are so big, that they can be run new on dry pavement. I ran them first on a 90 degree day, and there seemed to be no tread block edge chunking.

I run this weekend at THill. It should be a good comparison, since I've done no mods to the car for a while.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I run this weekend at THill. It should be a good comparison, since I've done no mods to the car for a while.
I look forward to it. If the 888's don't need shaving, that is a Very Good Thing:
  1. Tires are cheaper (no shaving fee.)
  2. I can shop from more vendors (no everyone has a shaving machine and fewer know how to use 'em correctly.)
  3. Potentially more live from thicker tread cap.
  4. No need for separate rain/dry tires IF the tires are new enough.

I believe at least one Mustang team ran a single set of the the R888's this year at the 4-hour NASA enduro at TWS unshaved and came away impressed. I haven't gotten any details on that though.
 
#9 ·
I drive on R-Compounds to the track, but out here in Calif, there is never a threat of rain this time of year. Thunderhill is a 4-hour haul for me. I think the street wear of driving to the track is negligible compared to the track wear.

I've run the NT01's all the way down to just the 2 single grooves. Driving those to the track gets comments, since they look like a race slick.
R-Comps last me about a year. So I try and replace them late in the year. That way I have tread in the winter in case of a rainy track days. ( But, so far I've never run the R-Comps on a wet track ). I've now taken my back seat out, so I'll probably start hauling them to the track in the winter. My lucky streak on rain days can't last forever...
 
#10 ·
I ran the last 2 days at THill, I didn't change my car set up, but they changed the track! So any tire comparison is probably out the window. The new re-surface is beautiful, but it was almost like learning a new track. The seams, berms and landmarks are all different. I don't think I ever seen that many off track excursions...

Turn 11 has always been my nemesis corner at THill. That sharp turn-in coming off hard braking. The R888 turn-in there definitely felt sharper and more controlled. I was consistently faster out of 12 than ever before.

Tire wear was in-line with what I expected from Thunderhill. I moved the tire that seemed to have excessive wear at RFR to the back, and it showed nothing unexpected back there.
 
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