Toyo R888 tires... street/track use

[Leslie]

I just purchased a slighty used set of Toyo R888's for roadcourse use, with the knowledge I would be driving 3 hrs to the track also. Picked up a set from JonB at PartsRack and got pretty excited to try them out last weekend.

Getting to the track was EASY, car drove like a dream, I felt really 'planted' on the highway and exit ramps, nice sunny drive. Got to the track and had done some internet searching on where to end up HOT with these tires...decided to start higher based on a training class I attended with Hoosier tire on pressures on a roadcourse vs street....went 42/40 cold...came in at 48/46 hot....Toyo says 50 is the max for this tire. Hoosier really emphasized a higher psi to keep the sidewalls stiff and not make the tire work so hard. This was one of 3 credible sources that suggested this psi to support the motor weight and help cornering.

Car really turned in better, handling was pretty darn GREAT compared to the PS2's I was running and overall I would say I was happy. Started adjusting the pressures as it got hotter out (93 degrees) and to get rid of some understeer (added a bit more in the back at that point)...drove 12 sessions on them in a 2 1/2 day time period and had PLENTY of tire left. Drove home and got caught in a wild t-storm with lots of standing water so I waited it out a bit, once it stopped I still drove home at speed with no problems.

I would be curious what others have found with these tires on a roadcourse, what pressure HOT did you go for and what kind of car response did you feel? Still not sure if starting out so high was the way to go.

 

[REDSLED]

Wow, 42/40 cold. That is about 5 degrees more than we run them hot. Was close to 100 degrees at Friday's test day so we started them around 27/25. They shot up 10-12 within 30 min. I'm not a fan of the 888's as much as the RA1's, but oh well. If you start them much lower you will feel the car better planted and the rears will have more bite. (I do run them shaved so that may make a difference as well)

 

[MTGTS]

Wow, 42/40 cold. That is about 5 degrees more than we run them hot. Was close to 100 degrees at Friday's test day so we started them around 27/25. They shot up 10-12 within 30 min. I'm not a fan of the 888's as much as the RA1's, but oh well. If you start them much lower you will feel the car better planted and the rears will have more bite. (I do run them shaved so that may make a difference as well)

Yeah, that's really high compared to what I run on them as well. I run 32/30cold. They work best when they are about 36 hot.

 

[Leslie]

awsome thanks guys, sure do appreciate the feedback.

gonna try some different, LOWER pressures this weekend at the track

 

[MTGTS]

Car should feel much better

 

[TexasPettey]

I have been doing the same, drive to the track and run on them there. I'd also say that 40 cold is too high & 48 hot is probably way too much. I find that the R888's have a point in the treadwear at which traction really tails off. The tires will still have some small amount of tread when I start a session, but they will tail off pretty bad at some point. You may want to keep that in mind when you are looking at tread going into a track day with them.

Rather than pressure readings, there are two better ways to get a feel for tire pressure. The first is with tire chalk. Mark a line from the top of the tread down the sidewall a bit. You'll be able to see where the wear is happening to a certain degree. If you're not seeing the chalk on the sidewall area of the tread, the tire is likely a bit low on pressure. If you are not getting rid of all the chalk on the top and a bit over the edge of the tread, you've got too much pressure.

Another method is with a tire temp gauge. You just insert it in the tread: both edges and in the middle. You can get a pretty accurate reading of both alignment and tire pressure. Ideally, you'll want to see a linear temp inside to outside. With a perfect setup of alignment and , you'll see almost no temp change across the tire. It will never be perfect, so it's easiest to look for linear.

If you're at a DE, you probably can borrow one instead of buying. You can use that in combination with your pressure to see what pressure is likely the best for a given track/air temp.

 

[MTGTS]

how'd the new pressures work?

 

[Catwood]

enjoy

....RA-1 Vs R-888 + NEW INFO!!!

 

[Viper X]

Not a fan of R888's either and have run several sets on the track both on my 01 GTS ACR and 09 SRT-10 ACR.

I found that they tend to break away quickly when hot without much feedback.

Much prefer the RA1s

Would agree with the article that R888's need more air pressure than the RA1s. I found that 36 - 38 psi hot worked pretty well for Viper at the tracks I frequent.

Check them often and make pressure adjustments as they will retain heat as the day warms up.

Dan

 

[KenricGTS]

I have the R888s on my Gallardo Heffner TT with 1130whp and they grip awesome! Not a track car though, like them so far.

 

[Leslie]

enjoy

....RA-1 Vs R-888 + NEW INFO!!!

Hey thanks for the article! I havnt been to a track this month to play around with the new pressures....

Sounds like from the article not to start out too low and I need to shoot for 46-47psi hot.

 

[Viper X]

Hey thanks for the article! I havnt been to a track this month to play around with the new pressures....

Sounds like from the article not to start out too low and I need to shoot for 46-47psi hot.

No offense, but if you end up at 46-47 psi hot, make sure you have tow hooks on the front and rear of your car as you will need them if you are a faster driver.

Dan

 

[Leslie]

No offense, but if you end up at 46-47 psi hot, make sure you have tow hooks on the front and rear of your car as you will need them if you are a faster driver.

Dan

sounds like you have some good experience with the Toyo's so I am going with your suggestions!

no I am not that fast, well I am a PCA instructor but I am not a racer by any means. I have only had to use my tow hooks once in 7 yrs and I wanna KEEP it that way.

thank you Dan!

 

[GTS Dean]

It's kinda funny, but thru all the years I've been tracking Vipers, I've found when running stock rim widths I end up with hot pressures around 41-42 Front and 35-36 Rear. It doesn't make a whole lot of difference what tread compound, what casing or what brand. My butt and fingertips just like the springrate feel. If the ambient conditions are on the extreme ends, I make 1-2 pound adjustments either way. Lower when it's cold, higher when it's hotter. When I run 12" front rims and 315 width, I drop the hot pressures a couple of pounds from the 10"x285 settings. I am pretty finicky about alignment and tire temperature distribution.