R888 Tyres - Astonishing Value for Money

[Rusti Evo]

X8 GTR has done 10 trackdays + road miles on the Toyos and I reckon by swapping left to right there is another 8 or 10 left in them!! To my amazement there is still 4mm on the fronts.

It would be a good experiment to do a back to back test against the V70A as I feel the overall grip is maybe less with the R888. The typical R888 slight swirminess when they get hot is present. However, for me the overwhelming advantage of the R888 is to be freed from the constant worry of running tyres with less than legal tread depth.

[LuckyP]

Rusti Evo said:

X8 GTR has done 10 trackdays.....

....and not one video

It's very selfish, you know Stuart, to keep all that fun to yourself!!

I agree, R888 are fantastic tyres for the money.

Are all the clearance issues sorted now with these sizes?

[Wilder]

Glad I brought the virtues of the R888 up ages ago.
It has to be the best tyre out there period (in my book anyway).
I would not use anything else now.
BTW Stuart, have you used the cannards on the track yet?

Edited by Wilder on Sunday 23 August 10:47

[Rusti Evo]

No clearance issues on track, although may just catch a smidge crashing around the back roads - just get shot of most the wheel arch return on the front clip and reinforce with glass fibre.

Canards fitted for mega hot Brands Wednesday and Goodwood yesterday. I think there is a improvement in stability through Fordwater but it probably takes a better driver than me to assess that properly. The canards look the absolute t1ts and get lots of admiring comment (although thats not really my scene)


Sorry lousy snap....

[LuckyP]

Wilder said:

...It has to be the best tyre out there period (in my book anyway).
I would not use anything else now....

Have you tried V70s?

[GTWayne]

The 888's have been around for a while now and at last folk have generally come to accept they are good value V performance and they seem to have become the trackdayer's favourite as a result. For the Ultima I don't think there is a more suitable tyre available to encompass road and track use combined and as there is no way that you can even think about driving to the track on road tyres and carry a set of spares with you in the car ( as you can with say, a BMW e36 for example ) it does indeed seem like a no brainer but what will we do in a few years when, if legislation looks like going the way it is intended, this type of tyre becomes illegal for use on UK roads?
Make hay whilst the sun shines I guess.

[Rusti Evo]

In the garage next to me at Brands I met a delightful chap called Des with this Sport with thunderous soundtrack. Des had a fantastic day going out all the time.

He was running 315 V70A and when he came in the tyres were almost superglue sticky. The V70A didn't appear to melt quite as much as 888's. Des reported ZERO understeer and reckoned he could just chuck it in as hard as he liked.

[UltimaCH]

From the looks at the front, he certainly did some excellent bug splattering

[Wilder]

I think Waynes comment sums it up. For road and track together ,the R88 is probably the best -its not good if your tyres are illegal after one trackday.....
Nice pic Stuart btw tx.

Edited by Wilder on Sunday 23 August 17:23

[San Diego GTR]

I'm really glad to hear all of this positive thinking on the R888's. I just bought the 315's below for $200 including shipping. I still need to buy the fronts but they only use the 265's on the race teams they work with so maybe I'll just buy the 245's new.
Paul

[andygtt]

I saw you going round Brands but you disapeared before we could come and say hello... I did the evening in my M3... must admit it was good to see 2 ultimas out on track

[Rusti Evo]

andygtt said:

I saw you going round Brands but you disapeared before we could come and say hello... I did the evening in my M3... must admit it was good to see 2 ultimas out on track

Apologies for not saying hello. That blazing sun was just way too hot in the GTR after lunch and I started to make the occasional mistake, so decided to run away when the luck was with me.

[UltimaCH]

No aircon in the car?

[tommyRS4]

Hi guys i was there also nice to talk to the two ultima guys made me want to get mine finished faster! had a good time round there in my megane though was going quite well!

[Rusti Evo]

Hi Tom, many thanks for saying hello ( I was the old git in the black GTR )

Really really interested to see details of your build progress ................sounds awesome

[tommyRS4]

Hi Stuart once ive made some serious progress and some major decisions will take some pictures and post them up!

[V8Dom]

looking like I will have to look at getting some tyres soon..

I see the factory only offer Pirelli and Kumo tyres nowadays.

So what is the latest word on the streets for best tyre choice. Mostly fast road, track days as well next year..

Ive got Goodyears fitted at the moment 1 rear illegal, 1 nearly, 1 front mid worn, other one very good.( I do have a spare nearly new rear sitting in the garage which has had a proffessional punchure repair too).

Do I sell the very good rear and decent fronts and invest in a complete set or try and find a dealer who I can get a goodyear from to match the spare I have?

and whos the best dealer for price in the UK that will do posted

Dom

[Steve_D]

V8Dom said:

.....or try and find a dealer who I can get a goodyear from to match the spare I have?.....

I believe they are no longer available. I very much doubt you will find any old stock.

steve

[Rusti Evo]

I am running R888 on the new car and they really are excellent - although there are a couple of negatives. There is always availability problems with these and I have been scouring Europe for some more rears. Toyo and Camskill are not anticipating stock until into 2011. An obvious statement but they don't like standing water. Silly o'clock Wednesday morning with frost damp required proper caution on roundabouts but is not as scary as you might think. Rumour has it that R888s will be dropped soon as they cannot comply with new EU tyre noise regulation.

I'm guessing it would be difficult for the factory to recommend the R888 for standard fitment as safety in bad weather conditions is dependant on the driver having a sensible and experienced head on.

It will be interesting to do a back to back test soon against the V70A. My guess is that the Kumho is the better and more grippy tyre but their shallow tread depth rules them out for road use for me.

My limited experience:

Goodyear old type F1 and Michelin Pilots:- Hard compunds, rears spin up easily

Fioranos:- Excellent all round road tyre - tread pattern punches through puddles well

V70A:- Good grip, heavier steering, short legal road life, aquaplanes

R888:- Long life, grip, good compromise road/trackday, don't be a hooligan in the wet

[spatz]

what is the smallest width R888 that you can fir on the rear rims ?