Experience/Thoughts on Toyo R888R tires

I'm working on getting race tires for my $2017 Challenge car, and thus far have not had much luck in finding cheap (or free) take-offs that will fit either of the wheels I have so I've been looking at finding a decent budget-friendly (as in my personal budget, not the Challenge budget...) race tires. By far the most cost effective (read: cheapest) that I've found are the Toyo R888R's which are about $130 apiece. However, there are no reviews of them on TireRack- so I'm curious if anyone here has used them and what they think.

The car they'll be going on is my Challenge Riviera- so not by any stretch a small or light car, so turning is going to be its biggest challenge.

They're new for this year. I don't know anybody who has run them yet. I wonder how they compare to RE-71Rs

I haven't driven on the new R888Rs but I've done a few autocross runs on R888s, they're pretty good, they feel similar to a Dunlop Z1SS.

do your tires need to be streetable?

Can you run 15's?

Try American Racer tires... bias ply slicks, non-DOT

They are pretty cheap and should be almost as fast as hoosiers

Cactus wrote: They're new for this year. I don't know anybody who has run them yet. I wonder how they compare to RE-71Rs

They're not really in the same performance category are they?

I rode in an Exige with R888s this past weekend. Holy crapola. They do stick.

What size tires are you looking for? 15" take off Hoosiers are gonna be your best bet in cost vs performance.

KyAllroad wrote: What size tires are you looking for? 15" take off Hoosiers are gonna be your best bet in cost vs performance.

Right now primarily 16" tires- they're the wheels the Riv came with so would be zero budget hit. I figure getting a set of 15" wheels will be around $100 or so depending on how fortunate I am. I've also got a set of 17's for the Riv, but since those have nearly new all-season tires on them at the moment vs. the old and questionable tires on the 16's that I'd prefer to keep the 17's for street use.

To answer the earlier question- no, these don't have to be streetable- they'll be race-only tires as I'll have another set for street use.

Toyo needs a new letter.

Toyo RR
Toyo R1R
Toyo RA1
Toyo R888
Toyo R888R

I've not tried the R888R yet, but I'm really happy with the RR are a pure race, no street tire. The R888R would be streetable.

Blaise wrote:

Cactus wrote: They're new for this year. I don't know anybody who has run them yet. I wonder how they compare to RE-71Rs

They're not really in the same performance category are they?

Track focused, street legal, and they wear out quickly. Sounds like the exact same category to me.

The tire I'm really hoping to get my hands on is the new Hankook RS-4. I've got a set of RS-3s that have lots of tread left from a lot of abuse, apart from the one flat spot on all 4 where I learned (the hard way) that I was using ABS as a crutch.

The R888R is a shorter lived tire than the RE71R. The Toyo is a streetable track tire, the Bridgestone is a trackable street tire.

Keith Tanner wrote: The R888R is a shorter lived tire than the RE71R. The Toyo is a streetable track tire, the Bridgestone is a trackable street tire.

And yet, unless the 888r is noticeably faster than the 888, the RE71 will still set the faster lap.

Keith Tanner wrote: Toyo needs a new letter. Toyo RR Toyo R1R Toyo RA1 Toyo R888 Toyo R888R I've not tried the R888R yet, but I'm really happy with the RR are a pure race, no street tire. The R888R would be streetable.

But R means RACE!

ztnedman1 wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: The R888R is a shorter lived tire than the RE71R. The Toyo is a streetable track tire, the Bridgestone is a trackable street tire.

And yet, unless the 888r is noticeably faster than the 888, the RE71 will still set the faster lap.

That's more a function of how the R888 isn't a great track tire than a reflection of the performance category they're in. I've never liked the R888. I use the RR instead. Far more grip. If I don't want that cost, I go RA1 or NT01 for life and friendliness. I have been using the RE71R quite a bit for the past 8 months, but never done a direct comparison.

z31maniac wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: Toyo needs a new letter. Toyo RR Toyo R1R Toyo RA1 Toyo R888 Toyo R888R I've not tried the R888R yet, but I'm really happy with the RR are a pure race, no street tire. The R888R would be streetable.

But R means RACE!

SO MUCH RACE!

We call Toyos pirate tires.

I need to put some miles on those RRs. A bud of mine says RRs have awful feel compared to BFG R1s (that's plural, not R1Ss) and are slower. That's on a 350z, which is a much heavier than most Miatas, for what that's worth.

The R1 doesn't come in a worthwhile size for me, so I haven't tried it. How do they last compared to the RR? One thing I like about the Toyo is that they're not delicate - heat cycles don't seem to bother them much.

Are they back to lasting forever like RA1s? I seem to remember R888s heat cycling out. Not that I raced on them personally, but I recall a lot of complaints when spec Miata moved away from RA1s.

Ra1s were a pretty amazing compromise between grip and longevity. My rival esses last 1/2 as long or less.

The only real test I have seen of the r888r. Worth a read. Tire test

In reply to Keith Tanner:

They need to call a tire R80 for that. (Say with a pirate accent )

Papabear wrote: The only real test I have seen of the r888r. Worth a read. Tire test

Anyone else unable to get anything on that website between the top and bottom menus to load?