Toyo R888 R Reviews - Page 2

Given 81% while driving a Skoda Fabia 2 1.6 (205/40 R17) on track for 3,100 spirited miles
After trying some cheap chinese trackay tires (goodride sport rs), I decided to step up the size and the quality of the tires. Searched the same size as skoda says form factory, and then went for the r888r. Same course, same car, instantly more feedback, more sharp response, grip levels that made a compact car briskier than ever. Managed to shave 2 seconds of the previous time, less flex on the sidewall, more speed on the curves. Be carefull, first few laps in a underpowered car, can be tricky by the lack of temp of the tires. 2 warming laps, problem solved. Decided only rotating from side, not from axle to see the wear on them, and lets say grip demands wear for sure. 5 trackdays and a 800 km trip back from a course and the fronts are now in the wear marks. The rears, only 2mm wear. Please consider that the average weather here is 30 celsius avg in summer. Those in the uk or europe can see less wear difinitely because of the colder climate conditions. Now hoping that covid eases the life to get back on the track, still got some decent grip in the fronts so lets push it to the limits. 30 psi cold 38 psi hot rear 30 psi cold in 35 psi hot If you like to send more tail happiness, 34 cold , so you can reach 38 psi. Toyo says 32 38 is the optimal psi. Definitely gonna purchase some more...
Helpful 36 - tyre reviewed on May 18, 2020
Given 81% while driving a Caterham 1.6 K Roadsport (185/60 R13) on track for 1,500 spirited miles
he car I had came fitted with a set of Yokohama A539 tyres. Designed for normal passenger car use they needed significantly more than 500kg on top of them and they were hopeless. Zero grip, got hot, became squirmy and unpredictable and were hopeless on track. Id driven on the ZZS quite a lot but wasn't sure if Avon merited the price premium, and the tyre size wasn't ideal for my model so I opted for the R888R in GG compound.

Shortly after I had a chance at Croft to compare three Caterham's with ZZR, ZZS and the R888R.

Initial impressions are that in the bone dry with all other considerations gone, the ZZR is king. Genuinely a superb stable high performance tyre that stays on the boil for a significant amount of time. I'd suggest a window of at least 10 laps where the tyre was on perfect form. Then a slow transition into being slightly more slippery and excess tyre wear as the temperature increases.

The ZZS is a superb road tyre for a Caterham. Remarkably useful in the wet and even down to quite low temperatures, and works very well on a track as long as you limit your sessions to say 6-8 laps. After this again the transition into slightly less predictable begins and the car just becomes very slidey!

The R888R was somewhere in between the two extremes. I felt that the Toyos offered ALMOST ZZR performance but at a fairly significant discount. They were definitely better from cold than the ZZS and lasted a little longer before going off. They also worked almost as well on the road as a ZZS, dealing with water pretty well. The R888R stayed on my car.

Downsides: the R888R is a heavier tyre with a stiffer sidewall, so this makes them a little less comfortable and adds a touch of unsprung weight to a light car, but their benefits generally outweighed these issues.

Ultimately I feel budget and requirement would dictate which you'd have. On a modern Caterham where ride height and sump layouts allow the smaller ratios, I'd suggest pick either a ZZR/S. But for older academy cars based on 175/70/13 tyres, going down to a 185/55/13 was just too much. The toyo in 185/60/13 was a better bet, with a small tweak to ride height.
Helpful 48 - tyre reviewed on April 5, 2019
Given 41% while driving a Porsche 991.1 GT3 RS (265/35 R19 W) on track for 200 spirited miles
This is a slow tire. I'm not sure how this tire is getting so many positive reviews. Maybe it's good for a lightweight vehicle or in smaller sizes. But I think it's no good for modern heavy cars which typically weighs more than 1400kg, or in bigger sizes. Grip is low and your laptime will suffer. This stand no chance against the track-focused tires, such as A050 GS, 03G, because it's quite a bit slower than some road tires, like RE-71R. Also, this tire is pretty heavier than other tires in same size which may contributes its slowness.
Helpful 53 - tyre reviewed on February 7, 2019
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Given 67% while driving a Peugeot 308 GTi by P.S. 200Kw (235/35 R18 W) on track for 0 spirited miles
track use only, impressive dry grip, short braking distance, maybe the best of all-considering Michelin ps4s and other top tires , on wet it is terrible, great cornering but a little hard to handle, very short life, a heavy tire, for track days i will buy again and again.
Helpful 33 - tyre reviewed on January 9, 2019
Given 89% while driving a Renault clio 197 (215/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 300 average miles
Got them fitted on a Clio 197 and was a bit nervous at the beginning in the wet but they out handled my road tyres and I was very surprised how much grip it had on wet roads, but amazing in the dry and I haven’t had the chance to warm them up properly. Bit noisy and can feel the road a lot more but would honestly buy another set after these!
Helpful 35 - tyre reviewed on March 26, 2018
Given 54% while driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 (235/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 1,000 spirited miles
Extremely noisy, very soft tyre. Good for track days. Great on smooth dry tarmac. Not as bad as you would think in the wet but dangerous in standing water/aquaplaning conditions. Forget them if you have powerful road car. I got about 1000 miles out of fronts and a bit more from backs. Track days only. Look great but unless you want to go around a race track 2 seconds quicker per lap don't bother.
Helpful 40 - tyre reviewed on February 22, 2018
Given 96% while driving a (225/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 7,000 average miles
I write this review for anyone who has wheelspin problems but also wants to feel confortable in car without noises.
You can buy these tires blindfolded. Absolute grip minimal to none noise! Perfect road feel and steering feedback.
I went from a lot of semi-slicks and finally I found the mother load
Helpful 101 - tyre reviewed on June 27, 2017
Given 93% while driving a SEAT Leon Cupra R 370 hp 465 Nm (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
Hi folks, writing especially for those who search reviews about R888R. Tested those at Leon 1M Cupra R 1M BAM @ K04-064 hybrid - 370hp / 465 Nm FWD. Dry grip best ever, full traction on every gear and excellent conditions during fast tight turns. Like glued to the ground. The tyre edges are very strong, so the car dosen't sway on corners. On wet - no traction during acceleration, but still very good driving capabilities, cornering excellent. Dry braking - 10/10. Wet braking 9/10 (cmon it's wet). Tyres are noisy a bit. On wet even more, but something for something. My opinion overall - dry 10/10. Wet. 9/10. Wear is ok. Buy again? Surely.
Helpful 47 - tyre reviewed on April 22, 2016
Given 97% while driving a Alfa Romeo (190/50 R15) on track for 125 spirited miles
Fitted these on my 2nd Alfa 155 for a trackday, the dry grip they provide is by any means outstanding, the cornering speeds the car reached were almost on the edge of being described as ridiculous! They seem to be gripping quite well too on wet roads I must say. Up to about 80-90 km/h they are quite but at higher speeds they make some considerable noise.

They did wear very little after a total of 30 laps, "pedal to the metal" action, probably because I had insisted on aligning the wheels as perfectly as possible.

Will be using them again on the next trackday, they can cope with at least as many laps again for sure.
Helpful 123 - tyre reviewed on January 13, 2016
Given 91% while driving a Mazda MX5 (195/50 R15) on a combination of roads for 100 spirited miles
Just got them fitted today and this is an initial review based on about 30 kilometers of spirited street driving. Grip level on the streets is just wicked. Have not yet tested on track or in wet conditions, but if anything like their predecessor, the grip should be very good if the surface is wet, but without pools of water.

These are actually very quiet to up to about 80 km/h, but after that they start to make quite a lot of noise. Other than that the comfort level is comparable to any regular summer tire.

Steering feedback is quite good but with 4 degress of caster, they don't center quite as well as my previous Federal RS-R:s did.
Helpful 61 - tyre reviewed on June 17, 2015