Toyo R888 R

The Toyo R888 R is a Trackday and Competition Summer tyre designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.

Tyre review data from 26 tyre reviews averaging 77% over 70,446 miles driven, and 3 tests with an average result of 4th.

Dry Grip 93%
Wet Grip 64%
Road Feedback 85%
Handling 88%
Wear 64%
Comfort 63%
Buy again 80%

First On MarketFebruary 2016
Wheel Size13 - 20"
Width185 - 315mm
Profile30 - 60
Rolling ResistanceD - D
Wet GripD - D
Noise (dB)70 - 75
Winter RatingNot Winter Rated

The R888 R is ranked 18th of 37 Summer Trackday and Competition tyres.

This tyre replaced the Toyo R888.

Tests Included

3

Best Result

2nd

Worst Result

5th

Average Result

4th

Latest Tyre Test Results

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S vs Cup 2 vs Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3 vs 3R vs Toyo R888R
4th of 5 tyres
  • The Toyo R888R is a difficult tyre to drive at the very limit. At 8/10th the tyre feels sporty with direct steering and a nice weighting, however when you get to the limit the tyres balance moves around without much feedback, and once past the limit of grip is oversteers very quickly. The tyre also produces a lot of tread pattern noise at speed.
View Full Test >>
2017 Track Day Tyre Test
5th of 5 tyres
  • Short dry braking, low price.
  • Slowest during the dry and wet handling laps, longest wet braking, weakest aquaplaning result. Very noisy.
View Full Test >>
2017 Sport Auto UHP and Track Day Test
2nd of 10 tyres
  • Good wet traction for a semi slick, high grip and good steering in the dry
  • Very nervous in wet handling, very noisy
  • Particularly recommended
View Full Test >>

SizeFuelWetNoise
14 inch
185/60 R14 82 VDD70
15 inch
195/55 R15 89 V XLDD72
View All Sizes and EU Label Scores for the Toyo R888 R >>

Questions and Answers for the Toyo R888 R

2016-08-25 - Good morning, I"m just curious what the Treadwear rating is on these tires?

The treadwear rating of the Toyo Proxes R888R varies by size, full information can be found on the Toyo website.


2017-02-23 - I'm wondering regarding left and right tire tread.. On left tire tread going up,but right tire tread going down.. Is that normal? I usually fiited my GTR R888,but i want to try this new R888R.. I just wonder regarding the tire tread.. Regards AFIQ AFIAT

The Toyo R888R is an asymmetric tyre, so there will be some variance between the looks on the left and right sides of the vehicle. This is normal, and won't affect the tyres performance.


2017-07-20 - How long mileage wise would a set of R888R's last on average?

The mileage of the R888R will be massively dependant on usage as track days will shorten the life considerably. In purely road miles, a guess would be around 3-4000.


2022-09-23 - Could I use these tyres on the road driving in normal conditions ?

You can legally use the R888R on the road ay any time, however they will have much lower grip in the wet than a normal road tyre, and during the colder winter months it is really not advisable.


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YouTube Review

Top 3 Toyo R888 R Reviews

Given 86% while driving a Mitsubishi Evolution V (225/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 5,000 average miles
Its an amazing tyre, in all conditions, except the wet!
Helpful 35 - tyre reviewed on January 4, 2023
Given 77% while driving a Honda Prelude (205/50 R16) on track for 500 spirited miles
These are my first semislick tires. Not new. Slightly used , two years old. Results were shocking ! I read some reviews they last long on track. I guess these are just legends made by retired people driving to mall and back or slow posers. Front right was destroyed in 15 minutes ! Even faster than high performance street tires i used before. The track i use to have fun is very tight and technical and has 3 consecutive right hand corners . Total of 9 right corners and 3 left corners . Front right was boiling and ripped. 5 laps and pause. 4 times and good bye right front R888R. Pressure 2.2Bar hot. Cornering speed feels amazing compared with Turanza Er300 but overall Toyo are just one second faster/lap. But even on Turanza i can beat most street cars on semislick on this track Times i did on Toyo were super good for car's specs but just not so impressive as it feels . They feel 3-4 seconds faster compared with street Bridgestone but overall it was just one second. Braking is poor compared with cornering capabilities. Sidewall very rough. Driving to the track 100mp/h on public road they were good. No noise or other issues. In wet i can't tell. Still my S2000 on Potenza S02 is faster than my Prelude on R888R. Somehow i am disappointed with them and even more impressed with GranTurismo cover tire, S02..
Helpful 35 - tyre reviewed on November 9, 2022
Given 89% while driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 (235/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 5,000 average miles
EXCELLENT TYRE IN ALL CONDITIONS
Helpful 40 - tyre reviewed on June 26, 2022
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Latest Toyo R888 R Reviews

Given 31% while driving a Mazda Mazda Miata (205/45 R16) on track for 0 spirited miles
After running four sets of these tires, at High Plains Raceway, Sonoma Raceway, and Laguna Seca, I can't say I am quite impressed of the tires. They seem to melt too easily and the grip drops like a rock once you get a degree too hot. It also didn't help when I had poor suspension, but even with a whole new suspension system (talking about coilovers, control arms, drop spindles, the whole pizza), the tires feel a bit dated. This is by no means a diss or a bash towards Toyo, as they do make good tires, this review may not seem the best either, from my experience however, I have posted consistently slow lap times because of these tires. I do hope Toyo will make a new compound as well as design in the near future.

TLDR: Not recommended for use of track.
Helpful 11 - tyre reviewed on March 4, 2024
Given 66% while driving a Mercedes Benz C63 AMG (255/35 R19) on a combination of roads for 4,000 spirited miles
On a dry sunny day once heated up there unbeatable, unfortunately the only place you can get triple 8s warm is on a track. If you live in a built up area and do the odd blast then the tires will fail to perform the way they’re meant too.
I drive a performance rear wheel drive car and in the wet there useless. Stick to a good all round road tire.
Helpful 19 - tyre reviewed on November 2, 2023
What to know the BEST All Season Tyres for 2024? Click to find out!
Given 39% while driving a Mazda MX5 2.0 SE (ND 2015 onwards) (205/45 R17) on track for 112 miles
I’ve struggled with this tyre, I simply don’t trust them, on one hand the tyre turns in so fast and inspires confidence but almost instantly seems to be unable to hold its own turn in line and drifts and moves, I completed a fast session recently and was really disappointed with the way the tyre moves around even in straight lines, and was surprised to find they were barely warm at the end of the session? I played around with tyre pressure and did feel some improvement dropping the pressure to 20psi from 26psi but not enough to warrant using them again. In the dry fitted to a 950kg race prepped 220bhp MX5 NA I didn’t think this tyre was good enough, I’ve never once been nervous in a race or track session but genuinely was, the car moved around, was nervous and under braking was fun but nose was everywhere, I honestly thought there was an issue with the car, so for the safety of myself and others abandoned the session to ensure car was OK, switched back to my Michelin set up and set my fastest lap of the day two laps in and then continually lapped 8 seconds a lap faster with Michelins than I did with the Toyo’s. Track. Conditions were dry 23c ambient but cloudy and track was dry for at least a week. Excelled at ion was strong with this tyre, initial turn in very very good, but won’t hold the line, moves about mid corner, and under heavy braking whilst strong, the car moved around a lot making it difficult for me to balance the car before turn in. Ive used Toyo road tyres with great results but feel the compound of these tyres do not suit UK tracks and definitely required tyre warmers.
Helpful 24 - tyre reviewed on June 15, 2023
Given 81% while driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII (235/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 9 average miles
Have very good traction in the dry, and a good wet traction, for a semi slick
Helpful 26 - tyre reviewed on January 4, 2023
Given 87% while driving a Lotus Elise (225/45 R17) on track for 10,000 spirited miles
I use this tire for mostly track. Great tire for running hard, it likes a little heat. Very predictable! Good wear for a track use tire. Not really made for the wet. Limited channels to run off water but for dry, great tire.
Helpful 39 - tyre reviewed on February 25, 2022
Given 86% while driving a Mitsubishi Evolution X (245/40 R18) on a combination of roads for 8,000 spirited miles
Fantastic Tyre in Dry - there Even good in the Wet (On an Evo) no tyre squeal, lasted 9 Month approx. 8000miles Only downside, there noisy on motorway drives, a slight drowning sound
Helpful 33 - tyre reviewed on January 9, 2022
Given 73% while driving a Cadillac 2014 ctsv (/40 R19) on track for 4,000 spirited miles
Good for high horsepower applications they definitely have their limits around 700whp and wore quite fast mast 4000 miles but oh were they nice while they lasted
Helpful 33 - tyre reviewed on October 5, 2021
Given 57% while driving a Lotus Exige S (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 2,000 spirited miles
A very good track tyre for a reasonable budget. I replaced it as a cheaper variant of the Yokohama AD048 (LTS- medium compound and special stiff sidewall), which is no longer produced. It simply has all the pros and cons of the semislick tyres- it must warm up for a good function, it's noisy, limited function on water and in the cold. In the dry they are (for 1 tone car) excelent. Very stiff sidewall. When balancing, it was necessary to use often over 100 g weights for almost all pieces, in all dimensions. On my car and with this dimension (Lotus Exige S240, rear axle 225/235x45 R17) a very bad longevity. Around 2000 miles and they were pretty over the limit. I'm not drifting at all. This has never happened to me before or after with other tires. On the front axle (195x50 R16) over 10 000 miles.
Helpful 43 - tyre reviewed on January 19, 2021
Given 89% while driving a Honda FK2 type r (235/35 R19) on a combination of roads for 500 average miles
Really impressed with the amount of grip with hard rain
Helpful 39 - tyre reviewed on July 15, 2020
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