R888R Track Review at NCCAR (video / pics)

[kramard]

I had the chance to try my new 295 R888R setup over the weekend. Went down to NCCAR in hopes of getting within a second of my lap time on 305 Trofeos... needless to say, the mission was a resounding success! My best lap on my Trofeos was a 1:34.83 vs a 1:35.15 on the R888R and the tires (and driver!) have more left in them.

A couple of things...

• The rears are extremely sensitive to tire pressure - you can see / hear it in the video. 29 f / 29 r lead to 34 f / 37 r. I ended up settling on 28 f / 27 r and think I should have really done 28f / 26r to have confidence in the rear. With the 295s the car's handling is razor sharp.
• The R888Rs are much looser than the Trofeo - even when managing pressure. I don't believe I had to bleed as much as the Trofeo through out the day. I don't know that I'd call them a real R compound tire. They don't feel as sticky but man they can be fast.
• They seem to wear less then the Trofeos. Even with the sliding no flat spots, blisters or concerning wear. I'll get a depth gauge to measure wear outside and center wear.
• The R888R recovers a slide much nicer then a Trofeo - I'd NEVER drive my car like this on Trofeos. The hook up is much faster, scarier and aggressive making the risk to play too high. These don't get nearly the slip angle that the Trofeos do either.

I was instructing in two groups on Sunday so I wasn't able to look at my data and think about my own driving as much as I would have liked. Unfortunately, that lead to Harry's misbehaving and me not having time to troubleshoot. The limited data I did get showed the tire was very consistent hot but I was running too much rear PSI to push the car in my earlier sessions. The one fast lap I do have data on demonstrated a 1:35.87 and I was taking it easy on the brakes into 1. Virtual best dropped from 1:34.6 to 1:33.8 and that doesn't include splits from my faster laps later in the day that I missed data on. Time to go buy a Vbox sport.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the 295s on all four corners. For the money, its an amazing way to play. The R888Rs appear to be close to Trofeo speeds at 1/2 the cost (new). I also cannot begin to explain how much fun I had sliding the car around. I still ogle over Chris Harris videos and it was fun to start to look outside the side windows.

Bottom line... I LOVE THIS CAR!

Couple of pics of wear, fitment and data attached for your pleasure.

Enjoy the video! Was practicing my oversteer skills


Pics:
1. Fit from front
2. Fit from rear
3. Front fitment
4. Rear fitment
5. 305 Trofeo R (red line) lat g vs 295 R888R (gray line)
6. 305 Trofeo R (red line) speed vs 295 R888R (gray line)
7. Front wear after 1K street miles and 6 heat cycles
8. Rear wear after 1k street miles and 6 heat cycles

[SDTWDirect]

Very nice and well-detailed review! I have been considering trying these out at a later time (currently on Proxes T1 Sports for street). Hopefully I did not miss any prior posts, but did you ever consider the 305 NT05R or 315 NT01?

-AL of SDTW Direct

[Chris93Si]

Great review, couple questions, are the R888s 30 series and how much camber are you running?

[himmy33]

Great review. Loved the video!

[kramard]

Originally Posted by SDTWDirect

Very nice and well-detailed review! I have been considering trying these out at a later time (currently on Proxes T1 Sports for street). Hopefully I did not miss any prior posts, but did you ever consider the 305 NT05R or 315 NT01?

-AL of SDTW Direct

Hey Al -

I didn't look at the NT05R as its a drag radial... I did however look at a 305 NT01. The NT01 / RE71R look equally as fast (http://www.prima-racing.com/bridgest...king-part-two/) so I decided to try the latest shinny object and see how it does. The 305 NT01 (tires direct, free shipping) and 295 R888R (tirerack) are about the same price but I was able to get the R888R for my track day in time.

I'll probably try the 305 NT01 next and the RE71R after that. I'm worried I'll overdrive the RE71R to get the laptime but we'll see!

After seeing some R888s shaved I got confidence there was a lot of material to heat cycle out and cording shouldn't be an issue...

[kramard]

Originally Posted by Chris93Si

Great review, couple questions, are the R888s 30 series and how much camber are you running?

What's the 30 series? Sorry not sure what that is.

I'm running 1.6 upfront, 1.0 in the rear and .2 total toe r. I can find my alignment sheet to be sure. On street tires (Conti DWs) the rear didn't feel great under braking but on the R888Rs the rear feels planted. I noticed an increase in Lat G on my from Conti DWs from 1.0+ to ~1.1ish (rounding) so more bite from the front.

The trofeo laptime was on the stock alignment so its possible the Trofeos have some more time in them with a better alignment.

[kramard]

Originally Posted by himmy33

Great review. Loved the video!

Thanks! Been living off a high all week. With lots of fun laps and lots of clean laps it was just a perfect outing. I was much better on the brakes and corner entry (which was my goal) - also I worked the car less to get a fast lap time which felt nice too. Even though it was a 95 degree day I didn't see more then 210 - 215 coolant and 263 oil.

[Chris93Si]

Originally Posted by kramard

What's the 30 series? Sorry not sure what that is.

I just meant the aspect ratio like 295/30/19. Thanks for the info.

[kramard]

Originally Posted by Chris93Si

I just meant the aspect ratio like 295/30/19. Thanks for the info.

Got it - yup it's the 295/30/19

[Fedzl1]

Originally Posted by kramard

Got it - yup it's the 295/30/19

Do you think 305 Toyo may provide better grip on the rear? Been actually considering this tires.

Also, can you use Stock camber alignment of Trofeo Tires on these?

[kramard]

Originally Posted by Fedzl1

Do you think 305 Toyo may provide better grip on the rear? Been actually considering this tires.

Also, can you use Stock camber alignment of Trofeo Tires on these?

I do think the 305s would be less loose but the r888r while fast is not as sticky as a Trofeo or Hoosier.

My car was extra loose because:

- I had too much rear air pressure. I'm almost sure 28f / 26 r would have removed any unintended lift off oversteer. Each time I dropped rear pressure the rear materially behaved
- the 295s have a slight stretch on their sidewall, making the car responsive at the cost of true cornering grip and limits
- NCCAR has sand around and underneath it - this was the first truly hot weekend in the east and folks were saying sand and oils come up early in the hot season. A couple very good drivers said they thought the track was much slicker then normal.

Also, stock alignment has some safety understeer built in I believe. You'd just have to check your outside wear on either the 295 or 305 to determine the best pressure. I bet you the re71r is pretty close to the same speed as the r888r but has a tendency to be gripper and is a few bucks cheaper then 4 305 r888rs.

I'm by no means someone that should be giving track tire advice. If anyone has different thoughts can you advise? Don't want to mislead with any of the above.