qwiketz

Hi there. How do both of these tires compare? From limited research it looks like the ra1's come from the factory with a little more tread and are an older r compound model. How do the two compare as treadlife is concerned? I drive on the street to the track and then home afterward. What would last better given a slight amount of street usage?

Gary(SF)

Since I believe they aren't making the RA1's any longer it's kind of a moot point. FWIW, I liked the RA1's better...they didn't heat cycle out like the 888's, you could run them til they corded.

qwiketz

Thanks for the input. I still see my 335's on eBay. The 888's are about $50 more for the same size.

Gary(SF)

Yeah, it's the fronts that are hard to find...in my size anyway (275/35x18)

qwiketz

I noticed that too. Bummer because that's the size I use on the front also....

matteo

I've gone through a couple of sets of R888's this year and if I can give my impression for what it's worth, then here goes. ***C6-Z06 w/ c-overs, adj. swaybars.
I found that they wear pretty well but do heat cycle out after a certain number of sessions. (long before they're corded)
They get kinda greasy when pushed for a while, but after an easy lap or two seem to come back up.
I have to say that I find them a bit snappy on corner entry, but that also could possibly have something to do with alignment or suspension adjustments. I'm still experimenting here.
I'm also comparing them to full slicks - which don't have these issues on my car.
I'd like to try some other R compounds to have more of a benchmark, and be more able to compare, but would guess that there might be something better out there.
I'd be very interested to hear what others think of these tires.

Gary(SF)

So how many sessions (cycles) are you getting before you notice a dropoff? What sizes are you using, and what pressures do you run? I've got a set of 285/30x18 and 335/30x18 sitting in the garage for when my RA1s are gone, which won't be long.

Cap'n Pete

I've run on RA1's before, and while I didn't like them at all when they were full tread depth, they were a whole new animal when they got worn down to "full slick". I think a shaved set would be ideal.

I've never run R888's, but the feedback I've gotten from pretty much everybody who has, is they're crap! Nowhere near the same performance as RA1's, and even IF they do perform "just as well", that doesn't last long.

I believe they began producing new RA1's again after a season or two of no production, but they're only in limited sizes for certain spec series, AFAIK?

gkmccready

IMO, you'll get about the same mileage out of both tires. The R888s typically like more pressure than the RA1s. The R888s make *a lot* more roadnoise if you're street driving on them. The RA1s are still in production, but in a reduced set of sizes. I run the R888s every day on my C6, work, cruising, track days, whatever.

Anybody that says the R888s are crap compared to the RA1s hasn't bothered to optimize their set up for the new tire...

VetteDrmr

How much more? I try to run my RA-1s in the upper 30s hot, what would the R888s want?

TIA, and have a good one,
Mike

Gary(SF)

I've heard some 888 users claim you have to run more pressure, and others say less...quite a lot of variance in opinion out there on these tires.

gkmccready

R888s seem like upper-30s through mid-40s. When I ran RA-1s I ran them mid-30s hot at most, usually a little below that. R888s seem to like a little less camber, too.

My two complaints with the R888s are that they go from what seems like optimal grip to greasy within a couple psi hot, and they're just loud if you drive them on the street. The whir they generate is annoying.

Check out: http://www.aimtire.com/typ_category....&ObjectID=6828

VetteDrmr

Thanks, that's some good info to chew on. I'm actually beginning to run an LS1-powered Miata on Toyo R888s and was wondering how to adjust based off my RA1 experience.

Have a good one,
Mike

Cap'n Pete

No offence, but I have to say, all of that sounds like everything an "R-Compound tire" is NOT supposed to be!!

So you're saying if you can't get them to work, you're just not "optimized" well. And running LESS camber is "optimized" for the track?? In general, as much camber as you can get is "ideal" for the track.

Sure, people who run street/track cars tend to run a compromise alignment, but why is it that you could run RA1's "successfully" with camber anywhere between -1° to -2°, and now the R888's need LESS than that?? Heck, I'm sure that RA1's weren't even "optimized" at such low camber, but they "worked" nonetheless.

And they have a shorter (heat cycle) life-span, and a narrower range of "optimum" pressures? Yeah, 'cause the weekend warrior crowd really has the TIME to do repeated back-to-back testing and comparison.

How come every other tire out there, you can pretty much "set it and forget it" (within reason, of course) and go? Sure, you'll always have those who spend more time dialing in their suspension and tires, but that's where the "tribal knowledge" is usually derived from, so the mass population can find out pretty easily where a good starting point usually lies. Unfortunately, the R888's don't seem to have ANY "generally accepted rules" about them, and the reports you do hear are all over the map (run them high, run them low, more camber, less camber) .....

..... essentially what I'm saying is, from everything I've read and heard (not first-hand myself, but from SEVERAL guys that I run with) they're virtually impossible to get setup "just right", and at the point you "think" you've got it, they heat-cycle out anyway .

Why do you think all the spec series who used to run RA1's, then were forced onto R888's, DEMANDED that Toyo bring back the RA1?? (and Toyo did!)

Again, I don't mean to target you specifically on this, but I have to say, there's been an UNDER-whelming response to R888's from just about everyone I've heard from since they came out in ~'08, or whatever year it was.

Of course, YMMV .

gkmccready

Don't disagree that they're a fickle tire. But show me another tire in the right sizes for my C6 that offers the same level of grip and longevity. It's all about trade-offs. They can be made to work, and FWIW, I'm at -1.8deg front, -1.3deg rear camber and getting good wear and grip from mine.

Cloaked323

Good to know I finally broke down and bought a set of these tires R888, and my camber setup up is pretty close to yours IIRC

Bill Dearborn

I purchased some used R888s from GT Racing and they worked well for both auto crossing and track days. They had been shaved and had 3 heat cycles on them. The only issue I had was that 305/35/18s were too big on the rims I was using. With 28 front and 26 rear cold pressures they reached ~ 37 psi after a 20 minute track session. Grip was great and seemed to stay that way and I picked up a couple of FTDs at the auto crosses I participated in. If I could get a smaller front tire I would still be running them but I really rolled the fronts over on my 9.5 rims and was basically running on the side walls Vs the tread area. Last week I was afraid I was going to cord the outer corner of the fronts so I switched to another set of tires.

Bill

Cap'n Pete

For the sizes you listed in your profile (assuming that's correct? 275 and 305, 18's?) you could get Nitto NT01's ... only difference is 315 rears instead of 305. They're more akin to RA1's than R888's, as far as I've heard so far. I ran a set on my C6 last year and they seemed to work well. I didn't have the optimum sizes at the time though, but their performance was good, and I didn't have much in the way of suspension or alignment done at the time either. Just a suggestion.

Since Toyo is the parent company of Nitto, their tires are all very "similar" .

matteo

I'm with Bill here on pressures - 27psi cold ~ 37 hot seems to be about right where I'm at. My sizes are 305 on 10" rims out front, and 335 on 12" rears - 18" wheels. My rear camber is neg. 1 deg. and I'll try maybe a half deg. more next time ( maybe zero the tow at the front also) to perhaps calm the turn-in somewhat snappy oversteer. We have a 5 day gig at the Glen in Sept. so should have lots of time to experiment.

TMyers

This is my first year on R888's and the first R-compound time I have run. I have to drive to and from track events. For autocross I shoot for 40psi hot cold at the start of the run. Anything less and I roll over the tire. For HPDE's I start at about 32psi and end up just above 40psi.

Autocross is about a 200 mile round trip, up to 400 for a HPDE. The tires where new this year and not counting the event have about 2000 miles on them. Have done 2 HDPE's with 9, 20 minute sessions. Compared to my Kuhmo XS's these stick like glue once they warm up.

Concerning camber I am maxed out front and rear, 1.7 front, 1.0 rear. It is not enough. They work here but I figure you need to be at least 2.0 to get the most out of the tire. My outside is wearing much to fast. This off season I will get a camber kit so I can dial in more camber.