TOYO R888 Soft Compound

[Billy-G]

I had 4 of these bad boys turn up on Saturday, 13 inch, for the original fit alloys I'm putting back on the car.

Question is, I am asured by Camskill that they are the new 'soft compound'; anybody used them before and liked them? Or are they a bit sheeite?

I can leave a mark in them with a fingernail. Thats soft all right!

Anyone else use these to keep them out of the local hedgerows of an evening?

[yrrab nostaw]

had them on my vx and they stick like glue in the dry but useless in the wet.
dont last very long though. 8k on the vx

[Billy-G]

Fair play G. I'll leave the car in the garage in the wet. She doesn't like rain anyways (says the man who has a tim of underseal on his desk shouting 'Use Me You Prick')

8k on the Vx? Sounds about right:laugh:

[dangerous dave]

8k?? im sure im well into my GG at about 1500miles, i dont think i'll see 4k:cry:

[paul b]

I have only tried the standard compounds...on the front I only get 1500 miles ish ..rears are over 4000 miles now and still good.

guess my trackdays are harsh......LOL

[Billy-G]

Should be getting ready to change them about Christmas then if thats how they wear:laugh:

Allison (wife) seen them when the courior delivered them, and asked me 'Why are you buying part worn tyres? There's almost no tread left on them!'

Must not drive in the wet. Must now drive in the wet. Must not drive in the wet.

[dangerous dave]

mine are coming off soon, 15's on till the weather picks up again.. it means they'll last me that bit more and i wont stuff it into a hedge.. they really are twitchy in the wet:scared:

[paul b]

I was at Bedford on friday in the very very wet....

R888's all the way......loads of rear end drifting on track at 70MPH.....no major scares.....

then it rained more and we all had lots of spins...even guys on full wet roadtyres and ESP switches were going for 360' spins.....so much fun..

[Duncan Grier]

Soft compound is SG, GG is the medium compound ;)

I used to get 5K out of a set on the VAG 5 with some track abuse in there. Run the R888's on the VX also and think it is about the same although that camber is killing the insdie at a healty rate lol

R888's are fine in the wet, just change your driving style - it is when they are cold they will bite!

I ran soft on the rear of my 5 and meduim on the front which worked well for me - helped get the temps right front and back :)

Although the VX with it stiff suspension in heavy puddles makes for interesting corrective steering lol

[Duncan Grier]

Although this is refering to the VX220's it is still an interesting read and relevent to running R888's on any car.

My name is Alan Meaker, I am the Motorsport Manager for Toyo Tyres (UK) Ltd.

I was at Rockingham on the Saturday 1ST March at the LOT trackday and worked with a couple of cars using our R888 tyre regarding pressures and tread temperatures.

What I would like to do is to offer some advice on tyre temperatures and pressures and how to achieve the best from our tyres when taking part in either trackdays or racing.

The R888 has a semi race construction (very stiff) and a race tread compound. The optimum tread temperature range is between 85C and 95C measured using a probe type pyrometer, and ideally a maximum difference across the tread of 9C. The maximum hot pressure we recommend is 40psi. Camber angles up to 5 degrees are permissible but the final setting will depend on tread temperatures. It is advisable to have as much positive castor as practical as castor induces a beneficial camber change during cornering. I recommend that the tyres be put through 2 heat cycles before hard use.


The pressures you use will initially depend on the weight of the car, too little pressure on a heavy car can lead to over deflection of the tyre and subsequent failure.

Below are some basic settings:

VEHICLE WEIGHT COLD PRESSURE HOT PRESSURE
Very Light < 800kg 17 - 22 psi 22 - 29 psi
Light 800kg - 1000kg 20 - 26 psi 24 - 32 psi
Heavy 1000kg - 1400kg 23 - 27 psi 28 - 40 psi
Very Heavy > 1400kg 27 - 35 psi 37 - 40 psi


As a tyre gets hotter the pressure increases, this is due to the moisture in the air. The cold pressure you set to achieve a desired hot pressure will depend on the conditions on the day i.e. ambient and track temperature, wet or dry. If the day/track is cold you will need to start with a higher cold pressure as the tyre will not get as hot therefore the pressure increase will not be so great.
Hot pressures must be balanced side to side. Once the tyres have cooled you will find that you will have a difference in pressure side to side, if you have been racing on a right hand track you will find the offside pressures will usually be higher than the nearside.


Changing hot inflation pressures by small amounts can be used to fine tune handling.

Reduce Oversteer Reduce rear pressures or increase front pressures
Increase Oversteer Increase rear pressures or reduce front pressures
Reduce Understeer Reduce front pressures or increase rear pressures
Increase Understeer Increase front pressures or reduce rear pressures


Achieving the required tread temperatures will depend again on the conditions on the day i.e. ambient and track temperature, wet or dry.

You often here competitors saying “My tyres started to go of towards the end of the race”, this is usually due to the tread getting to hot.

The tread temperatures are constantly changing through out a race, hotter when cornering and cooler when on the straights and cooling even more when you are slowing to come into the pits. Therefore the temps you record in the pits will be lower than those during the race. So if you record temperatures within the range given above the probability is the temps will be too high during the race.

Increasing your tyre pressures will cause your tread temperatures to increase, more pressure stiffens the tyre’s casing which results in the tread having to do more work resulting in the tread getting hotter. Lowering your pressures will cause them to decrease.


Inevitably changing one thing will affect other things, the whole set up of your car is a compromise between anything that is adjustable.

Some of you are also asking about different compounds. Originally we only had one compound ‘GG’ (medium hard), but we have now introduced some sizes in a ‘SG’ (soft/wet) compound. This was done primarily for sprint/hillclimb (around 60 second runs) where the distances covered are relatively short and you need the tyres to work/heat up very quickly. This is not a compound I would recommend for race/trackday dry use as the tyres will go off very quickly.

The sizes that will be available are:

185/60R13, 205/60R13, 195/50R15, 205/50R15, 225/45R16, 225/45R17.

Another subject is the introduction of our Proxes R1R. This tyre was due to be launched at the beginning of 2008, unfortunately this has been delayed to at least mid 2008 but there is a good chance it will be latter than this. Regarding sizes, initially we will have a rear fit (225/45ZR17) but not the front (195/50R16).

I hope this is of some use to you.

If I can be of any further assistance please give me a call.

01933 414537


Best Regards

Alan.

[D4WNO]

That's quite an interesting read actually, cheers Duncan :)

[Billy-G]

As Dawno says, nice one:D

I went for the SG compound, it'll be fun to see how they stack up on the long run south. If they're bald by the time i get home on the Sunday, I'll know not to use them again:laugh:

[Adey aka Ewok]

ggs last about 5k, i cant see the sgs lasting 2k to be honest, plus in the rain there not bad atall, id still rate them better in the rain than any normal road tyre ive use

[Tiny Tim]

That's quite an interesting read actually, cheers Duncan :)

Handy info - you can pass it onto the bus driver Dawn :p

[Tiny Tim]

ggs last about 5k, i cant see the sgs lasting 2k to be honest, plus in the rain there not bad atall, id still rate them better in the rain than any normal road tyre ive use

Mine handled fine in the wet on the old 21t. The only issue I had was with standing water.. puddles etc... Not good on boost :laugh:

[Adey aka Ewok]

only time ive had to watch out was standing water on the motorway as it trys to lane change on its own lol

[Tiny Tim]

lol sure thats not just dodgy tracking?... or driving... ;)

Im looking forward to a ride at nat day mate :cool:

http://starwars.carrotnetwork.com/reviews/atst08.jpg

[D4WNO]

Tim, you gotta stop making me laugh out loud at work, you'll get me the sack lol

[Adey aka Ewok]

lol sure thats not just dodgy tracking?... or driving... ;)

Im looking forward to a ride at nat day mate :cool:

http://starwars.carrotnetwork.com/reviews/atst08.jpg

lol, cars all aligned properly bud, ill ride you hard at nat day bitch

[D4WNO]

lol, cars all aligned properly bud, ill ride you hard at nat day bitch

You say that to all the boys Ade

[Beardo]

Does anybody know what lowest profile for a 13" wheel they do r888's in ?

[D4WNO]

Does anybody know what lowest profile for a 13" wheel they do r888's in ?

185/60R13 m'dear

[Adey aka Ewok]

You say that to all the boys Ade

yup all the time lol

[Beardo]

185/60R13 m'dear


Thank you

[Ian S]

Although this is refering to the VX220's it is still an interesting read and relevent to running R888's on any car.

My name is Alan Meaker, I am the Motorsport Manager for Toyo Tyres (UK) Ltd.......

I've copied this to the articles section.

[Ron]

Could somebody measure the overall diameter of the tyre when blown up For me ?
Trying to find something suitable for another project! :)

[Kris M]

Ron, the 185/60/13 is approx 7" accross when fitted to a GTT wheel

http://www.rtoc.org/boards/album.php?albumid=51&pictureid=530

[Gttnutter]

ok toying with the idea getting a set 195/50/15

wheres the best price peps have got them from?

[Kris M]

Camskill or Reyland motorsport are the best ive found :)

[Adey aka Ewok]

reyland did me 4 x 195/50/15 for 62 each deliverd, couple of months back now tho

[Gttnutter]

will have a look chaps :agree:

[Limecat]

I was offered Dunlop DZ02G's for just £10 a pair more than R888's, normally almost twice the price. :ashamed:

[Billy-G]

Got mine from Camskill. Phoned around, but they were the cheapest I could find including the delivery.