Toyo - RR Compared to R888R
 

Does anyone have any on-track/racing experience comparing Toyo's RR and R888R? Wondering how they compare in laptime and durability.

Carl

Didn't you run RRs on the SM?
I get about 20 heat cycles on them before they start getting too difficult to keep up to speed.

Ooops! Thought I responded right after you posted Alberto. I guess I for got to hit "send".

Yes I did use the RR's with Spec Miata and really liked them compared to SM Hoosiers. I am really wondering if anyone has any direct comparison with the R888R's for grip and longevity. They are cheaper and do have a lot more rubber, potentially improving the lift. I used the original R888 for Spec7 when they first came out. I liked those in the 13" size, but don't really know how long they held up (ie got too slow from heat cycles). I guess I will probably have to just bite the bullet and buy a set to try them out.

Carl

Gotcha. I got nothing but GRM just posted this article on 200 tw tires
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...-buyers-guide/

Thanks. I had not seen that comparison. Not sure why it didn't show up in my searches, but......

Based on the comments about RR's being similar to 100 in grip, I think my decision to buy a set of R888R's yesterday can't go to wrong. Can't wait to see.

Carl

Cool.
Ping me if you come up to nor cal in the fall :)

I will do that. I am for sure coming up for the Champcar race at Laguna the weekend before Thanksgiving. I currently have 3 confirmed drivers and waiting to hear from the fourth. If I need a fourth, I will let you know if you are interested. I am also considering the August SCCA race at Laguna.

I just got a new set of R888R's, but not in time to take them to Willow Springs last Friday. Will be going back July 23, so should have some info. Some other tire info that I did get out of the Friday test day is that mid-2020 date code RR's with 16HC's (starting the day) are no faster than Hankook RS-4 200TW tires (2 w/ about 20 hours and 2 with 1-7 hours). I was surprised. I would have thought the RR's would hang on longer. The Hankooks were actually easier to drive and I think I could have gone even faster. Weird.

I will let you know how the test with R888R's goes.

Carl

Thanks for posting this Alberto, I had missed it too. Reading it now, some good info for sure :)

Those Eagle F1s are the talk of the town over at the Miata club.

It's nice to see Goodyear getting back into the game :icon_tup:

One tidbit from that Grassroots article: the new Conti Extreme Contact Force were developed in conjunction with Hoosier :drool:

Ok. Here is my data from driving Toyo RR's and R888R's over a variety of conditions. All in the same car at Willow Springs. As you can see I am not the fastest driver.

March 19, 2021 - Ambient Air Temp (peak) 75 degF. Kind of windy. RR's w/ 12-22HC's. Most with 2018 date code. - 1:42
March 20, 2021 - Ambient Air Temp (peak) 58 degF. Not windy. Brand new RR's. late 2020 date code - 1:40 (my son did 1:38)
July 9, 2021 - Ambient Air Temp (peak) 108-110 degF. Not windy. RR's w/ 16 heat cycles. Late 2020 date code - 1:44 Last session swapped out RR's for some relatively new Hankook RS-4 (200TW) tires and had fastest time of day (1:43.8) in peak heat of the day
July 23, 2021 - Ambient Air Temp (peak) 99 degF. Not windy. Brand new R888R's (Tire Rack heat cycled). 1:42.5 Last session swapped out R888R's for same Hankooks from previous test, except oldest tires (20+ hours of endurance racing) were on outside position for two fastest and most important turns on the track (T2 and T9), significantly slowing progress on track - 1:44

That is a lot of maybe confusing data. Initially I was pretty disappointed in the performance of the R888R's, but after looking more closely they probably are not as slow as I thought. Based on results from some other races at different tracks in the last 9 months, the effect of the higher temperatures on lap times was probably 1-2 seconds. Accounting for that I am guessing that my car at Willow Springs might be about 0.5 to 1 second per lap slower on R888R compared to RR, when both are new. The R888R's seemed predictable on track and did not have any bad habits. Seems like the R888R's could be fast enough for me under normal conditions, especially considering the price compared to RR's ($135 vs $195). It will be interesting to see how they fall off with more heat cycles compared to the RR's.

What was surprising to me is how well the 200TW Hankook RS-4's compared to both Toyos. When changing to Hankooks during both July tests, the laptimes were prettty much the same as with older RR's and new R888R's. Pretty easy to drive too. Kind of weird. Back in May we did a Lucky Dog enduro with about 70 cars on track and my son and I both had fastest laps of 1:42.5 with 90 degF air and 30-50mph winds (not fun actually). And during a test in August 2020, did 1:41 in 90 degF air on new Hankooks.

So in summary:

• Toyo R888R (new) appears to be 0.5-1.0 sec per lap slower than RR (new)
• Toyo RR with high HC's appear to drop off 1-2 secs per lap
• Hankook RS-4 (200TW) is not much slower than either Toyo tire.
• No idea how the R888R will hold up with more HC's
• May consider trying the new Goodyear DOT race tire next

Sorry for all the confusing information here, especially since it may not be applicable to any other situations.

Carl

Curious how frequently you rotate your track tires like the R888R. Is it very event?
What rotation pattern do you follow?

Not sure what you mean by rotate track tires?

If you mean like normal car tire rotation, I really don't have a pattern. As a cheap guy who wants to get the most out of expensive race tires, I just make sure that if one or more tires is wearing faster that it gets swapped with one(s) that are not experiencing the same wear. In general, the tires wear evenly, with the exception of the drivers side front at Willow Springs, which has two long, fast right hand turns and abrasive track surface. I also flip the tires if the outer shoulder gets worn. I do not worry about tread pattern directions (if there are any) since it never rains in California.

I hope that helps, but I probably totally misinterpreted your question.

Carl