6ghatch Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 Hey guys, I know the current spec tire for 08' is the RA1 and it looks like 09' will be the R888. The one issue I have with this is that most of us have between 2-4 sets of wheels and tires. At the end of this season I would hate to have to trash all of my of RA1's and purchase all new sets of R888's. Is there any possibility of allowing a transition time frame to use up the RA1's and purchase the R888's? What if they were to run out of a size this season of RA1's could we then purchase R888's? Honestly I need new rains for this season, I would love to buy a set of the R888's now so that I could keep them going into 09 without being stuck with a set of barely used discontinued rain tires that are illegal for all Toyo spec classes. Quote
slammed_93_hatch Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 Chris, i think that by that time one tire will be known to be fast. At this point it is still up in air. the point in saying that is that if the RA1 is faster, then every one will buy them up and run them until the cut off date. If the R888 is faster wont you want to sell of the used RA1 to HPDEr's, and run the faster tire. I have heard a lot of rumors but most rumors on the net are completly wrong. I think i am going to send Brian Cohen (sorry if i miss-spelled his name), it seems like he is the one that is receptive and gets things done. (see Tom's post on HCforums.) Quote
hagakure Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 The R888 is a much faster Tire. I have run them on a Time Attack evo. Stiffer sidewall by far, much btter turn -in, comparable wear. You guys will be much happer and faster on the R888's. 1.5 seconds faster on an Evo. Quote
slammed_93_hatch Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 The R888 is a much faster Tire. I have run them on a Time Attack evo. Stiffer sidewall by far, much btter turn -in, comparable wear. You guys will be much happer and faster on the R888's. 1.5 seconds faster on an Evo. you are comparing a completely different beast then our cars. Our cars are NOTHING like you 3000lbs evo. I wouldn't be so certain that the transition is going to be smooth. Many of the WC TC teams didn't find the transition to be simple. It is a different tire, and it will like different settings. Not that it is any great indicator but at most tracks last year WC was beating track records, didn't happen at Sebring. Most HC cars are Sub 2600lbs while on track, and not even the WC TC are close enough for us to be able to draw a comparison. From the data i have seen, the R888 may have more ultimate grip then the RA1, but it is much much more picky then the RA1. Picky meaning set-up sensitive. Quote
944-Spec#94 Posted April 2, 2008 Posted April 2, 2008 944 spec used the RA-1 in 07 and is using the R888 in 08. However we are allowing drivers to run RA-1 until they are exhausted. Too many of our drivers have too much $$ tied up in tires to expect them to throwaway or even try to sell off multiple sets of RA-1's. So far most are still on the RA-1's, but a few have started on R888. We have not seen any improvment in lap times with R888, but most of us only a few heat cycles on them and most RA-1's needed a 5+ "break in" cycles before they got fast anyway. We are still learning to run these tires and I expect it may take most of 2008 before we can get optimized for them as we believe the optimal pressure may be different than the RA-1. For reference we are 2600 (class min) to 2650lbs with driver and use 225/50 R15 on 15x7 wheels at all corners. We have around 130-135 whp. Quote
0x1 Posted April 4, 2008 Posted April 4, 2008 Hey Joe - Have any of your guys tried shaving the R888s yet or have they been running them full tread? Most people that have done testing with the tires claim that they have to be shaved to be as fast or faster than shaved RA-1s. Quote
philstireservice Posted April 5, 2008 Posted April 5, 2008 A lot of the Spec E30 guys are faster on shaved R888's than they were on RA-1's. Quote
speedracer33 Posted April 7, 2008 Posted April 7, 2008 I tried out the 888s at VIR last weekend on my Civic and turned an almost identical laptime to what I did last year on Hoosiers, but in worse weather conditions this time around (this was the cold race on Saturday, not the rain race on Sunday). The 888s were surprisingly grippy right from the first session (they were shaved to 4/32nds). Based on how they wear, and how often I get enough cars in my class to qualify for the Hoosier contingency program, I would consider using them as my prime race tire. Matt Quote
R Carroll Posted April 12, 2008 Posted April 12, 2008 I wouldn't be so certain that the transition is going to be smooth. Many of the WC TC teams didn't find the transition to be simple. It is a different tire, and it will like different settings. Not that it is any great indicator but at most tracks last year WC was beating track records, didn't happen at Sebring. Most HC cars are Sub 2600lbs while on track, and not even the WC TC are close enough for us to be able to draw a comparison. From the data i have seen, the R888 may have more ultimate grip then the RA1, but it is much much more picky then the RA1. Picky meaning set-up sensitive. Jimmy is right, we tested for 2 days at Laguna Seca and the whole time we were at Sebring , making big changes in every session and we still have not found the perfect set up. The side walls are stiffer so the set ups have to be softer but it is a fine line to still be able to get power down. Once we get it right the R888's will be faster, another thing is that they like a different pressure then the R-A1's. I think that we are close now, we will find out in 2 weeks at VIR. Quote
944-Spec#94 Posted April 22, 2008 Posted April 22, 2008 Hey Joe - Have any of your guys tried shaving the R888s yet or have they been running them full tread? Most people that have done testing with the tires claim that they have to be shaved to be as fast or faster than shaved RA-1s. Scott, Nope. Bryan does not recommend shaving and a couple guys in So-Cal POC (running 944 and boxster) said the shaved tire were crap. Quote
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