Not impressed with r888's


jesse888

jesse888

Ek9+Turbo+Nurburgring= Heaven
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So was at Bedford Monday with jake on here,
We both had brand new r888's but both where suffering chronic understeer.
Usually I can pull the rear round by lifting the throttle with some steering lock on(lift oversteer) but wasn't having it. Even tried braking with lock on and still nothing but understeer.
What's going on with them?
Running about 27psi hot by the end of the day but I did try 25psi half way through to no avail.
Was very hot day 30c plus all day.
Took tyres off after last session and I could barely handle the tyres with the heat in them so thinking we may have been overheating them?
Also noticed I've taking a lot of rubber off in 150km track use, not far off half.

Any 888 experts about that can help us?
 
I ran them on my ibiza on track all be it not at that heat and were brilliant tyres, mate has them on his clio v6 n he loves them, maybe was the temps causeing under steer as you say
 
Sounds like you were just going into courners too fast. "Slow in Fast Out"
30psi would def have been too much but they prob found it hard inthat heat.
The best tyre by far is the Yoko A048, but you pay through the nose for them.
Dunx
 
I was out on Sunday at a trackday in around the 30degrees mark and I ran my R888's and found them to get better as the 15minute session progressed, however I always kept them as close as 26psi as possible. I know what you mean about the wear but I've found they grip until they look like full slick's. I also understand about the amount of rear grip you get when you use four of these I've went to 0.1 degree's of toe in at the rear to 0.1degree's toe out at the rear and it has give a nice amount of play in the rear. Maybe consider your geometry or have you used similar tyres before?
 
Alignment is something I'll be changing as I'm sure it's not helping,
3minutes toe in front and rear. Will be going toe out on rear and probably square up front.
They felt no different to the t1rs I used at brands last time out,
Have used a048s although worn ones.
Was expecting the 888's to grip better than this tbh.
Entry speed wasn't too fast either. I'll fire up a video when I get a chance, although the understeer doesn't seem as bad as it felt in the vid.
Sounds like pressure or heat wasn't my problem if others aren't having issues in similar temps and pressures?
What ever the problem is jake had the same issue,
 
Does anyone think 15minutes toe out in the rear is too much?
 
I didn't rate them at all,
I tried everything from 30psi down to 25psi hot pressures.
Tested as soon as I pulled into pits.

The ad08 I had on at brands were a much much nicer feeling tyre IMO.
No way would these last 15mins without going off and feeling all greasy,
Also worn them out VERY quickly considering its a torqueless standard civic.

It's not driving technique, they just didn't hook up.
Only thing I can think of is heat.
And a lot of people on other forums recommend higher pressures also, toyo don't recommend dropping below 30psi. So I'll be trying that next.

Disappointed for £450 on tyres, so far.
It's not driving style, I had more confidence on my ad08 in near icy conditions!!
 
r888's ive tried, much the same results as you are having...i went as far as adding a splitter for more grip. But yeah, I am not impressed with them at all. Im on NT01's now and love them but I think these are not available over in the UK. Ive also tried RA1's which are also better over the R888's.

R888's are over rated.
 
If the tyres were new, do you know if they were old stock? Did you try running less psi front or back to experiment? The tyres should be ok after an initial few laps to scrub them, it could be just your braking or lines through certain corners, applying the power too soon as you exit, did you under steer at every corner? Did you get tuition on the day? Just one session can really help. Even asking a circuit drivers advice?

Many say aim for 30 hot but it is personal preference, I always found the 888 to under steer more than the others, I ran mine a little higher on trackdays, not tried the hard compound mind. I would not go too mad with suspension settings if you have not tried some of the above.
 
Just race at weekend in 30c weather, had A048 on best tyre all round for me. After 40 min race they were still good a little understeer pressure set at 28psi on front going to buy them again I think £145 each which is the down side.
 
Strange to hear this. Always found my R888's to be mega on track. Amazing cornering speeds and provide awsome traction. They turn on the throttle a dream and Don't wear them do to quick either.

Strange
 
I'll try a higher pressure. I'm at the ring next so will have to play with alignment aswell before I go.
Had understeer on most corners, corners that I know I can take flat on the road with my t1rs the r888s where slipping wide.
Was especially apparent on hairpins but then it would be.
I'll get a video up tomorrow and would be greatful if anyone could tell if its my driving or not. Pretty sure it isn't as I'm not doing anything different than at brands on the t1rs.
 
I may invest in ao48 next tbh.
I considered them this time, but heard loads of good things about these 888 and they are less £££! :)
Don't know Til you've tried!

Mine were brand new from camskill, they were most definitely scrubbed in.
Peeling up quite nicely!!
My only other option is to try higher pressures also, and get a good run on them when it cools down a little maybe.
 
if you are coming from T1R's you should feel a huge difference with the R888's. Personally I love the R888's both in dry and in wet. With how my car is set up, I usually drive with less psi in the rear then the front. I usually start of with 1.7 bar in the front and 1.6 in the rear for Zolder, depending on the weather. With this setup I get a pretty much neutral car in fast turns with a slight tendancy for oversteer
 
I've had a048s but part worns, they had more grip than the r888 but I wasn't driving in 30c heat. I'm really hoping it was the weather or too little pressure.
 
Need more info

- what compound are they ? 2G / 3G / SG
- Manufacturer wk/yr ?
- Camber used ?

The A048s will obviously feel a lot better as they are a competition carcass not like the r888 and plus they were part worns.

Got to be careful not to cook them from the start on a hot day or else its throwing money down the drain
 
They are 2g,
Not sure how I would find manufacture year? On the tyre somewhere?
3degress camber front, 2 rear
 
You will find it on the sidewall , imprinted in a rectangle eg: [0713] , 7th week of 2013.

Its just another thing to check , but Id be surprised if they are old.

Your camber is fine , anywhere near factory levels will cook the shoulders when pushing it hard though..

All nerdiness aside ha , how much experience do you have with other brands of tyres on the same track/conditions ?

The R888 although not the best , is still a really good tyre ... but being straight out of the box and comparing it to softer compound A048s that have been heat cycled with shallow thread isn't going to be really fair.

As they wear ( and once heat cycled right ) , they should improve a bit so dont lose hope yet lol.
 
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