What's happened to R888 prices? / alternatives?

I think the general concensus is that R888s are still better on track. My experiences of R888s have been of partly worn sets which took warming up to make them work. Not sure how full tread new versions would feel. I don't think trying them out will be fair as wheel offset etc will affect the way the car handles and may lead to an unfair comparison. But thanks for the offer.

Interesting to know Josh. So just a try it and see how long they last is the only real way of knowing.

Gurds

 

Thought I'd read this somewhere, but good to have it confirmed

 

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/510/buy-tires

Treadwear is numbered from 60 to 500 in increments of 20. The higher the number, the longer the tire should last. A treadwear of 300 should last twice as long as a treadwear of 150. Theoretically it should cost twice as much; any less makes it a bargain in longevity.

There is one little secret about tread wear numbers: They are not comparable from one manufacturer to the other. Those tread wear numbers are valid only when comparing apples to apples. Each tire manufacturer sets his own numbers. One manufacturer may rate a 400 tire as comparable to another manufacturer’s 300 tire. Tires are not government tested and regulated. Tread wear is used only as a comparative between the tires of the same manufacturer. So use the tread wear number within the same product line.

Traction ratings are a measure of a tire’s ability to stop in straight-ahead braking on both wet and dry surfaces. It is measured on both concrete and asphalt. It does not measure acceleration, traction or cornering. The tires are graded from AA, A, B and C, with AA having the best traction for braking.

Temperature is rated from A to C. C-rated tires run hotter at the same speeds and weather conditions, and C is the minimum allowed by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Do not buy a C-rated tire.


... and just by chance I checked my tyres for this earlier today

TREADWEAR TRACTION TEMPERATURE

Yokohama

Advan Sport 280 AA A

A539 300 A A

A520 200 A A

AO32R Soft 60 A A

AO32R Super Soft 60 A A
.................................................

Continental Sport Contact 2 280 AA A

 

Just compared the toyo R1-R next to an R888 and they both seems as soft as each other (both brand new). Side walls seems to have a similar stiffness too.
Could the tread be the main difference.....?

 

Having driven on both brand new & worn 888's on the road & on track I can honestly say that New 888's are not good in the wet.

However, having raced in the ****ing rain & standing water at Silverstone last season. My worn in 888's aquaplaned like mad so I put some brand new ones on the front & did a few wheel spins on my way to the grid. They were a lot better than the worn ones simply due to the extra tread depth.

Common concensus is that for 888's to work best they need to have gone through 2 heat cycles. i.e. got hot then cooled down twice.

 

I need a second set for my MK2, Would you rate the Fedral 595 RS at the moment? You can get them pretty cheap but would need someone to fit at 10 a corner!

 

ive been looking at the federals as well,they look good but get mixed reviews?? thinking i might gamble on a set, has anyone seen the cheaper than 75 a corner?

 

What size?

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=74802931.110.18749&typ=R-133924&ranzahl=4&Breite=195&Quer=50&Felge=15&Speed=H&weiter=0&last_sort=preis&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=15&sort_by=preis_down&Transport=P&dsco=110&sowigan=So

Need to speak to a mate tomorrow about getting a set put on if i bought them. Doing a track day with no spare at the moment!

 

Somthing not right about this company. Phoned to check stock and it went to india. Ok i thought, just the call centre out there.
But then when i completed the order i got a text from Lloyds saying "my card has been used in an overseas transaction"
I know about the texts as its a service i turned on, But goes to show they are not UK based!

 

Ok, Now had dispatch info and said they will be with us "By the 24th at the latest"
I asked lead time and they said next day, Didnt know they were coming direct from Germany. Hope they are here before Saturday!

Oh and the price has gone up again. They were 68 last week, 70 yesterday and now 75.
Might as well get an R888!

 

sorry for the late reply matt, im after 195 50 15s. hope yours come thro and live up to the hype

 

I've been using Yoko AD08s on track this year...good value and great performance IMO. Really a track oriented road tyre but certainly seems to do a good job!

Around 80 per corner IIRC.

 

are these Federal RSR's still working out for you Gurds?
Anyone else tried them?
They are 67.30 each inc P&P from mytyres.co.uk

 

Hi Bones. Yep, Federals still going strong. They have withstood the Ring, Curby, Bedford and Rockingham and are still going strong. Have been used on my best laptimes yet. Along with other mods of course.

Hold up really well to track abuse. Have been able to lean on them during braking and cornering much harder than with T1-Rs. I still think they won't have the ultimate grip of proper R rated tyres but they are damn close! Well worth a pop especially if they are your only tyre for road/track.

At that price you won't find a better tyre either, seriously. Word of warning, they are oversized for a 195-50 and sit more like a 205-50 so make sure you have space or spacers.

Gurds

 

ok cool. My mate works at a garage so he might have a 205 sitting around for me to try on the car first before I buy to check clearance. Failing that the T1r's I bought recently came in at 160 for 4 so it wont be a great loss to keep using them. Im no race driver anyway but you cant go wrong with increasing your grip

 

Has anyone noticed the price of these alternative track tyres creeping up in price?

I bought a set of 4 federal 595 rsr from camskill about 2 months ago at 80 a tyre thrre now up to 92 and ive noticed the others slowly creeping up also were as the triple 8s have been pretty static on price hope this not the end to the stream of companys that produced a decent enough tyre for the avrage track day drivers at a good price[:^(]

Just to add prices based on the most popular size 195/50 r15

 

Yep, they have. When I first came across federals, they were 55 per tyre and no one cared. I bought them at 250 for a set of four. Now, as you say, over 300 mark.

Gurds

 

Here's a new one to throw into the mix: Marangoni Zeta linea sport.

It's a road legal semi slick that the production BMW race series is using this year. Apparently they are setting lap records on them after changing from 888's & they last longer too. 75 each doesn't sound to dear to me.

 

i had some marangoni zeta's before (not the semi-slick one) as everyone in my hillclimb class went for them, tbh I didn't rate them much. They were very soft, which is why they were popular, but sidewalls were soft and felt squishy and squirmy. Not as good as the tired old kuhmos or falken road tyres I had before.

but Marangoni do have a decent reputation so maybe they're worth a go, where can you buy them?

 

"Taking into consideration that Marangoni tyres are only available through Kwik Fit in the UK, the race series will become known as The Marangoni Tyres Production BMW Championship, in association with Kwik Fit. Kwik Fit themselves have fully embraced this new agreement and will be supplying the tyres to all race competitors."

From http://www.pbmwc.co.uk/news/12021401.php

Ebay.de http://www.ebay.de/itm/Marangoni-Zeta-Linea-Sport-Semislick-195-50R15-82V-/230533747252