Anyone try them yet??

Comments?

I've been running some 215/45-17 Nitto NT-01 and they are fun fun fun...

I may just break down and get the R888's in the same size and take both to the next track day for some back to back comparisons.

 

Give us a report on the R888 if you get it.

 

I've ordered a set of 215/45-17's.

 

If all goes well today I'll pick up the R888's and this weekend run the NT-01's one day and the R888's the other.

Tis a shame my new IQ3 has yet to ship, going to have to do this all by feel and have no empirical data.

 

I'll know at the end of the month. I've got a set, but waiting on wheels and the first autox. They go on my BMW though.

 

gnatster: please let me know how you like them......i'm about to have a bunch of wheels needing track rubber! i'd love to hear how they compare to the R6.....maybe i'll have to do the test. the R888 looks like it would be a great intermediate if is didn't match the R6 in the dry.

 

doing a CDC event?? we're putting A048's on the MINI in 205/50/15

 

Picked them up today, also have the NT01's so will rin R88's Sat and NT01's on Sunday. Couple of things here. This is a new track to me so wont get a good feel for the tires till the 3rd or 4th session of the day. This is good since they are new and need to be scrubbed in anyway. New brake pads that also need to be bedded in 1st session. My Data Aq system is in the shop so won't get lap times nor g loads. Updating the G2X to an IQ3. Gosh I hope they ship it soon!!

Some observations so far.

The R888 is a larger tire than the NT01. Both are 215/45-17 mounted on 17x7 wheels.



I put about 50 miles on them today. The ride is decent. I could live with driving 2-3 hours to get to a track with these on. Wet traction is OK, it snowed here yesterday but go to 50 and was sunny today. Roads had some wet spots. They are sticky, the sand covered (thanks TXDOT) bridges were interesting. The tire would "glaze" over with a layer of sand. Had a few pucker moments till I figured out what was happening.

Bean...I don't think these will have the all out stick of the R6 but I want tires that last more than 2 weekends. Nice to be able to do the swaps at home in my garage too. I drove to the track once on R6's. Never again! I am prepared...In the event these tires don't cut it for me there is a Sport Link and 2" receiver in the garage.

 

Any update on the R888 comparison to NT01?

 

Hey gnatster -- revenge of the living thread...

What ever happened with these? Which did you prefer? I'm looking at exactly these two tires and would like some real-world feedback.

Anyone else try these?

Thanks!

 

I've run both. The NT01s are heavier in the same size (I run 225/45/15) by about ~2lbs and don't respond to heat as well as my R888s. As far as tire pressures go, some like it at a low PSI but for the Mini, I ran it at 36-38 psi hot for auto-x and 35-36 psi hot at the track.

The North American GG-compounds that are released so far are not as great as one would hope for the auto-x. However, they are meant to be a great track tire, with good wear characteristics and won't get slick when hot.

I've had a chance to run the new triple-G compounds as a test for Toyo. They are much softer and are much more suited to auto-x events.

 

I run the NT-01s @ 40 - 42 hot at the track.....

Also noticed they seemed to perform much better after the first track weekend. A good scrubbing is required??? or me getting used to them???

Alan

 

40 to 42 hot? That's pretty high; I can't get the car hooked up when the fronts hit 40, might just be me though--35-37 seems to be the sweet spot for me.

 

Thank you everyone for the feedback. It seems that fewer have run the R888s but I'm still considering them because they came highly recommended by "a reliable source".

Any others?