Semi Slick Tyres

[Dodo Bizar]

Which compound do you have? I understand there are several. I have the GG.

Since I only have two the only thing I could do is brake and accelerate. My D14 was 0.250 seconds quicker on the drag strip with the R888 compared to Michelin Pilot Exalto, 60 ft is about 0.15 sec better.

And for braking... somebody almost hit me because I could brake so easily for a traffic light. I had to release the brake and move my rear wheels over the line or the car behind would have crashed into me.

Same thing happened to me at the same traffic light a half year earlier with the Michelin Exaltos in the rain. For me it is so easy to brake with the EJ9 that my instinct brakes for a yellow light were other people would have passed the yellow light even if it burned 1 to 2 seconds longer! And the R888 on the dry was really extreme braking. The back and with Exaltos blocked earlier.

I get back on this as soon as I have 4 of them (will be spring 2010 for the track days I think).

But one but: they are so sticky and hot that they wear out driving towards events. I think with just 1000km driven on the R888 and about 20 drag starts of which 15 started with a burnout I already lost 1-2 mm...

[saxophonias]

Great info Yoris. I have covered aprox. 300km of highway driving and turning on twisted roads and they seem intact. Still i don't go over 100-110km on the highway, and i don't intend to do it in future in the straight lines. Still when you are about to turn you get possessed by their feeling. They are so great that you turn and you still think you are going straight. It's my suspension set up as well but i can see the huge difference. As for the use i am going to do them, i will have them on for a couple a months (2 track days included) and then i will put my koseis again for the winter time.
Even if they are cold they handle superb, that is above average and they are very interactive.
Eventually steering is GREAT
And bear in mind that i had harder bushings, overdrive p/s pulley, enough camber, coilovers and monster rear swaybar. All these were supposed to give better steering feeling, but the 888 outperform all of them!

[saxophonias]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw2lbwPZ5x4
Here is a review of R888
And here it presents the range of motorsports semi road tyres
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl4N4YPjFag

[saxophonias]

Have a look at my toyos after 1300km of road use and 30laps on track.
They hold nice up to now.

[hondaNickx]

I'm tempted to get me some R888 too ,but here in Belgium it raines a lot even in summer times.
Most people using them over here say to watch out with aquaplaining.That's why i'm still not sure if i would get them for summer use.I've seen Kumho V70 A semi slick tires too ,the price of them are 109Euro/pc in 195/50/15.Cheaper then the R888 which go around 130Euro/pc around here.
I'm not sure but i think these have less grooves compared to R888.That would make Water draining even worse right ?Or would those vertical grooves perform better in rain then the V shaped grooves from the R888 ?
I really really like to have the Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 /AD07 tires cause those are almost like semi slicks and still good in rain .Sadly enough they both are available in some weird sizes .AD07 only in 16 and 17" , AD08 in 15" only available in 205/50/15 which is way too high profile imo.They are probaly very expensive too but you get what you pay for.

[saxophonias]

888 are way too expensive in your hometown. Try camskill. Still in your occasion Toyo R1R would be the best combo for dry and wet condition. Very similar to 888 in performance.

[Dodo Bizar]

I got the R888 for 100 euro each from rarerims.nl (ex shipping). They are located in NL, but you need to pass through Belgium to get there hehe, so I consider it a Belgium company. Should I consider 100 euro each expensive? It is the cheapest I could get... only other option is Prins in The Hague which is a little more expensive... and Rarerims happened to offer them at Honda-Fanatics hehe.

[saxophonias]

Here in Greece we get the 195-50-15 for 320-340e per set. There are special offers from toyo in Greece due to their popularity.

[hondaNickx]

Hmm i didn't know Blockie offered those R888 too and for 100euro that's cheap!
The price of the R1R went true the roof ,a few months ago they were just a little more then T1R's .And now they cost almost as much as R888 ...

[saxophonias]

Hmm i didn't know Blockie offered those R888 too and for 100euro that's cheap!
The price of the R1R went true the roof ,a few months ago they were just a little more then T1R's .And now they cost almost as much as R888 ...

Here they cost something less that the 888s. That is almost 300e. Still they are pretty hard to find