195/50/15 R888 versus 225/40/16 A539?

[Tom G]

I've found a set of R888s going cheap on ebay 195/50/15 on 15" alloys, I'm wondering if they'd be an improvement over my staggered setup 225/40/16 rear and 195/45/16 front. I know R888s are much stickier but wondered if 195s could handle 280hp (which I'll have as of thursday ) Opinions?

[System-G]

I think the R888's regardless of size will outperform the A539's. But don't expect R888's to last very long

[Tom G]

hehe, how long?
I only do about 1.5k per year in the '2 anyway. And judging by your times at woodbridge, they're not too bad in the wet either...

[crazybrightman]

they can last suprisingly long depending on the compound 5000miles of hard driving is possible. as for gripping better you would be better off going with wider tryes at the rear still to help keep some balance. also 280bhp and 195's really isnt going to work well you will still break traction at some point.

[System-G]

I'd be very surprised if you got more than 2000 track miles off a single set of R888's.

Tom most of my wet laps were spent on opposite lock or correcting the rear stepping out. Granted they offered much more grip than anticipated, but weren't by far the gripiest tyres I have had in the wet.

Watching your driving at the sprint, you weren't slow. It was just spinning more than once pretty much every lap that didn't help
More track practice and track tuition will sort this out in no time at all

I agree with mr Brightman though - the 195 width is far from ideal, but will be better than the 539's. why not try get 888's in your current size? Toyo do sponsor the chamionship entrants you know

[crazybrightman]

oh arr 5000miles is including alot of road work purely for track use in 1000miles you can kill them depending on power etc. one advantage of the same size tyres is you can front to rear them to last a bit longer wear wise. as for wet use well on all the track days ive been on or watched nearly every car thats not only gone off but kissed the barriers nicely has had r888's on they just cant shift heavy water out the way. im guessing its your second car though so getting away with it is more manageable.

[Tom G]

Watching your driving at the sprint, you weren't slow. It was just spinning more than once pretty much every lap that didn't help
More track practice and track tuition will sort this out in no time at all

I agree with mr Brightman though - the 195 width is far from ideal, but will be better than the 539's. why not try get 888's in your current size? Toyo do sponsor the chamionship entrants you know

Thanks mr G, I do plan on getting more practice, part of the problem is getting used to the car while at these events! It's completely different with the LSD; both wheels now spin on acceleration hence the multiple spins!

I'll leave these for now then I think, for someone they'll surely be a bargain
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0283515369

[mr2mk1chick]

oh arr 5000miles is including alot of road work purely for track use in 1000miles you can kill them depending on power etc. one advantage of the same size tyres is you can front to rear them to last a bit longer wear wise. as for wet use well on all the track days ive been on or watched nearly every car thats not only gone off but kissed the barriers nicely has had r888's on they just cant shift heavy water out the way. im guessing its your second car though so getting away with it is more manageable.

I initially thought that they would be crap in the wet, but they are far better that a539's in the wet/very wet.
I wasn't as lairy (but went quicker) as garrick was and actually felt i had more grip in the wet than on any other setup we have done so far TBH.

Also travelling down to the sprint in a downpoar the car didn't aquaplane as i thought it might.

Tom - the LSD will take a bit to get used to but will do wonders for getting the power down

[Tom G]

Tom - the LSD will take a bit to get used to but will do wonders for getting the power down

Yeah, the traction is brill, I'm chuffed to bits with it really.
PS If you or Garrick pm me your address I'll get the vid sent over (same goes for scott and phil if they're reading this!)

[omracing]

Tom ,

I've sent you a PM.
Bit of luck I happened to be online during my lunch.

Garrick & Jo and Phil I sent you separate PMs. Thanks Scott.

[System-G]

as for wet use well on all the track days ive been on or watched nearly every car thats not only gone off but kissed the barriers nicely has had r888's on they just cant shift heavy water out the way. im guessing its your second car though so getting away with it is more manageable.

Nope not my second car (anymore). I only have pedal power and this one ATM

As Jo said, I wasn't expecting much from them in the wet, but they sure as hell surprised me. Even last night on the road it was damp and the car felt more secure going round roundabouts than with 539's or Paradas

Are you not thinking of Yoko 048R's? They have a reputation for not having any wet grip at all and similar tread patern...

[crazybrightman]

nope they are fine in the wet due to their soft compound and the fact they heat up easier, just they cant shift standing water so puddles, or heavy rain can send you sailing off the road! obviously you are travelling slower on the road (i hope) than on the track when its wet so the chances of aqua plaining off are reduced greatly but the mr2 is very light at the front which doesnt help so less force is required for the car to lift off the road surface and over the water. usualy most people are doing 8-mph plus when they go off on r888's.
i spose its also important to note the r888's have been devolped between their release and now so their edurance and all weather grip have improved a bit also, but you cant get around the lack of tread.

[System-G]

It was very wet on the way to the Sprint on Sunday. We were also running a tad late, so I wasn't hanging about. Went through some fairly hefty bits of standing water with no worse effects than on any other half decent tyre

I was having nightmares about the journey the night before, but was pleasantly surprised - both on road and track

[crazybrightman]

i may have to give some a try on my own car then

[Tom G]

i may have to give some a try on my own car then

See link above

[crazybrightman]

typicaly ive just bought some new wheels! plus im a bit unsure of that sidewall damage id think id change the tyre so no risk of a blow out.

[Lauren]

yoko advan neova LTS are brilliant tyres and work great on track wet/dry/standing water and ditto for the road.

[System-G]

We went to Silverstone last night in some pretty heavy rain.
At one point along the A43 there was a lot of very deep standing water. I proceeded cautiously at 70mph with no probs on the R888's

I agree with Lauren about the Advan Neovos (LTS) - designed specifically for the Lotus elise. Unfortunately only the front's can be used as they are a 195/50/15 and come in at around £90.00 a corner. The Elise rears are a 225/45/16 and cost close to £130.00 a corner

If the R888's hadn't worked as well as they have, I would have gone with the front Neovos as above.

[crazybrightman]

so wheres the best place to get r888's from then? i usualy use camskills for most of my tyres, im assuming these will be hard to beat on price?

[System-G]

Camskill, Deamon Tweeks, BuyaTyre (BookaTrack) etc or even try Toyo direct???