Toyo 888s on the road - legal and driveable?

[lockwood77]

I might be picking a car up in a few days that has Toyo 888s fitted. Am I right in thinking that they are road legal?

Also, what are they like being driven on roads like we have at the moment - is it just a case of being sensible, or are they horrific?

 

[Evs]

Pretty sure they're legal - provided they have sufficient tread left of course.

I've used Yoko A048s (which AFAIK are similar) in this sort of weather and they were actually surprisingly good. They don't really clear standing water so beware of that, and they don't work as well as they would do in the warm and dry, but I would not say they were horrific.

I wouldn't use them in winter out of choice, but if you're picking a car up with them on then just be sensible and you should be fine.

 

[lockwood77]

Cheers mate, that's what I thought. Someone told me that 888s are actually said to be a bit more friendly than A048s in the damp, don't know if that's true though.

 

[lockwood77]

Actually, if I bothered to conduct just 20 seconds of research, I would have read this page: http://www.toyo.co.uk/productdetail.php?identity=products&product_id=18

Pretty much what you said - OK in the damp, not brilliant in heavy rain.

 

[Evs]

Sorted then, HTH 8)

 

[ian.herm01]

888's are pretty good in this weather once you get some heat in to them i think in general they are softer than the A048's as they start going off after 5-10 laps. There are two compounds a medium and a soft.

I found them too noisy on the road (fun on roundabouts, there is so much grip), I now take them in the car to change at the track! Sounds like all four wheel bearings have gone!

My RE050A's can't find grip in this weather so be careful.

 

[lockwood77]

I found RE010s (the original DC2 OEM tyre) to be dreadful in the damp, sounds like they've continued in that vein.

Yes, I will be using a very light right foot should I end up driving it, especially if it's wet!

 

[MartinP]

888 is kind of bad atleast on the track, cheap but wears out realy fast dew to overheating

 

[C&S Evo7]

well i loved my 888's great in all weather EXCEPT torrential rain as (as EVS said) they cannot clear standing water at all lasted well and were great on track.

I initially had some probs with them going off but after working with TOYO tech at one of the TA events it transpires they are designed to run at a slightly highter pressure than normal trackday tyres, once this was sorted it was much better.

 

[lockwood77]

Cheers guys, interesting stuff. I definitely want to run them (or something similar) for trackdays in future, but I'm unlikely to be able to fit a spare set of wheels in the car, so knowing what they're like on the road and in less-than-perfect weather is important.

 

[tron2k3]

I've heard the R888 shouldn't be exposed to temps below freezing and they can actually split, there's an official disclaimer by Toyo somewhere.

I'll try and find it.

 

[tron2k3]

Here you go.

http://marktg.toyotires.com/file/TireStorage.pdf

 

[lockwood77]

Hmm, nice! Cheers mate.

Looks like it'll be above freezing in the daytime for the next few days, but it does beg the question, do people really take the wheels off and bring them indoors during the winter!? :?

Even if it's in a garage or your track wheels are in a shed, the temperature could easily drop below zero in the night.

 

[tron2k3]

try some tyre warmers :lol:

Hmm its a tough decision to make, maybe worth trying to get a spare set of wheels to run in the winter.

I think the tyres will be fine if you are storing them and drop the pressures but not sure about if you keep them on the car, a bit hit and miss I guess.

If you're after a set of 17x8 I have some mint scooby STi wheels you can have :wink:

 

[lockwood77]

Hmm, I'm gonna need bigger wheels at the back than the front mate! :wink:

 

[ian.herm01]

well i loved my 888's great in all weather EXCEPT torrential rain as (as EVS said) they cannot clear standing water at all lasted well and were great on track.

I initially had some probs with them going off but after working with TOYO tech at one of the TA events it transpires they are designed to run at a slightly highter pressure than normal trackday tyres, once this was sorted it was much better.

How much more pressure were you running in them, i'm curious as they went off quite quickly.

 

[phil_dc5]

Another problem with R888s is that they throw the crap up the side of the car more so than a 'normal' tyre causing quite bad stone chipping in some cases that ive seen.

 

[celox performance]

R888's are better in cold/wet conditions than the A048's. Neither are dreadful when the temperature's below '0' but i've changed back to my F1's until Spring time, which are behave better on the road at this time of year.