Toyo 888 shaved 5 seconds off my laps at Homestead - compared to Sumi III

I wanted to share a video that I made at homestead this past weekend with my first set of Toyo 888, and compare them with my previous set of tires, Sumitomo HRTZ III. First, the Toyo tires are super noisy on the street, and I would not recommend them for anything else than DE. I had driven the same track with my Sumitomo HRTZ-III and did 1"50 consistently and had plenty of fun with them, with the Toyo888 I did 1"45. For the simply fun factor, I'd say the Sumitomo are more than enough considering they cost half the price and offer much better ride on the street. Also I had a blast on the track with the Sumitomo under the rain, they were extremely effective while all R-compound tires had to either go back to pit lane or slow down to a crawl. But when you want to improve on those very fast corners, the Toyo bring that extra level of confidence you need to improve your time. Also I had upgraded my brake pads to PFC a couple weeks ago and on the track, the Sumitomo were overpowered by the braking and I experienced some wheel lock under hard braking. With the Toyo I was able to brake harder without any wheel locking. www.youtube.com/watch?v=J261Oy-ipV0Note1: Best time is lap #8 Note2: I was still in what is considered high pressure Front 36 Rear 38 (hot).

tell me about it... i drove with R888 all summer at Mosport, never realized i could be so fast

about average. Hoosiers are faster still. Also feel that the Nitto NT01 are faster than the toyos.

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I think they are the Exact Same Compound... comes out of the same Factory, only Tread Pattern is diffrent

Nice driving Phil. 5 seconds is a lot of time to pickup.. R comps definitely inspire confidence. I can tell you how to squeeze a 1-2 more out of those Toyos. The traqmate doesnt show were you are braking so I cant help with braking points but at turn 6 & 7 if you run a bit wider you will be able to mat the gas pedal in 3rd all way through turn 7 which will give you another 6-7 mph coming into 8. Also going a little deeper into turn 10 (which is not easy) will allow you to almost run straight into 11 and be able to brake without fear of getting the back end too loose. Too bad I wasnt there to mix it up with you. We can both learn abit from eachother. Im hoping to make the Chin events at end of Feb. and March. Thanks for the vids....

Yeah I know need to get flat out on turn 7 and longer on turn 10. Turn 7 I sometime get it right (flat out), but on turn 10 I have not found out how to take it deeper and make the turn in order to be straight in toward turn 11. Or should I say, I have had the ***** to run that far and make a sharp turn at such high speed. i'll try that next time How fast were you going around homstead with your C4 ?

The best Ive done is 41-42s with Harry's laptimer which is not the most accurate timer... Once im done with the motor Id like to setup a traqmate or something comparable. All my mod $ is vanishing quickley.

Sounds great! how do the shaved 888's communicate in the turns? If you end up with a designated set of track tires try the Kumho V710 next, DOT, very smooth street and quiet however very impractical with a tread rating of 30 they wear to fast wasting them for street driving (bad rain tire). I also had Sumi HTZ III - went to Mich sport cups, kumho's were incredible.

30 wear rating is low. Hoosier r6 is 40 i believe. I would imagine they would be great for autocross tire but would be shot after 2-3 events at Homestead depending on driving style and track temps. No way they should be used on the street. Aside from rain you will likely pick up debris and cut a tire very quickly. If you are considering driving to and from events the toyos and nittos are great and will easily last 6 events.

My 888 were NOT shaved, I will be going again this weekend and I'll see how much thread is left after those 2 days. Right now it is hard to tell but I think 50% thread is gone. they are thread wear 100, so they are pretty thick at first and a bit woobly. To keep it under control I ran the first session with quite high tire temperature around 40 psi, if not they were too woobly. That also explain the quick wear for the first 50% of the thread. I'll report after my second day next Saturday. Phil.

Phil, correct me if I'm wrong but haven't you also increased your daily intake of bran ?

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Yes, High Speed Late Apexes require a certain fortitude....

always said sumis were rocks. buy cheap, get cheap.