nikpro Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 A021r's for the road and some track work, excellent tyre in my opinion. Bought from the great man himself 'Harv' Had them a couple of years, they've not got much life left in them but what's the point in putting half decent road tyres on a Westie? Brindle, buy a set of cheap set of slicks for the track day hooning if you're worried about the 888's lasting Although, car preparation and slicks is a whole different subject, mine is a work in progress Using worn slicks with several heat cycles in them will, on average, give you less grip than something like R888. Michelin slicks the best to go for used as they don't seem to suffer as bad with 4 or 5 heat cycles in them. Had about 1000 miles out of a medium set of R888 with 2 trackdays (about 1.5 hours of tracktime) in there;the rears are virtually done and have noticed the grip has reduced on the worn tyres significantly. We used to get 2 hours of track time out of a set of T1's on the MX5 but it obviously doesn't punish the rear tyres as much as the westie. (The tyres were shaved to 4mm tread depth but this actually helps the wear rate as there is less heat build up in the tread blocks) R888 are 2 secs a lap faster on a 2min10sec lap - a country mile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 A021r's for the road and some track work, excellent tyre in my opinion. Bought from the great man himself 'Harv' Had them a couple of years, they've not got much life left in them but what's the point in putting half decent road tyres on a Westie? Brindle, buy a set of cheap set of slicks for the track day hooning if you're worried about the 888's lasting Although, car preparation and slicks is a whole different subject, mine is a work in progress 21r's are indeed a fantastic all rounder but do they still make them ? i would recommend them combined with a set of 48's or 888's as said by nickpro , using part worn slicks is such a lottery , its bad enough getting a duff set when they are new , and you never know what they have done even if used for one or 2 races , as they can go off and be worse than a performance cut slick . Cr 500's were good but i found i could overheat them too quickly no matter what we did with pressures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brindle Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Thanks for all the advise guys. I have been quoted £300 fitted for 4 x 195/50/15 R888's locally which I reckon is very good. So.... I'll give them a whirl and if they don't last me a year at least, I'll go back to the more sedate T1-s'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skOOby Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I don't think you'll regret it. I've recently opted for R888s and they've transformed the car. Drove back from a trackday recently in torrential rain and as long as your not silly - they were fine! Wouldn't put anything else on now! skOOby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FW500 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 The key difference between a 888 and T1-R besides the tread pattern and compound is that the 888 has competition, re-inforced sidewalls whereas the T1-R doesn't. You don't really want the side of your tyre providing the link between your car and the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 A021r's for the road and some track work, excellent tyre in my opinion. Bought from the great man himself 'Harv' Had them a couple of years, they've not got much life left in them but what's the point in putting half decent road tyres on a Westie? Brindle, buy a set of cheap set of slicks for the track day hooning if you're worried about the 888's lasting Although, car preparation and slicks is a whole different subject, mine is a work in progress 21r's are indeed a fantastic all rounder but do they still make them ? i would recommend them combined with a set of 48's or 888's Yep, well they're still available to buy at least. s_R13_-_185/60/13,_185/60_R13" target="_blank">21r's in 185/60/13 s_R13_-_205/60/13,_205/60_R13" target="_blank">21r's in 205/60/13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Billsberry Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 night and day , totally different tyre , whether your use puts the value at double will really depend on you . Hi Are we talking just sheer grip here - from cold, hot, do they cope with higher temps than T1-R's etc? I do a couple of trackdays a year also and have found the bridgestones the car came with and the T1-S' currently on the car (though old) like driving on a tub of Vaseline once they get hot. The only real concern I have on R888 is the life. there has been many threads exploring this but never a definitive answer. I do around 3000 miles a year and could do without replacing them every 12 months!!! Cheers. <!--emo& Get the 888's as everybody says they are brill or even yoko 48's there very similiar as for wear it depends on your right foot. I've got 3500 miles on mine with just short of 290bhp & a 710kg car! (medium compound) and they're on 2mm now so hopefully should last the until I sorn the car in september. I also find them pretty good in the wet but like all westys you just have to watch your right foot! Buzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasmon Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 There was a bulk buy of R888 ages ago, they came from BMTR and were a really good deal. Maybe try them? http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin....29;st=0 From memory I think I paid about £260 for 205/50/R15...Fitting was £5 a corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brindle Posted August 9, 2009 Author Share Posted August 9, 2009 Thanks for all the responses and some interesting views / experiences. So I decided in the end, my options were: a. 1 set of R888's for road and track use b. 1 set of T1-s' for road use and buy another cheap set of rims to put some slicks on for track use. I am now the proud(ish) owner of 1 set of T1-s at a very very good rate (ebay £130 ish a set + fitting) and a set for 13" x 7" Ford RS alloys. Getting some slicks next week, and all in the 2 sets of tyres including the RS alloys cost less than 4 R888's on their own. Once I had had the fun of scrubbing the T1s' in, they seem very good - certainly better than the geriatric T1-r's I was sporting before anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu999 Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Thanks for all the responses and some interesting views / experiences. So I decided in the end, my options were: a. 1 set of R888's for road and track use b. 1 set of T1-s' for road use and buy another cheap set of rims to put some slicks on for track use. I am now the proud(ish) owner of 1 set of T1-s at a very very good rate (ebay £130 ish a set + fitting) and a set for 13" x 7" Ford RS alloys. Getting some slicks next week, and all in the 2 sets of tyres including the RS alloys cost less than 4 R888's on their own. Once I had had the fun of scrubbing the T1s' in, they seem very good - certainly better than the geriatric T1-r's I was sporting before anyway. I thought T1S was actually an older tyre than the T1R? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikpro Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Surprising choice IMO you have compromised both road and track performance. and If you have gone for crossply slicks you've got to geo the car for every track day then re-set after as they won't like the same camber settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I dont know your car but if using slicks it needs a dry sump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Squadon Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Surprising choice IMO you have compromised both road and track performance. and If you have gone for crossply slicks you've got to geo the car for every track day then re-set after as they won't like the same camber settings. Out of interest, what are the basic camber/geo changes required when moving from radials to cross-plys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brindle Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 Thanks for all the responses and some interesting views / experiences. So I decided in the end, my options were: a. 1 set of R888's for road and track use b. 1 set of T1-s' for road use and buy another cheap set of rims to put some slicks on for track use. I am now the proud(ish) owner of 1 set of T1-s at a very very good rate (ebay £130 ish a set + fitting) and a set for 13" x 7" Ford RS alloys. Getting some slicks next week, and all in the 2 sets of tyres including the RS alloys cost less than 4 R888's on their own. Once I had had the fun of scrubbing the T1s' in, they seem very good - certainly better than the geriatric T1-r's I was sporting before anyway. I thought T1S was actually an older tyre than the T1R? Yep - you are right - I meant T1'r's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brindle Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 Surprising choice IMO you have compromised both road and track performance. and If you have gone for crossply slicks you've got to geo the car for every track day then re-set after as they won't like the same camber settings. I see where you are coming from, but IMHO, I know plenty of guys who do this without changing the suspension set up - and don't forget I am talking about 3-4 track days per year, not competing in the speed series. I know that the R888's will give grip in the Dry, but I have used mine plenty in the wet this year as well. I guess at the end of the day, I made the decision to go this route based upon the fact that for me the Westfield is an indulgence which costs enough as it is, without putting £300 of new rubber on every year. I figure that I can have plenty of grip (for public road use) with T1'rs and then not cook them on track or burn money with R888's by using slicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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