Whats a good replacement for the 345 30 19 Toyo R888

[Junkie]

Well I recently got my car back from Nth Moto and love the combo, the car drives so awesome on R888's its hard to even put into words. Well now I've learned that they 345 R888 has been discontinued and they do not produce the new style tire in anything larger than a 305. So what do we do, I know the Viper community has been running this tire for a long time. Here are some options that I've seen, none of which hit the same level of multi purpose as the R888 IMO, but I wanted to see if any of you guys have ventured out and tried other tires.

-345/30/19 Nitto NT05R- I ran this tire on my nitrous TA and it worked very well, I'd say on par with the R888 for strait line stuff but not anywhere near comparable in the turns or cruising. Summit has these listed for $390.73

-345/30/19 Hoosier R7- These are the tires that really have me wondering. I've seen people send them off and have grooves cut in them, just in case you get caught in water. They look great, I know they handle great. Just wondering if they will put down power like the R888 or NT05R do. If they do, this is the next logical step to me. Summit has these listed for $489.97, by far the most expensive option listed.

-325/30/19 Mickey Thompson Street S/S drag radial- While the size is listed narrower, Summit has them spec'd at 12.9" wide, which is still a very beefy tire. I know that when they dropped the 305mm version of this tire they had "out of round" issues and lots of CTS-V guys were having to send them back for replacements. Having driven on these, even with rain grooves in them they are dangerous in the rain! Summit has these listed at $395.05, this is the least exciting tire out of the bunch for me. I think I would rather put 18's on the car, but who knows.

Heres a cool pic, sorry for the long post!

Untitled by Will Dugas, on Flickr

[TrackAire]

Toyo is suppose to be releasing the R888R in the 345-30-19 size and many have been waiting with no exact dates as of yet. The R888R is suppose to be the replacement and upgrade to the old R888.

I'd call Phils Tire Service as they seem to have the best answers when it comes to Toyo R-compound tires.

https://philstireservice.com/shop/toyo-proxes-r888r/

[13COBRA]

Toyo is suppose to be releasing the R888R in the 345-30-19 size and many have been waiting with no exact dates as of yet. The R888R is suppose to be the replacement and upgrade to the old R888.

I'd call Phils Tire Service as they seem to have the best answers when it comes to Toyo R-compound tires.

https://philstireservice.com/shop/toyo-proxes-r888r/

They're going live on Phil's website today, just spoke with them.

[Bill Pemberton]

Get ahold of Luke ( ext. 4362) as Tire Rack shows a short supply of 345s and at a discount.

For those looking for a street tire that is not really for the track , chat with Luke , as there are other tires that are better for the majority of drivers for normal driving, in the rain, ride, and less noise, and less tracking on rutted roads.

[Junkie]

Get ahold of Luke ( ext. 4362) as Tire Rack shows a short supply of 345s and at a discount.

For those looking for a street tire that is not really for the track , chat with Luke , as there are other tires that are better for the majority of drivers for normal driving, in the rain, ride, and less noise, and less tracking on rutted roads.

I'll call him today!

[texasram]

There is a pilot cup 2 in a 345, cant believe no one has ever considered this tire on here

[Vipes]

I was just about to get a set of NT05R's for the 1/4 track but now I think I'll wait for the new R888r's, I wish I could get an ETA.

[13COBRA]

I was just about to get a set of NT05R's for the 1/4 track but now I think I'll wait for the new R888r's, I wish I could get an ETA.

Read my last post, going live today. You can call in and order right now.

Rears are $469 plus $12 shipping (each). Fronts are $252 plus $12 shipping (each).

https://philstireservice.com/shop/toyo-proxes-r888r/

[Elganja]

Read my last post, going live today. You can call in and order right now.

Rears are $469 plus $12 shipping (each). Fronts are $252 plus $12 shipping (each).

https://philstireservice.com/shop/toyo-proxes-r888r/

very good to hear! there is some jackass on ebay trying to sell the r888 in our size for 650+ a tire (he has 6 of them)

[13COBRA]

very good to hear! there is some jackass on ebay trying to sell the r888 in our size for 650+ a tire (he has 6 of them)

Well..it is a free market? lol Not sure why that makes him a jackass.

[mackzilla]

Well..it is a free market? lol Not sure why that makes him a jackass.

Capitalist or not he's a dick. Sorry.

[Ripper]

Read my last post, going live today. You can call in and order right now.

Rears are $469 plus $12 shipping (each). Fronts are $252 plus $12 shipping (each).

https://philstireservice.com/shop/toyo-proxes-r888r/

Thanks for the link !~!~!

[Dman]

Wow, best news in a while. As good as the old R888s are, if these new ones are even a tiny bit improved, they're going to be a killer option. Thanks for posting.

[Boosted Motorsports]

You had me worried about the R888 no longer being available for the rear in 19 for my other set of wheels. I have these brand new on my 18" ACR wheels and as you said these tires are hard to put into words how well they perform. Once they are hot they are amazing. I have Nitto INVO tires with lots of tread that I am going to replace with R888s.

Anyone looking for Nitto INVO in 275/30-19 and 345/30-19 let me know as I am planning to remove these soon!

[Bill Pemberton]

Believe the 345 in the Pilot Sport Cup 2 is with a 20 inch rear. That is a big improvement over the original Sport Cup, and definitely quicker than an R888, but makes no difference is not in our size yet.

[Dman]

Believe the 345 in the Pilot Sport Cup 2 is with a 20 inch rear. That is a big improvement over the original Sport Cup, and definitely quicker than an R888, but makes no difference is not in our size yet.

Quicker than an R888, really. I was never impressed with the orig's or the new one's, tried them on my GT500, albeit 800hp. R888s are pretty beastly grip. Interesting about the PSC2 being possibly better, by quicker I'm wondering if you're saying in acceleration or on track.

[texasram]

Quicker than an R888, really. I was never impressed with the orig's or the new one's, tried them on my GT500, albeit 800hp. R888s are pretty beastly grip. Interesting about the PSC2 being possibly better, by quicker I'm wondering if you're saying in acceleration or on track.

Yes definitely quicker than the yoyo's, and is availible just limited

[texasram]

Believe the 345 in the Pilot Sport Cup 2 is with a 20 inch rear. That is a big improvement over the original Sport Cup, and definitely quicker than an R888, but makes no difference is not in our size yet.

Limited availability but it does exist 345/30ZR19/XL
http://www.michelinman.com/US/en/tir...w&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Bill Pemberton]

Sorry, DMan , on a road course. I never liked the old PSCs , but the new ones heat up better on a cool day and seem to last decently. The R888s seem to work well for guys drag racing , but they get greasy quick and for long sessions on a road course they are not overly consistent.

Remember this was the Spec tire that was dropped from both the World Challenge Series and Pro Spec Miata years back due to extreme dislike from the drivers. I was sponsored by Toyo about the same time, but was running a different tire and loved it -- stayed consistent throughout a session. They have changed their compounding numerous times out of necessity , but the R888r was really needed , so glad to see it is out. Would recommend the R888r to those that want a DOT Comp. tire for the street , as it is a new generation.

[slowhatch]

Sorry, DMan , on a road course. I never liked the old PSCs , but the new ones heat up better on a cool day and seem to last decently. The R888s seem to work well for guys drag racing , but they get greasy quick and for long sessions on a road course they are not overly consistent.

Remember this was the Spec tire that was dropped from both the World Challenge Series and Pro Spec Miata years back due to extreme dislike from the drivers. I was sponsored by Toyo about the same time, but was running a different tire and loved it -- stayed consistent throughout a session. They have changed their compounding numerous times out of necessity , but the R888r was really needed , so glad to see it is out. Would recommend the R888r to those that want a DOT Comp. tire for the street , as it is a new generation.

Drag racing guys, R888? Its a hard sidewall road race tire, it does absolutely zero favors to anyone at the dragstrip aside from increasing the chance of them breaking drivetrain when they dead hook. The reason why people run on them on the street is because they offer grip close to a drag radial (through virtue of using R compound and essentially groove free contact patch), but give up zero in the handling department as opposed to a softwall drag radial like a NT05R (which floats around at high speed like you're on marbles).

It is disappointing that this tire is going away.

[Bruce H.]

A track friend of mine has an AMG GT S with the track package that uses the Pilot Sport Cup 2. Third track day the tires went completely off. Lots of tread with less than 2k miles but no grip left. Day was done. Not sure how others find them.

[Bill Pemberton]

All the DOT Comp tires can wear quickly , but to say say they went off in three days does not really tell us anything , as we do not know the track configuration , if he ran with a track alignment, if he switched tires from side to side , etc. We have comments of folks wearing out a set of Kumho fronts in a weekend with their ACRs, and I know I have worn out a set of Hoosier R7s in a weekend , as I was too lazy to rotate from side to side -- two tracks I run on wear heavily on the left side. Practically every tire out there one of us will has a story that is not to their benefit, but as always " Fast" wears stuff out quickly. Whereas some DOT Comp tires may wear quicker than others, it is often because they are faster on the track. As DMan brought up, he questioned whether the Pilot Sport Cup 2 was as quick as the R888 --- frankly he was discussing straight line acceleration and I bow to his knowledge there , but on a road course the R888 is not as quick. The question started off with what to do as a Viper owner could not get R888s , and many of us, myself included , got off on another tangent, so to get back on track the answer was already given ----- looks like 13 Cobra found out the R888r is now out in sizes for a Viper. Good news for Junkie and the right answer to his question. My apologies as that should have been where the answer lay and bingo things are solved with the help of other SnakeCharmers.

[Bill Pemberton]

I know Slowhatch , but the kicker is drag racing sounds better than street racing on a Forum , and I knew what DMan meant. The R888r will be a better tire than the R888 and thanks go to 13 Cobra , as my old Toyo buddy did not think it would be out till late Summer - he was obviously wrong.

[Dman]

I know Slowhatch , but the kicker is drag racing sounds better than street racing on a Forum , and I knew what DMan meant. The R888r will be a better tire than the R888 and thanks go to 13 Cobra , as my old Toyo buddy did not think it would be out till late Summer - he was obviously wrong.

For never having met, we sure do get each other. lol. Track rat thing I guess.

Thanks for the extra info, as always.

[The_Ruski_Driver]

This guy complaining about tires... how about the guys who buy a new porsche then ask 30k on top of msrp after putting 400 miles on em?