16" wheels - tyre choices?

moggy240

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I have 4 cars so it's just easier to put 32 in all plus I am not far off where it needs to be.
 
johnymd

johnymd

Club Member
I’ve tried various tyres on my different Zed’s. R888 and r888s on the blue car with proper suspension and the grip is very high. Even wet grip is really good. They do go off the boil after the first year and over 3 years they show their age and become more fun than fast. Tried the ad08r a couple of years ago round spa and I was very impressed how close they felt to the r888s. Considering they are nearly half the price then they are are good choice for a road car that will also see the track. Ns2r are also very grippy on a standard suspension car and a bargain price 30% below ad08r. Proxis t1r or tr1 are a budget tyre of around £40 and will not cope with track or very fast road. I run these on my ratty car and they do slid around quite a bit which helps me keep my speed in check. Never ever got in trouble due to this as Zed’s are so predictable when you pass the limits of grip. As a guide below I’ll list these tyres with a guide number beside them to indicate cost and grip levels. High number = highest grip.

R888r. £150. 10
Ad08r £95. 9
Ns2r. £60. 8
T1r. £45. 4 when cold but 6 warm and 4 hot
 
peter_s

peter_s

Club Member
johnymd said:
Tried the ad08r a couple of years ago round spa and I was very impressed how close they felt to the r888s.
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They have changed the compound on the AD08S now, they are now called AD08RS.(they did this because of legislation)

The RS is not as sticky as the S, I hear a big difference just driving on the street. The S picked up so many pebbles, the RS sounds like a normal street tyre in that sense.

They still have the same great side wall and construction, so they are still a very good tire. I would say the AD08RS is one of the best compromises you can make if you drive you car on the street, and it still works reasonably well on a track. The R888 (and R888R) are very different in the compound, it's a full blown track tire with all the compromises you have to make for that if you are driving it on the street.

How is the noise level on the R888R? As bad as the R888?
 
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johnymd

johnymd

Club Member
It is very difficult to judge the noise different as I went from a 3 year old r888 with no tread depth left to a softer (due to age) r888r. I don’t think it was noticeably different. My Zed’s are all pretty noisy anyway.
 
peter_s

peter_s

Club Member
I was mainly thinking of the whining sounds, the R888 sounds like a set of slicks. The Ad08 is quiet in that sense, like a normal road tire.

Another great allround tyre is the Michelin Cup 2, but I don't think they make it in 16"
 
arcdef

arcdef

Club Member
Now that i have a good 800 miles on the toyos i do feel more confident with them, they are no where near as grippy as the Nankang NS2R i had before but they are more "comfortable" and certainly more quiet.

Yeah no Michelin cup 2 in 16" unfortunately.
 
peter_s

peter_s

Club Member
arcdef said:
Now that i have a good 800 miles on the toyos i do feel more confident with them, they are no where near as grippy as the Nankang NS2R i had before but they are more "comfortable" and certainly more quiet.

Yeah no Michelin cup 2 in 16" unfortunately.
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I would like to disagree. Or rather, you are right for street driving. The Toyos need a lot of heat in them, which you can't get on the street. When I ran Toyos I had to give them at least 3 hard laps on the track and then let at least 0.5 bar of air out of them. A tire like the NS2r will start to go off when the Toyos will start to get into their window. When they are in their window you can push them incredibly hard, it's a big step up from a high performance tyre like the NR2S.

The Toyo is a pretty bad street tire, there are much better options out there, lime the NS2R or the AD08. The compound is really half way to a slick, and you can also choose different compounds depending on the weight of the car. The R888 is a great tyre, but it is a competition tyre. When the temperature is below 10 deg outside the Toyos are like hockey pucks when cold :)
 
arcdef

arcdef

Club Member
peter_s said:
I would like to disagree. Or rather, you are right for street driving. The Toyos need a lot of heat in them, which you can't get on the street. When I ran Toyos I had to give them at least 3 hard laps on the track and then let at least 0.5 bar of air out of them. A tire like the NS2r will start to go off when the Toyos will start to get into their window. When they are in their window you can push them incredibly hard, it's a big step up from a high performance tyre like the NR2S.

The Toyo is a pretty bad street tire, there are much better options out there, lime the NS2R or the AD08. The compound is really half way to a slick, and you can also choose different compounds depending on the weight of the car. The R888 is a great tyre, but it is a competition tyre. When the temperature is below 10 deg outside the Toyos are like hockey pucks when cold :)
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Yeah but I got TR1's not the 888. Wanted a more road biased tyre as I don't really plan tracking it.
 
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