NOT!

First off, I would like to apologize to everyone for bragging about how I was able to get 16+ out of them and still have PLENTY of grip. While the tire still had tread, still had grip, still seemed to have more life in them, I guess they didn't. I picked up almost 1.5 seconds switching to a new set and had a car that was more controllable, predictable and more competitive than it was the previous day. I am sure everyone already knew this info about the tire, but I am new to the R888 and never ran on the RA1 so I had nothing but my own new experiences to compare them to.
Now lets get those 205/50-15 RA-1's approved for competition so we can get down to business.

I have a set with 16 HC on them. I will get 20 from them since my next track day is a test day. As best I could tell my lap times were consistant with where I needed to be on the 16th HC. My home track is PIR I have run that track so much I can tell very quickly when tire go off. There are 2-3 spots on that track where you feel it first since you can't carry the same speed. HC 16 seemed just fine. I can't say HC 17 will be ok, but I was happy with 16. Last time my tires went out at HC 13. I could feel them going alway. I put them on for a 14th HC and I was clear they were toast. I got one decient lap time in, but it was on the edge and trying to get another lap like that was risking a wreck. So I parked it. My tires current tires after HC16 both look better and are were ok.


So
Set 1 (RA-1 camber settings) - from full tread
HC = 12 - Still good
HC = 13 - Good at start then went away
HC = 14 - Gone very slick and unable to hold track
Notes: more wear on inside 1/3 of the tire

Set 2 (took out about 0.5 deg neg camber 4 HC in)
HC = 16 - Raced on these grip still good
HC = 17+ plan to use for 4 practice sessions Grip level unknown.
Notes: Ok tread depth and much more even depth over face of the tire. Less camber seems to have helped out.

Joe, so what camber are you on now, like 2.5 deg? i think i remember you were 3 degrees all around before. My r-888s lasting long is probably a function of not running 100% every session.

Old camber

-3.5 front -2.5 rear, New camber -3.1 front -2.0 rear.


Also I have the car set-up to understeer a bit more. This helps limit the rear end sliding I used to get with the RA-1. With the RA-1 that sliding was "technique". With the R888 sliding is bad so I need to change the car. I really feel like I am dailing in on these tires now. Still not sure if I can get 20 heat cycles from them with compeitive times although 16 compeitive cycles and 4 "practice" cycles might not be too bad. With RA-1's I ran practice cycles up front and raced them 5-6 cycles in. Then tossed them when old. Maybe with R888 can use the last 4 for practice if they have enough grip to at least be on track safely.

What I have found with old 888's is that the car just doesn't feel correct in practice sessions so I don't really get an understanding of what, if anythihg I might want to change, set up wise, for that day and that track, including tire pressures, because of the way the car feels. The feedback is just useless.

There have been several times when I thought the car was junk and was trying to adjust shocks, sway bars, etc. and when I put a set of good tires on, the car was great.

I will never waste my seat time again trying to get another session out of tires that have gone away. It does more damage to me mentally that it is worth. Of course, for those of you that have made certain comments about my "inverted" picture (thanks again, Tim), you may not think that my mental state is much to be concerned about, one way or the other.

Big Dog

do you guys find that starting with brand new r-888s, unshaved, that you get good performance from the first session and on? or do they take several sessions to get good? when i first started on mine last year, they were 2-3 seconds slower than the ra-1s and now that they are almost down to the wear bars, they are faster than the ra-1s.