July 2010. Odometer ~292000km. At recent track days I've started to feel that my high-performance street tires are a little slippery. To get more grip, I decided to try dedicated track tires. I chose Toyo r888s because they are the official tire for the Spec E30 racing series. Of course, to run track tires, I also needed new rims. This time, I wasn't so picky about appearance; I just wanted a solid wheel in a perfect fitment. I found rims and track tires available mounted at Phil's Tire Service. Phil's supplies tires for the Spec E30 crowd, so it seemed like a good, affordable place to buy.
Approx $1450.05 (the dollar was roughly at par)
Other pricing options:
http://wheels-direct.com/ in Toronto: 4 x r888 = CAD$800 including tax (+$10 per mount)
Compared to high-end sports tires (e.g., Falken Azenis RT615K), the grip difference is incredible. These tires put a huge smile on my face. It was a night-and-day improvement over sports tires. You can hold much more speed through corners without slipping, and brake much later without skidding. This upgrade is expensive, and has a recurring cost, but is pretty much mandatory if you want to advance in track driving.
