My RB26 260Z Project

[svensktoppen]

They were on the R1R, so expensive smoke, I'll be changing to R888's on the rear soon.

Sure, that will be much cheaper

 

[EF Ian]

You can be sure I'll not be burning the tyres off once I put the 888's on. I'll get another set of wheels for when I feel the need to do that. Will have to be a new set though as it's very hard to find second hand wheels in the right size and offset.

I actually want to run wider wheels on the rear and have been looking into it. Problem is if I stay 16 i can only get an extra 15mm inside but if I go to 17's I'll should be easily able to run 245's without flares but i think 17 would look too big on the wee Z.


You can see here the strut is the only thing stopping me running wider rims, and why if I was to run 17's I would have more clearance as it moves the rim further up the strut which due to the angle gives more clearance.

Pissed off with Toyo for stopping production of the R1R's. Easily the best tyre I've ever used.

 

[svensktoppen]

Think you may find that the 888 on the road will not be much better than the R1R, except maybe on a warm dry summer day. A tyre like 888 needs proper heat before they really get to work, and you only ever get that on track. Track tyres you can use on the road, not the other way around.

They are also rock hard, basically run-flat, designed to run with very low tyre pressures (to keep a flat contact patch). Pretty uncomfortable on the road.

Did you look at AD08? The Yokohama equivalent to R1R. Personally I preferred the AD08 to the R1R as road tyres, but very similar both of them.

 

[KeithRobinson]

Without doubt one of my favourite cars ever to appear on RMS. It takes a lot to achieve that level of finish - hats off to you!

 

[EF Ian]

Did you look at AD08? The Yokohama equivalent to R1R. Personally I preferred the AD08 to the R1R as road tyres, but very similar both of them.

Thanks for the advice. I'll look into AD08's, hard to imagine a tyre better than the R1R's have been so they must be good.




KeithRobinson - Cheers

 

[svensktoppen]

Fine in the wet too. And stand up well to occasional track abuse as well (proper circuit driving that is, not slidy hooliganism ), though obviously not a patch on specialist tyres like 888/A048 for that.

Not great in the cold months though, but your car will go into hiding anyway so no bother there

If you liked the R1R then the AD08 are definitely worth a look.

 

[stevieturbo]

You can be sure I'll not be burning the tyres off once I put the 888's on. I'll get another set of wheels for when I feel the need to do that. Will have to be a new set though as it's very hard to find second hand wheels in the right size and offset.

I actually want to run wider wheels on the rear and have been looking into it. Problem is if I stay 16 i can only get an extra 15mm inside but if I go to 17's I'll should be easily able to run 245's without flares but i think 17 would look too big on the wee Z.


You can see here the strut is the only thing stopping me running wider rims, and why if I was to run 17's I would have more clearance as it moves the rim further up the strut which due to the angle gives more clearance.

Pissed off with Toyo for stopping production of the R1R's. Easily the best tyre I've ever used.

It does look like you've a fair bit of room for a wider tyre, albeit limited to rim size there. Only problem with 16's these days, tyre options are just getting fewer and fewer.
If you were to source tyres from the US you'd definitely have more options...albeit at insane prices.

At least moving to 17" tyres will give you more choice if nothing else....just means new wheels too ! So not a cheap change and the current wheels suit the car well.

 

[svensktoppen]

The tyres he is looking at are all available in 15/16/17, in plenty of sizes.

 

[EF Ian]

It does look like you've a fair bit of room for a wider tyre, albeit limited to rim size there. Only problem with 16's these days, tyre options are just getting fewer and fewer.

With 16's I've got a max of 15mm to play with. With 17's it should be over an inch. Tyre options for 16's are few but I'll never run over a 245 without flares so luckily I can get good 16" tyres in my sizes.

At least moving to 17" tyres will give you more choice if nothing else....just means new wheels too ! So not a cheap change and the current wheels suit the car well.

It gives me more room for a wider wheel and more tyre options but it might ruin the style, 16" look biggish on it so 17's could look massive.

The tyres he is looking at are all available in 15/16/17, in plenty of sizes.

Luckily the tyres I'd be using can be found in 225/235/245 in 16".




I was thinking of Watanabe wheels for the rear, 8.5" +15 with 245/40/16's (currently 8" +10 225/45/16) but at £500 a wheel plus shipping from Japan its a risk. Rims should fit as they only take an extra 11.4mm on the inside, just as long as the 245's aren't too wide, I'd rather run a 9" rim for a 245 but I can't do this on 16's. I also have to make sure the inside diameter of the rim is no smaller the current ones as I only have about 5mm of space from the rear brake callipers to to the wheel and also if its smaller that makes it closer to the shock.

I think the chances of anyone here having a wheel in the size I need to check fitment would be almost zero.

 

[stevieturbo]

Also bare in mind, the likes of an 888 245, will be a little wider than a typical normal road tyre 245. They tend to be around 8mm or so wider than the number suggests. Not sure how the R1R's actually fair there, never measured one.

8" on 245 is fine I used to run that on my 8x16's, although did also try 265/45x16 once with the Kumho but whilst they're a decent tyre they dont last any time at all before they're illegal, 265 is a bit too wide for 8", but the the tallish sidewall masked it ok.
IMO 9" would be a little wide for a 245, prob ok for an 888 though.

 

[svensktoppen]

Unlikely to notice any difference from the "extra" 20mm to be honest, especially just for road use. Unless you want the look or something just stick to what you have

 

[EF Ian]

Also bare in mind, the likes of an 888 245, will be a little wider than a typical normal road tyre 245. They tend to be around 8mm or so wider than the number suggests. Not sure how the R1R's actually fair there, never measured one.

Good point. The R1R's are slightly wider, but not as much as 888's.

Unlikely to notice any difference from the "extra" 20mm to be honest, especially just for road use. Unless you want the look or something just stick to what you have

Surely every little has to help and even with 245's she'd be under tyred for the power, I'm just lucky that the chassis grips like glue in a straight line however first gear could be better and the less slip I have in first and second the faster my 0-100 will be.

 

[stevieturbo]

Just run less boost in 1st

And agree....if you can have another 20mm of rubber and it is still making good contact with the ground, then better having it than not.

But when I had 255/40x17 888's on my 8" rims, most of the time the outer 10-15mm hardly touched the ground and was clearly visible on the tread.
I dropped back to 235/45's instead and they do sit nicer, also slightly taller too.

 

[svensktoppen]

Remember if you do go for 888, they are designed to run at much lower pressures than normal road tyres. If you run them at your normal pressures you will get exactly what Stevie describes - only the centre portion will be used - which again kind of negates the benefits. Getting the right pressures on those tyres makes a massive difference. Easily several seconds round Kirkistown for example.

Plus, as before, to really get tyres like 888 to work they need to be hot, and the only place they will get hot enough is flat out on a circuit. That is what they were designed for. On the road you will never get even close to their potential. Still fine to use on the road, don't get me wrong, just a bit, well, overkill, unless you plan to spend time on circuits.

But hey, your fun

 

[chrisd1]

What you need Ian is custom made WORK wheels to your personal spec, drop me a PM! Also, Watanabe wheels won't cost you that much

 

[stevieturbo]

Remember if you do go for 888, they are designed to run at much lower pressures than normal road tyres. If you run them at your normal pressures you will get exactly what Stevie describes - only the centre portion will be used - which again kind of negates the benefits. Getting the right pressures on those tyres makes a massive difference. Easily several seconds round Kirkistown for example.

Plus, as before, to really get tyres like 888 to work they need to be hot, and the only place they will get hot enough is flat out on a circuit. That is what they were designed for. On the road you will never get even close to their potential. Still fine to use on the road, don't get me wrong, just a bit, well, overkill, unless you plan to spend time on circuits.

But hey, your fun

If I was to run tyres at a lower than sensible pressure, it'd be like driving a boat. And I didnt say only the centre portion was used, I said the entire tread bar the outside 10mm or so where the shape of the tyre is incorrect due to being too wide for the rim in use.

And even cold 888's will offer far better grip than any normal road tyre. Really for a dry weather road tyre the 888's are great. They work very well and give fairly good mileage.
Even in the wet they're still quite good...it's just standing water they dont like at all.

 

[EF Ian]

Just run less boost in 1st

Wheres the fun in that?

Only joking, thats actually a good point, I was meant to be running boost by gear but was having trouble getting the speed input working, if I can get that sorted I can set it so I only use a max of 1 bar in first gear.

And agree....if you can have another 20mm of rubber and it is still making good contact with the ground, then better having it than not.

I would think so, thats an extra 40mm on the rear, surely couldn't hurt

But when I had 255/40x17 888's on my 8" rims, most of the time the outer 10-15mm hardly touched the ground and was clearly visible on the tread.

255 is massive for an 8" rim. I prefer to run a slight stretch on my tyres.

Plus, as before, to really get tyres like 888 to work they need to be hot, and the only place they will get hot enough is flat out on a circuit. That is what they were designed for. On the road you will never get even close to their potential. Still fine to use on the road, don't get me wrong, just a bit, well, overkill, unless you plan to spend time on circuits.

Think I'll be giving AD08's a try, wonder how much different the 888's are compared to R1R's given its the same compound (afaik) the R1R's need to be warmed before I can pull away quicky, a few low boost runs was always enough to get them sticking.

What you need Ian is custom made WORK wheels to your personal spec, drop me a PM! Also, Watanabe wheels won't cost you that much

Work wheels are nice but clearly Watanabe style wheels suit S30's better than anything else. Would be hard to convince me differently but I'll take a look at the WORK range again.

You must know a better place to buy your Watanabe's from than I do, cheapest I could find for my fitment with Magnesium paint and cut lips was £482 per wheel.

 

[svensktoppen]

Think I'll be giving AD08's a try, wonder how much different the 888's are compared to R1R's given its the same compound (afaik)

The likes of R888/A048 are completely different tyres from AD08/R1R.

Easily 10-15% on a race track (circuit racing) between R888 and AD08, and the R1R were very close to AD08.

AD08 and R1R are both road tyres that also make great track tyres (circuit racing). They do get better with heat in them, all tyres do to a point. But on a track (circuit racing) they go off relatively quickly (overheat), where R888/A048 just get better and better the harder you push. Conversely, the AD08/R1R work better from cold, hence why the difference to 888/048 when used on road is less.

And yes @stevieturbo , 888/A048 are designed to run much lower pressures, much lower than normal road tyres. They have steel walls, rock solid, proper race tyre. I run mine at 22psi HOT pressure on trackdays, even less sometimes, and the same cold on the road. Compared to a normal COLD road tyre pressure of 27psi. And the difference is night and day, the laptimes speak for themselves. Several seconds round Kirkistown for example.

If there is not wear over the full surface of an 888/A048 tyre (assuming the geometry is appropriate), then the pressure is too high, and you are missing out on a lot of their potential.

 

[johnm]

Challenge accepted?

1,000hp Of Datsun Fury - Speedhunters

 

[stevieturbo]

The likes of R888/A048 are completely different tyres from AD08/R1R.

Easily 10-15% on a race track (circuit racing) between R888 and AD08, and the R1R were very close to AD08.

AD08 and R1R are both road tyres that also make great track tyres (circuit racing). They do get better with heat in them, all tyres do to a point. But on a track (circuit racing) they go off relatively quickly (overheat), where R888/A048 just get better and better the harder you push. Conversely, the AD08/R1R work better from cold, hence why the difference to 888/048 when used on road is less.

And yes @stevieturbo , 888/A048 are designed to run much lower pressures, much lower than normal road tyres. They have steel walls, rock solid, proper race tyre. I run mine at 22psi HOT pressure on trackdays, even less sometimes, and the same cold on the road. Compared to a normal COLD road tyre pressure of 27psi. And the difference is night and day, the laptimes speak for themselves. Several seconds round Kirkistown for example.

If there is not wear over the full surface of an 888/A048 tyre (assuming the geometry is appropriate), then the pressure is too high, and you are missing out on a lot of their potential.

Your car is very light though, mine's near 1800kgs ! It'd be mental to run them at such low pressures.

And dont get confused with AD08's and AD08R's

AD08's are bog standard road tyres, the R's are a softer compound but still full tread.

Although I'm near sure I read they even stopped making them ?

 

[svensktoppen]

The point was the relative tyre pressures, not the absolute

 

[EF Ian]

Challenge accepted?

1,000hp Of Datsun Fury - Speedhunters

No, not with this project, next one perhaps.

You couldn't enjoy that on the road at all.

I've been following Toni's build for about two years before I even got my Datsun, he's done an amazing job and is very skilled (enough to make me jealous). But its too much power, I've seen his videos, even on track he can't use full throttle or revs in the first 3 gears, looks tricky to balance the power and the turbo threshold is pretty high so it doesn't do much at low rpms. Plus running 2.5 bar of boost even a 2JZ won't be that reliable long term. On top of that, even with my power its hard to make use of it on the road (in legal terms) with over 1000hp which you can't even put down in the first few gears enjoying it on the road would be hard.

Once he gets traction control setup it should be pretty mean on track as he'll be able to put down as much power as possible in every gear, he'll probably set it up with 10% slip rate which is the optimum for max acceleration.

I think me staying sensible with the HP is the reason why I enjoy my car so much on all occasions, even on the road, where my massive mid range comes into its own. I can't see me getting bored with it how it is, but if I do all I have to do is fit arch flare, wider wheels, replace the HKS GT-SS turbos with -10's and remap to have over 650hp. I would move away from twins for that power though and change to a single.


I've got so many crazy ideas for other projects in my head, can't wait to turn some into reality. I've decided its almost certainly going to be V10 engined (although a triple rotor N/A RX-4 is also an option) but I've got about 6 chassis to choose from to house the motor.

 

[kyle.j1]

hope to see this build out and about next year as its truly stunning, the Civic in the bubble looks good too

 

[EF Ian]

Can't wait to have it out again, will be a while though, due to job training it will probably be away until September time. Would love to get it up to Kirkistown if possible.




Finished the design for my radiator overflow tank, Pro Alloy are making it now:

 

[AIRFORCE1]

Fine in the wet too. And stand up well to occasional track abuse as well (proper circuit driving that is, not slidy hooliganism ), though obviously not a patch on specialist tyres like 888/A048 for that.

Not great in the cold months though, but your car will go into hiding anyway so no bother there

If you liked the R1R then the AD08 are definitely worth a look.

You only think you have tyres on the lotus bud. Wait till you see what's on the chevette next time your down. Now there tyres