Just picked up my new R888R's from the tyre fitters. As you know you fit the original R888's to the wheel to orientate the tread depending on which side of the car the wheel is on. On the new R888R's the tyre wall states fit this side to the inside/outside of the wheel. Therefore, when the wheel is fitted to the nearside the tread is orientated in the correct position but when fitted to the off side it appears to run backwards. I phoned the Toyo technical line and the guy there agreed that he also thought it strange when he first saw them. I asked him if it's possible to to turn the tyre around opposite to the instructions on tyre wall but he advises that it's far better to run it "backwards". No doubt I will find out at the trackday tomorrow, as I only use them for track days, normally in the dry, I not too concerned it but I'm not sure what they would be like on a wet road. I still think I might turn it around against against the tyre wall info as I can't see what harm it can do and it would certainly look better. Any opinions?

My son fitted a set to his racing Honda CRX, and didn't think they were as good as the old 888s in the dry, but perhaps better than the old tyres on a damp track?

They do look strange though, as if there should be left and right handed versions?

They're asymetric (like a lot of road tyres) and the tread pattern doesn't work in the same way as directional tyres. Don't worry about the angle of the treads on the outer side and don't turn them as you suggest. Doing so would be dangerous!

Just used a set on a Euro' trip and found then better than the old version. In the wet they are far better; we had several biblical downpours with flooded roads and they worked fine even then. Only getting signs of aquaplaning in conditions I doubt any tyre could cope. In the dry they do take longer to warm than the old ones but they are more consistent. No matter how I tried I couldn't overheat them like the old ones (and we tried), even when the temp in the shade was in the high 30s and you couldn't touch the road surface because of the heat.

The new R888R' s performed well yesterday at Lydden Hill, the weather was very warm and they gripped incredible well, as good as, if not better than the old R888's.

Surely with them fitted the way they are, one side is technically fitted backwards?

If you swap the wheels from one side to the other, they'd be running the opposite way than they are now, so mounting them 'wrong' wouldn't make any difference.

My a539's are the same, and have an outside and inside edge, and have fitted them accordingly, although one side appears to be going backwards

I would imagine, that in an insurance claim, if they were fitted incorrectly, the insurance could be void ?

steve