Toyo R888 Proxes - Toyo Tires Canada

brought me around to trying the all-new Toyo R888
Proxes in late 2010. I loved this tire immediately, not
only for its fantastic stick but also for its consistency,
not only throughout a session, but throughout an
entire racing weekend.
©2013 Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of all traffic laws at all times.
I found the pressures Toyo recommended for the
weight of my car—just under 2,000lb—were dead-on
and the tires worked for me immediately. Over the
next few months, Toyo released further tips on pressures and temperatures, making it apparent they want
their customers to be happy.
Vintage Racing with the
Toyo R888 Proxes
By Kye Wankum,
UCR Director of
Communications
Finally a tire to fit the bill… and the car.
I
have been competing in vintage racing events
since around 1991, just three years after I first
joined UCR and learned about performance
driving in our fantastic DE program.
The first racecar was a 1968 911-L that I bought
together with fellow member and friend, Greg Doff.
We still own that car today. In fact, I will be running
it at this year’s VARAC Vintage Racing Festival
(now the Canadian Historic Grand Prix) on the
weekend of June 15-16. VARAC is the Vintage Racing Association of Canada.
Through the 90s, Greg and I participated in 10
to 12 vintage racing events a season, mostly with
SVRA (Sportscar Vintage Racing Association), up
and down the eastern US and Canada, from Road
America in Wisconsin, to Daytona Speedway in
Florida. We went through trials with several different tires over the years, as one or another manufacturer would phase out their 15-inch tire or stop
production of a competition type altogether. We
even ventured into using bias ply tires but, aside
from making the car slide all over the place, which is
a fun but slow way to go, they were never quite the
right size, usually being too tall for the car.
Meanwhile, SVRA allowed 50-series tires all along,
and that was the tire aspect ratio that seemed to
best suit our cars, but finding a good product was
another matter. While we started out with one car,
which we would share in endurance races or take
turns in from event to event, there were later two
and even three cars—all early 911s.
16
We took a break
from vintage racing
for a while around
2000, as we ran a
Porsche in the ALMS
Keeping track of tire pressures and temperatures is crucial
for two seasons and
when trying to get the best out of the car’s set-up.
I continued with a
Lola-Nissan prototype for another, but when the
large fortune was duly turned into a small one, we
found our way back to it. We again took in the odd
SVRA event but also focused more on running locally with our own racing organization, VARAC.
There came a point when VARAC began to enforce
rules that stipulated the use of 60-series tires for vintage and historic cars and we found ourselves with
slim pickings in the marketplace and really only one
product to choose from, which was available only in
one width, while typically we put wider tires on the
rear of the 911. These tires worked somewhat, but
again, they weren’t quite the right size.
Then, a couple of years ago, VARAC decided to allow entrants’ cars to be classified in three different
categories: to VARAC rules with 60-series tires, to
SVRA rules allowing 50-series tires, and to FIA rules
which stipulate narrower wheels and taller tires, just
as back in the day when these cars were originally
raced.
I immediately took advantage of this new set of rules
and entered my 1969 911 as an SVRA-prepared car,
seeing that I also raced with that organization anyway. Turns out there really aren’t very many competition tires that will fit our 15-inch Fuchs rims. That
My first outing with these new tires on my ’69 car was
with VARAC at Mosport in October, with pretty cold
weather. Nonetheless, the tires performed very well
on less-than-ideal track temperatures. The car was
then stored for the winter and I made my way down
to Sebring the following March to run in the historic
races at the annual 12-Hour event there. Wow! With
the heat down there and the very abrasive pavement at
that storied track, these tires worked even better; they
really loved the heat! Growth of the tires was very consistent all around at 5lb, with even temperatures across
the tire. Pressures used were about 18 and 22lbs cold,
while Toyo actually recommends 20 and 26lb for a car
weighing 800 to 1,000kg.
We typically don’t make suspension set-up changes
during a race weekend, other than sway-bar tweaks,
and those particularly for wet weather. There really
isn’t a lot one can do with these older cars—once
they’re set up well, that’s pretty much it. But with the
Toyo R888 we find the tire is very responsive to even
minute changes in the pressures to help us achieve
the results we are looking for, and possibly lap time
improvements of as much as two seconds at Mosport.
These changes are largely based on ambient and track
temperatures as well as track conditions.
Pfaff Track Days are Back.
Join us on July 10th, 2013 and revel in the thrill
of the track. You will get the opportunity to drive
your Porsche (or one of ours*) on one of the
world’s most famous tracks- Canadian Tire
Motorsport Park. Your Porsche has been
designed to excel on the track and with full
instruction included, you will have the opportunity
to improve your driving skills and better
understand the potential of your car.
July 10th, 2013
8:30 am - 4:30am
$599 + HST
Visit pfaffauto.com for more information
*Pfaff now offers rental vehicles for your enjoyment and convenience.
I will be back in the ’68 911-L—the first in the stable—
at Mosport for the VARAC Canadian Historic Grand
Prix. I hope to see you there, and will report on my
continued experiences with the Toyo R888 Proxes tire
later on in the season.
Pfaff Porsche
1968 911 L: My first racecar being driven with a stern expression as I’m
navigating the turns of Mid-Ohio in 1991.
JUNE 2013
101 Auto Park Circle | Woodbridge, ON L4L 8R1
888.434.8115 | pfaffporsche.com
The Journal of Upper Canada Region
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