Watch Ken Block Smoke Up A Bunch Of Toyo’s New Street-Legal Race Tyres

Toyo has a new evolution of its highly-regarded Proxes R888 track tyre. Called the Proxes R888R, it’s a road legal racking semi-slick with even more grip and better performance over multiple heat cycles. None of that matters, though, when Ken Block puts a set on his 1400-horsepower Hoonigan RTR V2 and attacks the Pikes Peak hillclimb.

Check out the video above, a teaser for Ken Block’s next Gymkhana — using the same ’65 Mustang that was in Gymkhana Seven, but with a 6.7-litre V8 running twin turbos and methanol injection, pumping out 1400 horsepower that’s then sent to all four corners for all-wheel smoke. That smoke? Yep, Proxes R888R.

The Proxes R888R is available in sizes from 13 to 20 inches, has a tread wear rating of 100 AA A — basically maxing out on traction and temperature grading but trading that away for the fastest possible wear rate. A high-performance road tyre like Toyo’s own Proxes R1R has a wear rate of 200, by comparison, so it’ll last twice as long. The R888R is also the control tyre for the APRA race series.

But what’s most important about the R888R is that like the previous R888 is that, despite having shitloads of traction on tap, they’re still road legal. So you can fit your racing rims to your car the night before you head out to a day at the circuit, without having to rip your back seats out because you can’t fit four wheels and tyres in your boot.

Either way, even if you’re not looking for a racing tyre that you can drive down to the track on, you can appreciate some high quality driving skill — and that’s what Ken Block’s Gymkhana videos are all about. Enjoy.

Here’s the techy details from Toyo:

The new tyre retains the fast warm-up and progressive characteristics of the Proxes R888 while the new design sharpens steering precision and feedback through the car, increasing control and mid-corner speed.

Proxes R888R’s speed is the result of a new casing design, with Rayon “Super-High” turn up carcass and steel side plies providing improved mid-corner grip for faster lap times and improved consistency.

The contact patch is wider and larger, with the tread pattern featuring a lower groove ratio and a large block outer. A wide centre rib assists with water evacuation and helps improve wet performance.



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