| Author | Message | ||
     Gearhead |
I've got a track day coming up at Road America on Tuesday!! It's the first one on my XB12R and I'm curious what pressures you guys have run your tires at. I'm running the stock Dunlops and I know how touchy tire pressures are on the street with the XB. My old M2 was pretty forgiving with different pressures but rather than spend all morning figuring it out, I'm asking for input. Thanks... | ||
| Timbo |
Go 29 front 30 rear when in doubt, but ask at the track. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Tim, I was told to drop 1-2 pounds not 7-8...Stock is 36F 38R. | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
From what I have learned at the track in my experiences & listening to others, its usually in the 30-32 range at the track. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
I would go to the Dunlop tent and ask them what they are recommending. It can change on the track temp also. | ||
| Austinrider |
I do 30 front 29, worked awesome for me. I was running Metzler M1's | ||
| Mr_cuell |
2nd on the "go to Dunlop" advice. They will have a board out telling what pressures for what classes. If you are not sure what class the XB corresponds to they will tell you. Take their advice over anything else - pressures on other brands won't be relevant (unless by chance) | ||
| Timbo |
Those pressures worked really well with my 208's at Pahrump recently. Hooked up solid all weekend. YMMV, and like I said, ask at the track. Conditions and surfaces often dictate adjustments. Just giving you a data point. Have fun! Timbo | ||
| Keith |
Tire pressures are a function of the type of tire. The Michelin rep told me to run 28 psi in the back and 30 psi in the front of my Michelin Pilot Sport *Race* tires on the race track. Keith | ||
| Gearhead |
Thanks for the input guys. The track day is being put on by Sportbiketracktime.com and it's the first time I've attended one of their events so I don't know if there will be tire reps there or not. They were recently featured on Two Wheel Tuesday and offer track days all over the country. Has anyone out there participated in an event with them? | ||
| Timbo |
Gearhead, Yes, our BRAG group spent a weekend at Pahrump that was put on by SportBikeTrackTime. Well organized, well staffed, great instructors and while they let us run as fast as we dared, they also made it clear they would not tolerate any dangerous behavior. It was a great weekend. They did an excellent job at our event. Timbo | ||
| Xbolt12 |
I asked Trevor from Sportbike magazine this question about M1's and if my recollect is correct he said 30 front 35 rear on the street for agressive cornering and more like 30/30 at the track. Metzlers recommended street pressures are 34 front and 36 rear compared to the Dunlop/Buell 207 recommended 36 front, 38 rear. xbolt12 | ||
| Opto |
So if you can run relatively lower pressures on the track why not run the same pressures when out doing it in the hills? | ||
| Keith |
Race tires get *much* hotter on the track than street tires do on the street. As a result, the air pressure inside the race tire increases much more than the pressure inside the street tire. The aim is to have the correct pressure at each tire's operating temperature. Keith | ||
| Henrik |
I always start a track day with 30/30 psi cold pressure, and then adjust from there. The tire pressure should go up about 10% from cold to hot pressure - so I just confirm with a quality gauge immediately after the first session of the day. Henrik | ||
| Xbolt12 |
Opto, Running lower pressures generates more heat and hence more wear. Most of the sportbike guys around here will run higher pressures on the way up to the mountains and then lower them for the twisties (tires are expensive). I have not been doing this though as I have found it very hard to accurately predict cold pressure. It takes the tires a long time to cool off enough to have something to compare to in my experience. xbolt12 | ||
| Gearhead |
Thanks guys!! I had a great track day using 30 psi in front and rear with absolutely no problems. The friend I went with runs an SV650 with H2's and I hung with him all day, what a hoot! I'll post a link to SliderPhoto.Com on Friday in the Quick Board for photos of the event. Thanks again!! | ||
| Bomber |
set em so they come up two to four pounds, cold to hot, and you're really close to what the tire guys will tell ya -- of course, this process takes some time and forethought (which I'm not so good at myself). . . . if they are available, ask em, as they'll know better than anyone | ||
| Daves |
Bomber, Are you coming to the trackday on the 23rd? Dave | ||
| Dago |
All: From what I understand, the recommended tire pressure that's written on each tire by the manufacturer is the optimal pressure to run when the tire is completely warmed up. This means that you must compensate for this temperature/pressure increase before hitting the track. It's been my experience that on average tires will gain about another 10 lbs of pressure when they reach their running temperature. So if Dunlop suggests 40 lbs on the tire, try starting off at 30 lbs when the tires are cold. After a few laps, they'll be up close to the manufacturers suggested pressure. My "10 pounds of pressure" observation is obviously dependent on other variables such as air temperature, rubber compound, rider weight etc. But 10 lbs is a good rule of thumb with which to start. -- | ||
| Henrik |
Dago; don't know where you got your info, but a 10 lbs increase seems like a *huge* jump. AFAIK a 10% increase would be closer to optimal. Henrik (Message edited by Henrik on August 12, 2004) | ||
| Blake |
Rule of thumb at the track is that if tire pressure increases by more than 10% to 15%, you don't have enough pressure and should bump it up another psi or so. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
From what I understand, the recommended tire pressure that's written on each tire by the manufacturer is the optimal pressure to run when the tire is completely warmed up. That is why it says "cold" next to the tire pressure? | ||
| Bomber |
Daves -- nossir -- other priorities hit the wallet this summer -- see ya on that Saturday, though |
