| Author | Message | ||
     Duggram |
I'm curious about track time only tire wear on your 1125. What tires do you use on track and how long do they last? What do you think increases or decreases your tire wear? I understand less throttle leads to less tire wear. But what else would affect wear on track? Tire pressure? (Message edited by duggram on February 01, 2014) | ||
| General_tso |
Should be a straight forward answer however there are several factors that play into tire life. Track Temperature Track Condition Surface (Rough or Smooth) Pace Riding Style Pressure Tire Compound Suspension Settings Budget Race Duration In general, when I flip my rear, I can get four 10 minute practices and eight 12 minute sprint races from the Pirelli Rears I run and eight 10 minute practices and sixteen 12 minute sprint races on the Pirelli fronts. With that said, if I had an unlimited budget I would change my rear after two 10 minute practices and four 12 minute sprint races and my front after four 10 minute practices and eight 12 minute sprint races. The above results are on SE US Tracks (VIR, Road Atl, Barber) that are easy on tires. I would not expect the same results at Summit Point or Jennings. My suspension is set-up fairly well so I'm not experiencing related wear issues. My pace is generally 6 seconds slower than the fastest Experts on a given track. I expect as my pace improves tire life will go down. (Message edited by general tso on February 01, 2014) | ||
| 46champ |
General_Tso I am curious I noticed that your wish for tire change is half the races of the tire change schedule you do use. After 2 practices and 4 races were you just then getting deteriorating lap times or was it a loss in lap times from race 1. I take it after that time it was a loss in lap times till you got to your normal change time. At that time what happens the tire is junk or completely wore out. Or is the downward spiral increasing. | ||
| Stirz007 |
I think the General pretty much covered the variables. For me, running Pirelli 'red stripes' and all other factors the same, track temp is the biggest issue. I run mostly at Miller, a track with plenty of grip. Early in the season my tires wear like iron, meaning I can get at least a couple of weekends on the same tires (half a dozen 20 minute practice sessions and three race sessions per weekend). In July/August, maybe two weekends if I'm lucky. Big tire boogers on hot days. | ||
| General_tso |
46 - In general, after 2 practices and 4 sprints the right side of the rear on a right handed track or the left side of the rear on a left handed track is worn enough to allow the rear to break loose under lower acceleration force resulting in late day pucker moments. It has not impacted my lap times at my current pace but suspect as I get faster it will. This wear is the reason I flip the rear after 2 practices and 4 sprints. | ||
| Jdugger |
The Pirelli red strips are a really hard tire. They will work at some tracks, but here in Texas they spin up and are fairly slow. If I can get a full hour out of a soft rear at full race pace, I consider it good. On our 600 with a hard rear, we run it 3 hours or so endurance before it's losing enough grip to really impact lap times. | ||
| Stirz007 |
The Pirelli red stripes are a really hard tire. Agreed - for me, though, most bang for the buck @ $275/set. | ||
| Trojan |
The answer really depends on what tyres you are using, and whether you are racing or just doing track days. if you are racing (to win) and using super sticky treaded supersport tyres then you could look at changing tyres for EVERY session at the extreme end of competitiveness (I have known people running litre bikes on track do this even at club level racing). We used to compromise and use one set of tyres per weekend (2 practice sesssions and 4 races). It sometimes worked out that you could use them again for the next weekend, but surface wear isn't the only consideration. You also have to consider how many heat cycles have been put theough them in order to keep their grip. Too many heat cycles and it won't matter if you have 1" of tread left, you'll have no grip. We ended up running slicks, which is a completely different ball game again  | ||
| Gearhead |
There's a lot to learn so get to know the tire suppliers at the tracks you frequent. Most these guys are very knowledgable and want your return business so they'll do their best to get you on the right rubber. Check with them throughout the day as well to get their thoughts. Make sure you tell them if you've had any suspension work done or if you're still stock internals and if you're using tire warmers. BTW, if you haven't already, spend the money on upgraded brake pads, I get mine from EBR for my XB, no complaints… |
