Read my tire

[keeena]

Pirelli Superbike 180/60 slick SC3 compound on a 2004 ZX6RR. This is a little more than 1 day of TD wear @ NYST uptown. I'm running 31psi hot in the rear. It's on the higher side, but told it was appropriate for the higher traction tracks.

Is it normal or is this hot tearing (or something else)? LH side only; RH side is smooth.

[Paul_E_D]

That tire is torn. Not ideal but not unusual either. I'm not sure if it is cold or hot tearing from the picture. Do you run warmers? What pressure did you start at cold?

I have the best luck starting at 30 cold and dropping the pressure to 34 hot at the end of each session. I think starting them low and letting the pressures rise with heat can start the tearing process. Not really certain why. But that is my experience.

[keeena]

I have never run warmers in the past, but a buddy lent a set to use as the day switched from wet to dry. I still measured/set pressure immediately at the end of the session.

Normally I do exactly what you said: start around 29 PSI (cold, 1st thing in the morning) then adjust pressure immediately after each session until the ride-in PSI is target (usually takes 3 sessions and I pull a good 7+ PSI out combined over those first sessions).

[Paul_E_D]

Then it is likely the compound was not working well with the temperature. I believe SC1s have the widest range.

[jasnmar]

My money is on that being hot tears, but I'm far from an expert.

[Paul_E_D]

It's pretty hard to hot tear a tire with 30lbs or more of air in it and use of warmers...

[jasnmar]

From what I've seen cold tear is usually described as "fingernails going into" the tire.
Hot tears are described as "waves on the surface" of the tire.

That's not fingernails, but like I said, I'm far from an expert.

[Paul_E_D]

You can do the fingernail test to a picture?

[jasnmar]

I'm saying it looks much more like one of these than the other.

[OreoGaborio]

Tough to read from that angle, but it looks like it says "Diablo"

but srsly... 31psi hot sounds way too high to me, but then again,

I have the best luck starting at 30 cold and dropping the pressure to 34 hot at the end of each session.

this surprises the hell outta me.

[scottieducati]

Hot tear, and likely not in the right temp ranges. The SC3 was developed to resist abrasive surfaces and cold temps. You run that at NYST on a hot day, you're gonna rip it up. There are three, equally important basic criteria for choosing one compound as opposed to another: 1) The type of tarmac, 2) The temperature of the asphalt, 3) The duration of performance required.

If I'm right, and you were there on a nice hot day, the SC2 is your preferred compound.

[martia]

Check out this website it explains the difference between cold and hot tear
Race Track Motorcycle Tyre Wear Guide - Types and Causes

[keeena]

Hot tear, and likely not in the right temp ranges.

Hey scottie - this was Sunday in the afternoon sessions. Overcast and wet in the a.m.; afternoon was maybe high 70's? Wasn't crazy warm track but I felt like i was getting some good sessions in. Sorry you didn't stay!

Tough to read from that angle, but it looks like it says "Diablo"
but srsly... 31psi hot sounds way too high to me, but then again,

Yeah - it's the trackday/endurance slick (SC3). Mike recommended that pressure for Palmer, so that's what i went with. Can't compare tho because my last tire was SC2.

I've also been told this can be due to hamfisting. I don't feel I'm winding up too quickly but I do tend to wear the 1/3 middle of the tires' sides because I'm not rolling on the gas quite early enough.

[Paul_E_D]

There's a lot of speculation involved in reading a tire. Who really knows. It could be a materials issue. But one thing is for sure, you have to try lots of things one at a time and see how they work. Less pressure, more pressure, different compounds, rolling on earlier, reducing rebound damping, changing ride height. It all comes into play. every set up is different. Unfortunately you can't heal this tire, so all this testing means sacrificing many tires to this voodoo.

[Mr. Kurtz]

Hot tear, and likely not in the right temp ranges. The SC3 was developed to resist abrasive surfaces and cold temps. You run that at NYST on a hot day, you're gonna rip it up. There are three, equally important basic criteria for choosing one compound as opposed to another: 1) The type of tarmac, 2) The temperature of the asphalt, 3) The duration of performance required.

If I'm right, and you were there on a nice hot day, the SC2 is your preferred compound.

That info is a bit out of date.

DIABLO SUPERBIKE , Motorcycle Tyres - Car Tyres, Motorcycle Tyres, Truck Tyres, Motorsport tyres - PIRELLI INTERNATIONAL

The hotter is is, the SOFTER a compound rear tire you want, when discussing the SC0/SC1/SC2 race compound tires.

The new SC3(2016) is special compound designed for trackdays and endurance racing.

Pirelli Introduces New SC3 Compound For Its Diablo Superbike Slicks

The article even uses your exact phrasing for the three criteria, but the conclusion is different with regards to an optimal rear tire in hot temps.

All that said...we're not GP riders, and most(all?) of us aren't swapping tire compounds around to accomodate different temps on different days.

I'm far from an expert on judging tire wear from pictures(shocker, right?!), but I do agree with Paul on pressures...and I also agree with Pete. 30-34 HOT in the rear sounds high...for NHMS. It's very common at the newer, more abrasive tracks like NYST, Palmer, Thompson, where that jagged paved surface is eager to rip your tires up while it keeps you upright.

Tony recently went up to ~34psi at Palmer, and his tire looked brand new after two days. He is also a very smooth rider with well tuned suspension, so that helps.

[k1200s]

Is it normal or is this hot tearing (or something else)? LH side only; RH side is smooth.


Im not going to evaluate your psi because that makes this all pretty complicated and i believe some info can be obtained by reading the tire. Just looking at that tire your wear looks exaggerated but well within normal operating conditions provided you were moving at a faster pace. Obviously when reading a worn tire psi is a consideration but only as a factor related to grip, you dont want 31 psi you want the level of grip at a given operating temperature to maintain proper traction. Beading of rubber over the surface with a washed out tire surface that looks like the beach at low tide means that you are maximizing the traction the contact patch can provide as you are constantly slipping and regaining traction on new rubber, a sensation not even noticed if the tire is proper. If you didn't feel any unexpected slides coming onto your drive (a little squirm is ok as long as its not impeding you) than it looks like you rode that tire superbly. could its condition theoretically be improved to provide more grip? probably, but it was not the limiting factor in your venture. Thats a good looking tire, my 1200 produces similar wear often at the track and it got a pass from 2 instructors. If you lower your Psi too much you are gonna see a lot worse crappy looking wear like cupping and hot tears that destroy your tire's longevity. That honestly looks fine to me.


LH:RH phenomenon: is likely track layout or rider preferences causing more lean available on the non throttle side (extremely common). some people find it hard to lean on the right side. I dont know you and haven't ever seen you ride but if you arent using that bent elbow its hard to manipulate the throttle hanging off the right side and therefore some people do have trouble. Another possibility is a lack of drive on right hand turns. A good drive will produce squirm or near squirm traction requirements that contribute to that beaded rubber washed out surface look.

[Pigman]

This is a good Read......


https://www.bikeminds.com/thethrottl...erns-explained

[keeena]

Some follow-up...

I ran 1 full day @ Palmer last month with that torn up tire. 32psi hot (what I normally run) and it smoothed out perfectly within 2-3 sessions. But at that point there wasn't much rubber left and the tire was toast by the end of the day. I also had the suspension refreshed over the winter; it had been 4.5 years since I last had it done.

This past weekend I ran 2 days at NYST (one uptown, one downtown) on a brand new Pirelli rear. But this time tried a SC2 instead of a SC3. I ran the rear at 34-35 psi hot - it gripped great and wore really well at a pace a bit faster than last fall.

Not exactly sure if pressure, compound, or suspension - but I now know what combo works.

[TTD]

Nice! I was using a used SC1 slick this past weekend. No problems running uptown, but when we switched to Downtown I started to get some tearing (driving up all those hills!).

I bumped up pressure to 32 hot and got smoother with more sessions... and the tire looked great end of day.

[Teamdineen]

The possibilities are endless when we're talking about tire wear and a picture. I know your pace and your style is smooth. So the only fact from your picture is NYST is notorious for left side tire wear. To dial tire wear in you need to watch it every time you come off the track. Tire pressure is a sliding rule with a lot of unknowns you need to plug in. Quick list= ridding style, bike, suspension, track, track temp, weather sunny or overcast. I can go on and on. But bottom line is we would need to see the tire close up and do some small adjustments going forward. I'm going to be at Palmer July 9th and will do what I can to help you out.