Continental Racing is here for 2010

[Karaya One]

Conti has finalized their race product and it is now out. We tested it last year and made some suggestions to them. In the end, we decided not to do track support for them, but focus on Michelin.

Here they are on-line - http://www.nextlevelmoto.com/

Good pricing, and after speaking with Greg at Conti they are very proud of the rubber. Hopefully someone can do support for LRRS with them to get some local feedback on the newest designs.

This is just a heads up!

[nt650hawk]

I have not tried these yet.

Dunlop -Check
Michelin- Check
Pirelli - Check
Bridgestone - Check
Avon (Track day)- Check
Continental -

[Chippertheripper]

i'm running road attacks on the street with a smile on my face. i like em' just fine. i'd like to get on a set of these and whoop em up. as a new racer, tires are my biggest concern. what to run to be competitive, and being able to stretch the almighty dollar far enough to complete the season.

[nt650hawk]

I've heard this before...
If the cost difference is $50-150 or so between you and the pavement. You may ending up paying up to 20 times that savings in repairs should something go wrong. But I shrugged it off.

Sometimes the most expensive tire does not necessarily get the job done in club racing. It is all about what you feel comfortable with.


If you are planning to get into racing, then go with race tires or race DOT's.

[scottieducati]

Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pro's.... all the way

i'm running road attacks on the street with a smile on my face. i like em' just fine. i'd like to get on a set of these and whoop em up. as a new racer, tires are my biggest concern. what to run to be competitive, and being able to stretch the almighty dollar far enough to complete the season.

[nt650hawk]

Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pro's.... all the way

Here we go

[Kitt]

dunlop ntec take-offs ftw

[daviid]

I know Dale, the MA/SE Conti dealer. Every report says they ride just like Pirellis.

I know a few people switched over to them, most people went back to pirelli though

[Degsy]

Here we go

He's saying dragon supercorsa pro because they are $299 to $319 a set. The poster was talking about cost being a major factor, that's all.

[13]

I can vouch for the dragons being a good and affordable race tire. I used them for along time.

[Mr. Kurtz]

as a new racer, tires are my biggest concern. what to run to be competitive, and being able to stretch the almighty dollar far enough to complete the season.

Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pro's.... all the way

Seriously, for ~$300 for a proven DOT, you really can't go wrong.

[PPS26]

-fast guys ride dunlops

[GixerJockey]

-fast guys ride dunlops

So what are you riding?

[a13x]

So what are you riding?

Nothing like poking at a Expert riding 4-5 seconds a lap faster than you on the same bike

[Pigman]

Nothing like poking at a Expert riding 4-5 seconds a lap faster than you on the same bike

Bahahahaha...........

[Doc]

-fast guys ride dunlops

So why do U hear them called Dunslops? Serious question. I have stayed away from dunslops from the negatives I have heard before I started going to the track. I would love to hear more positives.

I like my Pirellis but if I had Gino's Mojo I might look into the Bridgestones again... Thinking of trying slicks this year.

[seth399]

I've never heard "dunslop" be used personally

[Degsy]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8330/4.5.0.77 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I have heard it but its not very relevent seeing as they are not known for their soft carcass.

[TheIglu]

I run Dunlops currently and like them over the Pirelli's I've ran. Curious to try out the new Conti's.

[PPS26]

seriously look at the fast guys at loudon who ride dunlops
-jeff wood
-eric wood
-scott greenwood 30+ championships
-bret guyer
-todd babcock
-rick doucette 41 championships (only 2 years without one are on michelin)
-shane narbonne
-cory hilderbran(not sure of his last name spelling)
-brent lyskawa
-robbie nigl
-george terricone
-
all of these guys ride sub 15s on a weekly basis and are all on dunlops all are multi time champions all on dunlops i know im omitting some fast riders aswell
-just sayin

[zx1012r]

So why do U hear them called Dunslops? Serious question. I have stayed away from dunslops from the negatives I have heard before I started going to the track. I would love to hear more positives.

I like my Pirellis but if I had Gino's Mojo I might look into the Bridgestones again... Thinking of trying slicks this year.

I have tried everything and always went back to Dunlops. They just fit my riding style. I like a very firm suspension and they seem to add to that. Kind of an oxy-moron because I ride a EX500. But on the SV they have a very predictable slide characteristic. Very consistent feel.

I did use the same Dunlop D211 front the WHOLE season on the EX and never felt that the tire was unsafe or slowing me down. In fact I did most of my fastest laps late in the year, disregarding the turn one changes. I would not recommend doing that, but it just never felt bad so I didn't bother changing it.

Mark

[scottieducati]

Guys that occasionally ride AMA (spec tire) and get more free tires you could imagine? Hmmm.

The other brands (not just Pirelli) simply don't hand out free tires to guys like that. The bottom line is any tire nowadays are solid and capable of running up front with anyone, it's all about collective experience and the effort involved to get setup on a new tire.

I for one love the fact that Pirelli develops a tire in WSBK, WSS and World Superstock and directly feeds that tire down to the customer, in a matter of ~4 months. You can buy the same rubber that Cal Crutchlow for example runs on his WSS Championship R6.

Does Bridgestone draw data from production racing? Nope. Does Dunlop have 126 riders on production machinery, well yes but it's limited to the AMA (not nec. a bad thing). Michelin's are hardly used anywhere *edit: as a spec tire across a series* but you might see a positive here in that they have more time and $ to develop a new tire now.

What intrigues me with Conti's are they are under the biggest tire company in the world (General Tire) and have one of the most sophisticated tire testing facilities known to man.

From what I've heard, they have a very, very strong European market and are just getting into the US market, although they are a very fiscally conservative company, so don't expect to see anyone running them for free either.

Apparently the front is very like a Pirelli and the rear is similar but not as soft / squishy, which some people seem to prefer.

Either way it's great for all of us to have another player in the mix, but I'm tired of hearing the "Fast guys run Dunlops" mantra.

Is it easier since so many have run them for so long and data / setup are widely available? Sure. Is it a better tire? That depends on the track, rider, and bike... along with a whole slew of other variables. If you don't believe this last bit, then don't bother trying to have a conversation....

The guys on that list will run up front regardless of what tire they're using, more than a handful have run Pirelli, Michelin, or Bridgestone in the past, and have always, always been at the front based on one thing, and one thing only... the rider.

Bottom line, run what you feel comfortable on.

Oh, and FWIW, George Tarricone was running high 12's and 13's on Pirellis in '08. He went to Dunlops in '09 as he bought wood's bike, which had 2 seasons of setup work done to it and he didn't feel like starting over.

seriously look at the fast guys at loudon who ride dunlops
-jeff wood
-eric wood
-scott greenwood 30+ championships
-bret guyer
-todd babcock
-rick doucette 41 championships (only 2 years without one are on michelin)
-shane narbonne
-cory hilderbran(not sure of his last name spelling)
-brent lyskawa
-robbie nigl
-george terricone
-
all of these guys ride sub 15s on a weekly basis and are all on dunlops all are multi time champions all on dunlops i know im omitting some fast riders aswell
-just sayin

[Degsy]

seriously look at the fast guys at loudon who ride dunlops
-jeff wood
-eric wood
-scott greenwood 30+ championships
-bret guyer
-todd babcock
-rick doucette 41 championships (only 2 years without one are on michelin)
-shane narbonne
-cory hilderbran(not sure of his last name spelling)
-brent lyskawa
-robbie nigl
-george terricone
-
all of these guys ride sub 15s on a weekly basis and are all on dunlops all are multi time champions all on dunlops i know im omitting some fast riders aswell
-just sayin

That's a very subjective statement. Dunlops are very very good tires but it isn't the only reason so many fast guys run dunlops at Loudon. There's a lot more to it than that. Loudon is not typical in it's race tire demographic because of many reasons.

New racers get a Dunlop deal (Penguin), building brand loyalty from day 1.

New racers see the Penguin guys using Dunlops so naturally go with what they see and are recommended.

The wealth of knowledge on setup (geometry and suspension) at Loudon is garnered from Dunlop riders historically. For example, your bike was set up at Plaistow? Well, I'm damn sure you got some Doucette setup numbers, right? Set up for Dunlops.

There are racers on your list who have come to Pirelli to see if they can get a deal on tires. Our hands were tied with free tires so they stick with what they know (to the point of being pissed at Boston Moto that we couldn't offer a Pirelli deal in one case).

There are racers on that list who have gone faster on Pirellis than Dunlops.

I know of Multi championship winners that run Dunlops and tried Pirellis WITHOUT making any geometry or suspension changes and didn't like them. Well, no shit Sherlock, LOL.

Look at all the fast guys who run Pirellis in SBK, LOL. How about all the fast guys who run Bridgestones in MotoGP?

All I'm saying is it is a subjective argument. It's not simply a case of Dunlops are the fastest tires.

I tried them all and went about equally slow on all the manufacturers. I loved them all with proper setup except Bridgestones. Never got them to work right for me, but it was probably setup and personal preference.

What I HEAR from racers is that the following tires have the following traits.

Dunlops - Very easy to ride fast on. Predictable 90% of the time but when they go off, they REALLY go off fast. The fast guys change their tires before this happens.

Bridgestones - Take some time to wear in. Sometimes hard to scrub in but work well for many riders (particularly novices) With more setup knowledge around they are probably as good as most race tires.

Michelin - Great tires if you are able to handle a slide. Takes a good rider to use them well. They move around and are purposely made that way (I loved the Michelin mediums for endurance racing).

Pirelli - Bestest tires EVAH!! Just kidding. Known for their flexy sidewalls that can be tough for some to "feel" (they say). Takes some suspension changes to get them working well. Most riders make the mistake of stiffening the suspension to run them which is the opposite of what you should do. Slide very predictably. Last very very well if proper pressure used but when they go, they go (like Dunlops)

Continentals - i'm told they feel just like Pirelli Dragons. They were developed by former Pirelli engineers so that makes sense. One or two prominent racers extolling their virtues but they are probably sponsored riders. Wait and see how these do this year but I think they might be quite a good tire.

There you go, in a nutshell that is my opinion from experience and what I hear people saying.

Bottom line advice for ALL racers (new and experienced, slow and fast) is that you should try a few to see what you like or shop on value for money, your choice. However, the golden rule is that tires are not a 'throw on and ride' thing. You should spend time with your race tire vendor to get the most out of your race tires. Bad setup and/or pressures will make ANY race tire work like shit. 90% of the info out there that racers talk about race tires is simply the result of hit or miss luck with setup.

Derek

[Degsy]

LOL, me and Scottie posting long post on the same subject at the same time.

[seth399]

Can a mod change this continental thread to "dunlop vs pirelli"