Tires: who likes what brand and why . . .

[The Snowman]

After this weekend's LRRS opener and with the addition of Continental into the mix, just wondered who was on which brand of rubber.

What worked?
What didn't SEEM to work?
Why?

Also, what type of bike and rear tire size.

This might help newer riders in making informed decisions about which tires they'd like to try.

Edit: Please keep this discussion on topic and apply to track tires only (as this thread is in the Pit Area section)

EDIT BY STONEMAN: This seems like a VERY relevant thread related to RACE TIRES ONLY. DO NOT turn this into a shitshow...

[blacklightning]

[Doc]

Pirelli. Worked fine for me. Good for 1:24's without an issue (Even on last years tires) Hawk GT (RC31) with a 160 rear.

What didn't work was having too much air in them. felt like i was riding on bowling balls. Reduced the psi by 4-6 pounds and everything was fine.

[13]

Lol, this should turn interesting. I say dunlops. Good for safe 1:17's (even on last years tires). In my experience they have the most ultimate grip, predictability and longevity. You pay a premium for them though.

[Evil_Weasel]

when i raced i liked michelins on the buell. i tried pirellis but they felt too "squishy"...does that even make sense? tires are a pretty subjective thing and i never made it past slow novice so take it for what it's worth.

[RyanNicholson]

IMHO for people starting out, try out a couple different ones but save as much money as you can. Until you're running faster times and have the track pretty well figured out, the brand of tire you're on isn't going to matter enough to offset the higher cost of premium tires. Hell, don't even buy them new... run take offs for 1/4 of the price. I ran Shane's takeoffs for a LONG time running 1:15's safely. I switched to buying new once I got to that point, because running takeoffs was starting to actually affect my riding.

That said, I'm a Dunlop guy. It would take a lot to get me to switch. When I started getting faster I looked around the pit to see what the fast guys were on, tried them and haven't looked back since.

[Pittenger5]

Im one of the few that REALLY like pirelli. 1 front and 2 rears all year, good enough for 22s on the last race weekend.
Dunno what I wouldve run this year though, was a big debate for me.

05 RMZ 150
DOT medium front 120
Soft? slick rear 160

[Stoneman]

EDIT BY STONEMAN: This seems like a VERY relevant thread related to RACE TIRES ONLY. DO NOT turn this into a shitshow...

[Kitt]

For just starting out, go with what is cheapest. I will say, the 211 GPA's (new AMA spec tire) are priced at $120 less than the 211 NTEC's, and seem to be working for people quite well... being a big step up from dunlops 209 spec tires.

[TTD]

I agree that virtually any race tire can get a new racer comfortably up to the AM ranks and probably to Expert.

The biggest problem I see is riders that expect to swap tires (to a different brand) and not have to make any changes.

Look at the top racers (AMA, World Superbike, etc) and whenever a rider switches to a different team or series that means different tire brand, they always mention something like, "The XX is a new tire for me so we're still working out the bugs"

I've ridden Dunlop, Michelins and now Pirelli. My first few sessions on each new one was slower, but after that I was generally right back to my usual pace.

[nt650hawk]

I havebe been thru the gambit of companies except for the Cont's...
Dunlop DOT Novice Year
Michelin DOT Novice Year
Pirelli Slick Amateur year
Bridgestone Slick Expert year

I have not really had any issues with any of the tires. In my AM and EX when I could benign to understand what the tires and the bike were telling me. The Pirelli were a little soft, meaning squishy. I could feel them rolling about under me. As an Expert I switched to Bridgestone. There was not a lot of that squish feeling underneath me.

I have run take off Pirelli, Dunlop and Michelins on the 600rr w/out any reall Ill effect on track days.

2 key component.
1: Have an understanding for what the bike and tires are telling you which leads to ....
2. Do not be afraid to touch you suspension.


There are plenty of Videos and information out there. Take the time and check it out. It will be well worth it.

[BLACK SQUIRREL]

I like Dunlops on the Tard, I did not like pirellis on it at all.

Chuck your bike works really well On The Diablo supercorsa Pirellis, Or give the contis a try

[senecak19]

IMHO for people starting out, try out a couple different ones but save as much money as you can. Until you're running faster times and have the track pretty well figured out, the brand of tire you're on isn't going to matter enough to offset the higher cost of premium tires. Hell, don't even buy them new... run take offs for 1/4 of the price. I ran Shane's takeoffs for a LONG time running 1:15's safely. I switched to buying new once I got to that point, because running takeoffs was starting to actually affect my riding.

That said, I'm a Dunlop guy. It would take a lot to get me to switch. When I started getting faster I looked around the pit to see what the fast guys were on, tried them and haven't looked back since.

+1 This is everything every new racer needs to know.

[scottieducati]

+1 to most sentiments, everyone's got good track rubber. I managed some 19's on a new bike (First I-4) and the new Conti's. 13 riders tried the Conti tires and all seemed to like them. We have #s for geometry and are getting a feel for the damping changes, but every tire behaves differently and will need a slightly different setup.... getting that sorted with whatever tires you ride is the #1 priority.

Was talking to some light weight guys (one on a hawk)... as a novice if finishing in the top 4 in your class, you'll likely pay for your tires before you need new ones.

[csmutty]

Whatever is cheapest, and still relatively decent, IMO. I am running on Pirelli 120/160 takeoffs from Kurtz. But then again...I'm on an EX.

[The Snowman]

All great info, keep it coming.

I'm currently running Pirelli Dragon Supercorsas on it and to me, they seem like a great tire.

I was just trying to put feelers out to see what others thought. I don't have enough experience on the track to know how what my bike is telling me. I was talking about this with PK and he used the Tom Cruise character in Days of Thunder anology. He knew how to drive, but when asked what was wrong with the car, he couldn't tell his mechanic.

That's how I feel.

[WordTooYoMamma]

Wirelessly posted (Tilt: HTC-ST7377/1.59.502.3 (67150) Opera/9.50 (Windows NT 5.1; U; en))

All great info, keep it coming.

I'm currently running Pirelli Dragon Supercorsas on it and to me, they seem like a great tire.

I was just trying to put feelers out to see what others thought. I don't have enough experience on the track to know how what my bike is telling me. I was talking about this with PK and he used the Tom Cruise character in Days of Thunder anology. He knew how to drive, but when asked what was wrong with the car, he couldn't tell his mechanic.

That's how I feel.

Chuck your more of a prophit then a man...really. My bike speaks fluent japanese and unfortunatly i do not...

[LowSider]

Lol, this should turn interesting. I say dunlops. Good for safe 1:17's (even on last years tires). In my experience they have the most ultimate grip, predictability and longevity. You pay a premium for them though.

IMHO for people starting out, try out a couple different ones but save as much money as you can. Until you're running faster times and have the track pretty well figured out, the brand of tire you're on isn't going to matter enough to offset the higher cost of premium tires. Hell, don't even buy them new... run take offs for 1/4 of the price. I ran Shane's takeoffs for a LONG time running 1:15's safely. I switched to buying new once I got to that point, because running takeoffs was starting to actually affect my riding.

That said, I'm a Dunlop guy. It would take a lot to get me to switch. When I started getting faster I looked around the pit to see what the fast guys were on, tried them and haven't looked back since.

Agreed. When you're not pushing any tire to its limits, it doesn't really matter. That said, you can get more comfortible faster on a tire that give you a response that you like.

I switched from the Michelin H2 which I really didn't get any response from to the Dunlops and I instantly felt more confident and was going faster.

I remember last year on the podium of the dash for cash, 7/8 winners were running the Dunlops. And that was consistant most of the year.

[TTD]

I remember last year on the podium of the dash for cash, 7/8 winners were running the Dunlops. And that was consistant most of the year.

I think that says more about the riders than the tires.

[rolker]

Since this thread is aimed at new racers, it's worth looking at who pays contingency for novice races.

As far as I know, Conti pays for any field size and Bridgestone pays for races with 5 or more entries. All others don't pay novices.

Something to keep in mind as you become a faster novice...

[smf]

michelins power one dot race rubber, 120 'V' front, 160 'A' rear on my hawk. so far so good. 0.9 slower than my personal best after the first weekend and after major geometry changes. I'll take it.

caveats: the bike was setup for michelins by mike martire (I've never had a bike setup for anything before). also, the rear has a 'cold tear' (to quote jeff wood). apparently typical when you take a hot tire and run it hard on a cold track. I'd never seen it before so it kinda spooked me for a bit.

totally agree that as a novice or amateur there is no need to go crazy and get "the best rubber" (whatever that is) out there. get takeoffs, save $$, learn the track and work on your riding. when you make it to expert see if tires are the limiting factor - this is the first season I'll be using more than 1 set of tires for the year

edit: I didn't actually answer the questions...
what works: very stable under hard braking (T1,3,6)
what doesn't: a little slow on transition (T11a-12). I might tweak things a little to help this out... it also could be setup vs tire. ask me after next race weekend

[scottieducati]

So that gigantic chunk out of your tire was "cold tear" ??

Eeeek....

caveats: the bike was setup for michelins by mike martire (I've never had a bike setup for anything before). also, the rear has a 'cold tear' (to quote jeff wood). apparently typical when you take a hot tire and run it hard on a cold track. I'd never seen it before so it kinda spooked me for a bit.

[smf]

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So that gigantic chunk out of your tire was "cold tear" ??



Eeeek....

caveats: the bike was setup for michelins by mike martire (I've never had a bike setup for anything before). also, the rear has a 'cold tear' (to quote jeff wood). apparently typical when you take a hot tire and run it hard on a cold track. I'd never seen it before so it kinda spooked me for a bit.

Yep. And Jeff expects me to see more appear.

Btw If you've seen dunlops at daytona it's pretty tiny

[RyanNicholson]

Btw If you've seen dunlops at daytona it's pretty tiny

I haven't even seen the chunk out of yours, but holy shit. The first time I got off my bike in Daytona and saw 1" long almost 1/2" deep chunks missing I almost shit myself. Asked what was going on... "oh thats pretty normal here"... "oh, ok"