Track day tyre wear

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Didn't see many comments on here re riding style so will add my .02. All other comments regarding warm up and suspension settings are of course spot on. I've done a lot of track days on a lot of tyres and find a lot of this type of wear is usually attributed to riding style.

If I saw that pic you put up on first page without reading anything I would have said "first track day". The compounds we run these days (non-slick) will all do this pretty much regardless of suspension setting if you are slow-in and fast-out of a corner. As you get smoother so will your tyre wear.

It's not a criticism. Almost every first time track day rider (including me) will take it cautiously into a corner and then screw on the power when they feel safe and pointed in the right direction. It's that screwing on of the power which does that to your tyre. Walk around the pits at your next track day and you'll see what I mean.

As your confidence increases so will your corner speed and your tyre will wear more uniformly.
 
geeteethree said:
Didn't see many comments on here re riding style so will add my .02. All other comments regarding warm up and suspension settings are of course spot on. I've done a lot of track days on a lot of tyres and find a lot of this type of wear is usually attributed to riding style.

If I saw that pic you put up on first page without reading anything I would have said "first track day". The compounds we run these days (non-slick) will all do this pretty much regardless of suspension setting if you are slow-in and fast-out of a corner. As you get smoother so will your tyre wear.

It's not a criticism. Almost every first time track day rider (including me) will take it cautiously into a corner and then screw on the power when they feel safe and pointed in the right direction. It's that screwing on of the power which does that to your tyre. Walk around the pits at your next track day and you'll see what I mean.

As your confidence increases so will your corner speed and your tyre will wear more uniformly.
Click to expand...

Fair comments, with the changes I've made and more track time, confidence should come naturally. Thanks
 
Suspension set, front stand on and tyre warmers fit. All set for next track day!!!
 

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I'm going to go against the grain here and say that you do not need tire warmers with a street tire.

I've seen people with warmers crash first session out- hell I've seen a guy high-side in front of me on the very first turn. You are NOT racing- there is no shame in taking a lap or 2 to get up to speed- especially if you are new to the track.

Personally, and this is just my opinion, don't worry about modding your bike, don't worry about slicks, and don't worry about "going fast." Get comfortable on the bike and work on disciplines like- throttle control, body position, reference points, etc. going slower will give you more time to think.

Last but not least - have fun! ;)
 
^+1 Plus you'll have to deal with generators, cords and getting the blankets on and off.....only to be delayed at staging for a crasher on the previous session....who probably had warmers:rolleyes:
 
Two words - PEACE OF MIND .....wait, that's three words! :p

Road tires don't need tire warmers??? I have an $8000 repair bill that says otherwise. Sure I was inexperienced at the time and didn't do a warm up lap (or two) but what tire warmers afford you at the track is priceless.

Lets do the math: Assuming you get 6 sessions a day at the track and you take 2 laps to get the tires fully up to temp (which I do when not using tire warmers), thats an extra 12 laps a day at full tilt..... thats the equivalent to another session. :) Depending on how many track days you do in a year, tire warmers pay for themselves pretty quickly. This coupled with the extra confidence of knowing your tires are operating at temperature is worth something to me.

Get the chicken hawk warmers - they're good, solid units.

BTW, I get the same rubber 'melting' as your tires when my pressures are too low, not too high. Just sayin'......

(I run the AMA spec Dunlop 211's on my track bike)
 
reyfx said:
Get comfortable on the bike and work on disciplines like- throttle control, body position, reference points, etc. going slower will give you more time to think.

Last but not least - have fun! ;)
Click to expand...

SBK School right there!:)
 
Aus1199s said:
SBK School right there!:)
Click to expand...

Seems everyone has an opinion, whether right or wrong i'll take it all on board. However I just booked into the California Superbike school for march. Pretty happy theyre coming to NZ, looking well forward to it!
 
Second track day done, much more confidence this time out and using all of the tyre. Dave Moss was there for the day so he set me up and made subtle changes all day, might I add, he is the man! One quick look at the tyres and he knows whats necessary to get the best out of them and your riding style.

Need to work on toning down the DTC as I had it set at 5 still for the day and the light was on or flashing pretty much every corner.

For those that are interested, Dave set the front comp to 16 and rebound at 16, rear comp at 16 and rebound at 6. Tyre pressures at front 29, rear 26. Very nice, even and progressive wear.
 
any idea of the track temp? Dave set my bike up, a good bloke!

Hamish said:
Second track day done, much more confidence this time out and using all of the tyre. Dave Moss was there for the day so he set me up and made subtle changes all day, might I add, he is the man! One quick look at the tyres and he knows whats necessary to get the best out of them and your riding style.

Need to work on toning down the DTC as I had it set at 5 still for the day and the light was on or flashing pretty much every corner.

For those that are interested, Dave set the front comp to 16 and rebound at 16, rear comp at 16 and rebound at 6. Tyre pressures at front 29, rear 26. Very nice, even and progressive wear.
Click to expand...
 
Damn, dave is getting around. Hope he'll be back in NorCal in June. Planning on doing Infineon.
 
Hamish said:
Second track day done, much more confidence this time out and using all of the tyre. Dave Moss was there for the day so he set me up and made subtle changes all day, might I add, he is the man! One quick look at the tyres and he knows whats necessary to get the best out of them and your riding style.

Need to work on toning down the DTC as I had it set at 5 still for the day and the light was on or flashing pretty much every corner.

For those that are interested, Dave set the front comp to 16 and rebound at 16, rear comp at 16 and rebound at 6. Tyre pressures at front 29, rear 26. Very nice, even and progressive wear.
Click to expand...

Are these PSI pressures with stock tires?
 
Hamish said:
Yip still on the stock tyres
Click to expand...


Did you notice a big difference on the rear? 32 PSI is the recommended pressure, which I always thought it was too high. Did it drop the ride height a bit? What about traction? What about turn entry (slower, faster,same)?

thanks!! (Great info)
 
Here's Dave's website, he's got a couple panis he's tested and has all the settings listed.

Dave's a terrific source of info. Looking at his 13 schedule looks like he's staying on the west coast for the most part.

MOTO-D inner suit | Feel The Track

falco said:
Did you notice a big difference on the rear? 32 PSI is the recommended pressure, which I always thought it was too high. Did it drop the ride height a bit? What about traction? What about turn entry (slower, faster,same)?

thanks!! (Great info)
Click to expand...
 
falco said:
Did you notice a big difference on the rear? 32 PSI is the recommended pressure, which I always thought it was too high. Did it drop the ride height a bit? What about traction? What about turn entry (slower, faster,same)?

thanks!! (Great info)
Click to expand...

Yeah I did, just more settled in the rear coming out. It doesn't really effect the ride height, need to turn the DTC down a bit I think to allow for a little spin. Turn entry much quicker, took a while to get use to the fact I could turn in a lot later. Bought the pressure up to 27.5 on the rear later in the day as the edges were starting to melt

Not to blow my own trumpet but first time out I was getting overtaken left right and center, this time out with all the changes I was the one doing the overtaking. Huge difference!
 

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