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Trackday-only bike: street or DOT race tires?
Hey all, I'm taking a break from street riding for a while and turning my Aprilia back into a track-only bike. It has been a long while since I did a trackday, but I'm hoping to change that this year. I'm not fast by any means, but I'm hoping to pick up some speed as the summer progresses.
If you were going to put one set of tires on for a season of maybe 6 trackdays (more if I can swing it), would you put on DOT race tires, or street tires? I don't have tire warmers, though getting a set isn't totally out of the question. How much should I be worried about DOT tires and heat cycles? All my trackdays thus far have been on street tires, so I'm not opposed to getting a set. I was just thinking I might take the opportunity to try something different. |
Never plow with a racehorse or race with a plow horse.
Heat cycles effect both kinds of tires. But the DOTs are made to operate under heat conditions you find on track, while street tires will overheat. Go to the track with track tires, check your pressures consistently and often, use warmers if you can and replace when worn. |
BT003 RS work great - Been using them for over a year now....and have been through several sets and until i decided to attempt 'just one more track day' on them there worked perfectly.
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I would use sport-oriented street tires until you are near race pace. Race tires are really designed to be used with warmers.
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Because you're not one of the fast guys I don't see anything wrong with it.
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Tires can make or break your trackday experience. Trusting your tires is imperative. Go with Race.
eta: I mean race compound. I wouldn't go with slicks until you have warmers... |
I think you can't go wrong with more sticky!
Safe to say if you aren't pushing hard on race slicks it will just be a waste. You have to use warmers with them and beat on em hard on the track. Otherwise a cold or not up to performing temp slick will put you down just like an overheated street tire. |
Right on, thanks all. DOT race compound it is.
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If you want to get 6 trackdays out of your tires I'm not sure a race compound will hold up for you. The people I know who go to the track are lucky to get 2 days out of DOT race tires on 600 supersports. Race tires should improve your track experience but could be detrimental to your track budget.
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Tire life depends on how fast you are, how smooth you are with the throttle, heat conditions, and how fast the track is. I get ~4 trackdays out of a set since I'm a bit of a pussy and am pretty easy on the throttle. I don't slide the bike at all, really. Plus I frequent the lower speed tracks. If you're running big Willow in August you'll need new tires after a day or two.
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I get about a 1 - 1.5 days out of a set of tires for race purposes. Those same tires will then run 3 - 5 trackdays usually doing 8 - 15 sessions in a day. 2 trackdays out of a set of tires is wasting money, imo. Quote:
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We'll see how it goes. I used to get about 8000 miles out of a set of Pilot Powers, so I must really be slow. :lol
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A little bit about me. I have done eight track days total and I'm at a point now where I carry a mid-to-front group NOVICE race pace.
I'm fresh off a track day using the Bridgestone BT003 street tires. Loved 'em. I prefer DOT tires wrapped in warmers when between sessions because of the greater lean angle they allow. My 7th track day was on the Bridgestone BT016 and they also performed good. First of all, I don't think you'll get six track days out of one set of tires. Street tires, allthough the high performance ones they make nowadays will suffice for the track, I think they lose their grip faster the more they're used on the track. My 016s got pretty hard after the one day I did and I could tell the lack of grip on the street after the track day. I would almost always get wheel spin jumping on the throttle, regardless if the tires were warm or not. I have been on track with regular Pilot Powers, Pilot Races, Michelin slicks, BT016 and BT003. I cut my personal best riding the Pilot Races PRC/PR5 combo. They have since been replaced by the Power Ones, so I might try those next. My advice would be to use the Bridgestone BT003, Michelin Pilot Pure or Dunlop Q2 and go from there. |
BT003 Race in medium front and rear.
It gets hot in TX and you don't want the street tires to get greasy and slide out. |
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Pirelli now has track day specific tires.... including a track day specific SLICK.
Click for more info http://www.gomtag.com/category/6540&...day-riders.htm I race on the non track day oriented Dragon Supercorsa.... love em. I went through 3 rears & 2 fronts last season on my SV650, which included 8 race weekends (3 races, 4 practice sessions each) and about 10-12 track days at various paces. |
Nice, thanks!
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If your pace would allow you to get 6 days out of a tire, you are not nearly fast enough to use race tires. You would be much better off to run an aggressive street tire until your pace improves.
Using race tires would lead you to one of two conclusions. Either you are fast enough to take advantages of them, but you end up getting only a few days out of them, or you are not fast enough and you won't be able to get them up to operating temperature, in which case you are just wasting money. A street tire will allow you to have a shot at the longevity you want, and offer plenty of grip for most trackday riders. Especially without warmers, I think street is the way to go. |
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Granted, I was on an EX500 :p |
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