Track temps and tires

[SVJ]

I picked up an SV with plans to get back into the AFM.
I put medium compound Dunlop slicks on and am going to Sonoma on the 24th.

Having never run Dunlop slicks, I am unsure how they will work with temps in the 50s. Do they?:laughing Should I plan on picking up some DOTs for the cool days, or am I worrying about nothing?

Thanks

 

[afm199]

I picked up an SV with plans to get back into the AFM.
I put medium compound Dunlop slicks on and am going to Sonoma on the 24th.

Having never run Dunlop slicks, I am unsure how they will work with temps in the 50s. Do they?:laughing Should I plan on picking up some DOTs for the cool days, or am I worrying about nothing?

Thanks

My experience ( limited) says that Dunlops work ok in the cool, and the DOT's aren't going to work any differently than the slicks. (Unless there's standing water on the track.) Pressures are important. Check with the tire guy on the day of the event.

 

[stangmx13]

theres not a large enough difference btw Dunlop's Slicks and DOTs to warrant switching btw them for cold weather. run the slicks.

Dunlop compounds work like this: the harder the compound, the more resistant to tearing. the Medium+ is a bulletproof tire that near impossible to tear in any conditions. the Supersoft needs the most heat and most rubber on the track to not tear. Soft front / Medium rear is a good choice for cold trackdays, esp if u got the new 0455 Med compound instead of the older 7455. but ull probably want to race on Supersoft front / Soft rear once the season gets going. almost no one uses the Med front - just some pros that want the front tire to feel rock hard for their ridiculously hard braking.

as for pressures, Dunlops recommendations that trackday tire guys give out are safe pressures. however they arent the fastest pressures. if u brake hard and can generate front tire heat, ull want to use the upper range of the recommendation or go even higher. for the rear, don't be surprised if u end up 2-3 psi under their recommendation.

 

[SVJ]

theres not a large enough difference btw Dunlop's Slicks and DOTs to warrant switching btw them for cold weather. run the slicks.

Dunlop compounds work like this: the harder the compound, the more resistant to tearing. the Medium+ is a bulletproof tire that near impossible to tear in any conditions. the Supersoft needs the most heat and most rubber on the track to not tear. Soft front / Medium rear is a good choice for cold trackdays, esp if u got the new 0455 Med compound instead of the older 7455. but ull probably want to race on Supersoft front / Soft rear once the season gets going. almost no one uses the Med front - just some pros that want the front tire to feel rock hard for their ridiculously hard braking.

as for pressures, Dunlops recommendations that trackday tire guys give out are safe pressures. however they arent the fastest pressures. if u brake hard and can generate front tire heat, ull want to use the upper range of the recommendation or go even higher. for the rear, don't be surprised if u end up 2-3 psi under their recommendation.

Thank you for the feedback! The front is 7455, back 0455. I have soft compound ready to go for racing.

I guess I mis-typed when i said DOT, I was thinking about Q3-Q4.

 

[stangmx13]

I don't think ud gain anything practicing on street tires. if u were a C-group or slow B-group rider, maybe ud have a better trackday experience on Q4s - slower but safer probably. but it sounds like uve raced before. so I must assume u are faster and more skilled than that and will benefit from time on slicks, even in cold conditions.

 

[afm199]

I don't think ud gain anything practicing on street tires. if u were a C-group or slow B-group rider, maybe ud have a better trackday experience on Q4s - slower but safer probably. but it sounds like uve raced before. so I must assume u are faster and more skilled than that and will benefit from time on slicks, even in cold conditions.

Yes, and no. Ken Hill easily does sub twos at Thill on an FZ10 with Q3's. Sometimes I think I'm wasting my money on slicks. That's probably equivalent to 1:47 at Sears Point.

 

[89fj]

I want to run slicks this saturday but i'm thinking about running new S21 bridgestones since it's been so cold lately.
frost all over this morning.......fuck

 

[Smash Allen]

I want to run slicks this saturday but i'm thinking about running new S21 bridgestones since it's been so cold lately.
frost all over this morning.......fuck

How’s about you give me your slicks and you can run your dots

 

[stangmx13]

Yes, and no. Ken Hill easily does sub twos at Thill on an FZ10 with Q3's. Sometimes I think I'm wasting my money on slicks. That's probably equivalent to 1:47 at Sears Point.

if u are doing trackdays and just want to put around, sure. but if u are racing and trying to get better, why practice going slow? hell, why give yourself a ceiling? I cant imagine showing up to a trackday at Sonoma thinking, "I'm going to limit myself to 1:47s today".

 

[stangmx13]

your tires don't rly dictate how u ride in the cold (if the track is dry). even with street tires, u still want to ride like u are trying to generate tire heat. u make sure to brake and throttle hard, but a little more upright. u reduce your corner speed some. and u take care to find and stay below the lower limit of grip. thats true on street tires and on slicks.

 

[dammyneckhurts]

I don't think ud gain anything practicing on street tires. if u were a C-group or slow B-group rider, maybe ud have a better trackday experience on Q4s - slower but safer probably. but it sounds like uve raced before. so I must assume u are faster and more skilled than that and will benefit from time on slicks, even in cold conditions.

At 50 degree track day, everyone except the faster A group riders will have more grip with Q3 or Q4 than a slick, especially if it's overcast.

 

[stangmx13]

At 50 degree track day, everyone except the faster A group riders will have more grip with Q3 or Q4 than a slick, especially if it's overcast.

I doubt it.

here's a post by Dunlop RTS from a few years ago explaining their position on it.

FACT: If you had 2 identical bikes with similar caliber riders, one on Q2 and the other on D211GPA, the rider with the D211GPA would have equal or better grip, at every temperature, from room temperature all the way up to race pace. With the Q2 increasing in performance moderately, and the D211GPA increasing substantially in performance.

https://forum.n2td.org/index.php?th...rom-q2-to-race-tires-d211gpa-or-better.17462/

the quote says "room temp" specifically. so lets take that as the crossover point and call it 80F. how fast does someone have to go to heat a tire from 50F to 80F? thats "cruising on the freeway" temperature. so a lap on a racetrack should do it no problem for all but the slowest riders.

 

[89fj]

How’s about you give me your slicks and you can run your dots

:afm199

 

[jacob11379]

I want to run slicks this saturday but i'm thinking about running new S21 bridgestones since it's been so cold lately.
frost all over this morning.......fuck

Snow here at my house, 20 something degrees at night, black ice everywhere.

I cant wait to get down to Sonoma and warm up...

 

[89fj]

^^^I don't feel so bad now after hearing that. I got in a two hour ride yesterday before the hail attack in the afternoon

 

[Kalvin00]

I doubt it.

here's a post by Dunlop RTS from a few years ago explaining their position on it.

https://forum.n2td.org/index.php?th...rom-q2-to-race-tires-d211gpa-or-better.17462/

the quote says "room temp" specifically. so lets take that as the crossover point and call it 80F. how fast does someone have to go to heat a tire from 50F to 80F? thats "cruising on the freeway" temperature. so a lap on a racetrack should do it no problem for all but the slowest riders.

I do remember something from the Q4 release though, where they had a graph of temperature vs. grip levels in the Q4 vs. slicks. I believe the Q4 had more grip up to ~155 degrees.

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/dunlop-q4-tire-test

Found it, about halfway in.

 

[stangmx13]

I do remember something from the Q4 release though, where they had a graph of temperature vs. grip levels in the Q4 vs. slicks. I believe the Q4 had more grip up to ~155 degrees.

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/dunlop-q4-tire-test

Found it, about halfway in.

nice, good find. thats def more data.

if we take both pieces of info as fact, this implies that the street tires have improved since the Q2. perhaps the Q3 has more grip than slicks at some temp above "room temp" but lower than 158F. and the Q3+ may at an even higher temp, but still <158F. then u need the Q4 for the whole deal at 158F.

I wonder how slow someone can go and still get their tires to 158F, say on a 600. 158F isnt THAT high. thats 15-30F below warmer temp. Ive helped some B group riders before with tire pressures & temps. on ideal weather days, they tended to not gain heat off the warmers. so thats where id draw the line. of course, on colder days itd take more speed. and on hotter days, itd take less speed.

 

[89fj]

how cold has it been in san diego?

 

[thedub]

how cold has it been in san diego?

If only there was some resource that could allow you to revisit historical weather observations for a chosen location?

 

[stangmx13]

its 58F and sunny at my house right now. gonna rain tmrw and Thurs though. all these storms seem to cover the whole state.

no tracks in SD. my last trackday was wet and in the 50s