Tire warmers & tires
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Joined: Apr 2012
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From: northeast florida
Tire warmers & tires
can anyone chime in on this concept? i was writing alot about heat temps and how my current tires lose grip when hotter (battlax s20's) but i guess the question is.
does anyone need tire warmers on a 600cc+ motorcycle? is the tire warmer for saving the tire from degrading from temperature cycles,
or is it needed to prevent tires from shredding due to cold temps, now of course this is with DOT race tires.
i guess i can understand a use for slicks, but for the regular track day guy who is going to use his tires, for road use after the track day, need tire warmers?
also can anyone recommend something i think i may use q2's or bto-003's.
does anyone need tire warmers on a 600cc+ motorcycle? is the tire warmer for saving the tire from degrading from temperature cycles,
or is it needed to prevent tires from shredding due to cold temps, now of course this is with DOT race tires.
i guess i can understand a use for slicks, but for the regular track day guy who is going to use his tires, for road use after the track day, need tire warmers?
also can anyone recommend something i think i may use q2's or bto-003's.
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Joined: Apr 2009
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"Need tire warmers?" Well, that's a subjective question.
Tire-warmers are NOT necessary for track days...they are a luxury. No track day org that I'm familiar w/ requires them. That being said, they are a nice luxury to have at the track...especially if doing track days in cooler temps/times of yr.
Cold tires lack adhesion that warm tread have & are often the result of poor grip &/or crashes til they can heat up on their own w/o warmers. A "sighting" lap certainly helps w/ this if you don't have warmers. ;-)
Tire-warmers prepare the tire to be used for the immediate strenuous requirements (grip) of track riding... They warm up the tire so that it will have better grip out of the gate & off the line, & as a result - a safer tire situation on the track.
As for what your particular brand & type of tires are doing... The term *greasy* is often used for tires that are too hot/etc & lacking adhesion to the track surface.
Most recently, I've run Michelin PP2CT's & Dunlop Q2's at the track w/ good result. I've been able to get multiple track days & street riding from both types w/ good mileage results. YMMV of course.
You can always get yourself a spare set of wheels to run race/track only tires. This is always a good idea when being an active track day rider.
Tire-warmers are NOT necessary for track days...they are a luxury. No track day org that I'm familiar w/ requires them. That being said, they are a nice luxury to have at the track...especially if doing track days in cooler temps/times of yr.
Cold tires lack adhesion that warm tread have & are often the result of poor grip &/or crashes til they can heat up on their own w/o warmers. A "sighting" lap certainly helps w/ this if you don't have warmers. ;-)
Tire-warmers prepare the tire to be used for the immediate strenuous requirements (grip) of track riding... They warm up the tire so that it will have better grip out of the gate & off the line, & as a result - a safer tire situation on the track.
As for what your particular brand & type of tires are doing... The term *greasy* is often used for tires that are too hot/etc & lacking adhesion to the track surface.
Most recently, I've run Michelin PP2CT's & Dunlop Q2's at the track w/ good result. I've been able to get multiple track days & street riding from both types w/ good mileage results. YMMV of course.
You can always get yourself a spare set of wheels to run race/track only tires. This is always a good idea when being an active track day rider.
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 249
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From: Vancouver, Canada
Here's my two peneth...
Tire warmers are for warming the tires up so you can set the warm tire pressures right before you go out on track and avoid having cold tires for the first few laps.
Heat cycles are a real phenomenon but they are not significant enough to be an issue. Dunlop has reccomendations for how and when to use warmers depending on how long the bike will be in the pits..
http://www.dunlopracing.com/Warmers.pdf
They clearly aren't worried about heat cycles since they don't suggest keeping the warmers on all the time. At least on Dunlop tires. I think heat cycles are over rated.
You certainly don't 'need' tire warmers but any bike will benefit from the luxury of warm tires on the first lap.
Tire warmers are for warming the tires up so you can set the warm tire pressures right before you go out on track and avoid having cold tires for the first few laps.
Heat cycles are a real phenomenon but they are not significant enough to be an issue. Dunlop has reccomendations for how and when to use warmers depending on how long the bike will be in the pits..
http://www.dunlopracing.com/Warmers.pdf
They clearly aren't worried about heat cycles since they don't suggest keeping the warmers on all the time. At least on Dunlop tires. I think heat cycles are over rated.
You certainly don't 'need' tire warmers but any bike will benefit from the luxury of warm tires on the first lap.
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