At the risk of being told to use the search function (I honestly have and am amazed not to be able to find very much at all - apologies if I've just missed all the juicy stuff) can I ask for advice as to tyre pressures for track? My 1199 is shod in Metzeler Racetec RR (K1 front, K2 rear). I'm about to head off to Magny Cours which is fast and quite sweeping. I believe that standard road pressures are 2.1bar front (31psi) and 2.2 rear (32psi). What about on track? I've seen 28psi hot pressure recommended for the rear. What would this equate to roughly as a cold pressure? Any general experience or advice to share? Cheers, RW
On a fairly recent warm day at Silverstone (20+ degrees), I ran 24psi rear, 27psi front, cold on Racetech RR K3s fitted to a 1098R. Equated to about 28/31 hot. Tyre wear was excellent and had no issues with grip. Andy
Interesting, you're saying 4lbs difference in pressure between cold and hot. On that Metzeler chart it's saying 2lbs difference. 2lbs doesn't sound much does it?
I agree with you, an increase of 2psi cold to hot doesn’t sound much, especially for what is a treaded tyre. Andy
I can never remember tyre pressures at track days... hot, cold, front, rear, this tyre, that fekkin tyre... Ah fuck knows... What I do is over inflate them before I go. There's always about 18 tyre guru's standing within 5 metres of you once you get your bike set. I just ask one then trim front and rear pressure accordingly. Easy
And there is your problem, 18 people who think they are tyre gurus. There are so many variables that will affect how the tyre generates heat on track, you need to find out what works for you. I going to generate more heat in my tyres than someone like say Marques, not because I’m a better rider but because I’m 10 stone heavier then he is Andy
The tyre guy told me 22f 20r on my old 1198 and it was good for me. Felt weird riding home on those afterwards mind you ( i topped up at a fuel station), but on the track it felt real good after a couple of wup laps. I imagine the pani is much the same, as same pressures for road and same tyres. SC's. 32f, 30r for road. Ive yet to track my 1299s. Hopefully I'll find a loud track.
There is no problem Andy. Just because I have a slightly more relaxed approach to tyre pressures than the sandal wearing chin strokers amongst us, it doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing. I do. And rather than factor in tyre heat, lap times and package weight, it's far easier to just check and adjust (if need be) your pressures between sessions
32/28 first session, come in, work from there. That 'expert' at tyres r us insist you set them COLD (even with warmers) first thing then leave them.....and he's paid for his knowledge
I have always set my pressures cold before fitting warmers on arrival at the track. I monitor the tyre throughout the day and adjust the pressures (hot) if required. I finally seem to have a good routine that works for me as the tyre wear at Silverstone was exceptional. Andy
offroad lol. Nope. Maybe i was just super fast and put loadsa heat in it. Ahem, ok. Maybe not. But it felt good and grippy. Those were my cold pressures. My tyres afterwards looked very consistent with no tearing. Just a nice ripple all over.
Monitoring is the critical thing IMHO as all sorts of things, when you have high power, can affect tyre wear and destroy them.
I'm usually running Dunlop KR108's and the rear is something daft like 18psi cold, 22/24psi hot.... strong tyre wall.
With the impending arrival of my V4, I’m contemplating going back to square 1 next year and trying the new 2018 RR CompK slick. The current set of endurance RR K3s will be history after Cartagena later this year. Mmmm, decisions, decisions. Andy
Half way through the double trackday update: I'm running 30/26 hot per the Metzeler recommendations (on that chart that Steve linked). All looking good and none of the weird tearing I was getting at Mettet (although some slight tram lines on the front which my friend is also getting on his rsv; what's that?). Track is bone dry and hot which is obviously nice. God, this is a fantastic, fast circuit...
