At the risk of being burned alive, or worse yet being made fun of, I have to ask... DOT or Slick? A Tire buddy of mine says if you've never rode on a slick, (which I haven't) then I should stick to DOT's. Another local fast-guy confimed the statement by adding that Pirrelli DOT's were just as good if not better for me since i've never been on a slick (basically saying "YOU'RE SLOW" in a nice way) He added that Slicks were difficult to heat up, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.... Anyone have an opinion on any brand DOT's vs. Slicks? Buck
In my humble slicks are the bomb I used them last season for the first time after many years of DOT racing. There is a huge difference. As for heating them up I never noticed, but if I was to offer a guess I would suggest the opposite is true. More surface area equals more friction equals more heat. Why not just try them and make up your own mind?
slicks take longer to warm up the tread blocks of a DOT move and squirm creating heat. The level of the DOTs today equal to many aspects a slick BUT they don't last as long and don't offer as much choice in profile/temprange (hardness)/ diameter/width most people will achieve the same lap times on a DOT as a slick but you can fine tune a slickshod bike more. Also a DOT is generally more forgiving than a slick
You're getting good advice from those guys. I've used both and prefer DOT's. Grip is very close and the DOT's are a more forgiving.
Good advice maybe but I do love my Bridgestone slicks. I dropped my lap times after the second session on them. It might have been in my head but I don't care. Try a little of everything and then go with what works for you. Just remember moisture is your enemy on slicks. As far as heating them up goes, I never noticed a difference. They are sticky as hell when hot though.
what do you ride? i say try them both and see what you like. if your just starting out you need to try a little of everything to see what works for you. i have run both and i prefer to have a slick front it feels better and gives me more confedince. i can run either on the back. my bike has no hp
I would use the DOT's until you have gone as fast as the fastest experts or pros before I switched to the slicks. I would learn everything that you can on a DOT tire. Most DOT tires on the market are faster than the riders using them. If you use the slicks you may go faster ( but it is because the slick offers more grip and not because you have learned to ride better ). It depends what you are looking for? Quicker lap times today or being a faster and better rider tommorow. In my opinion ( and everyone has one ) I feel that you should learn as much as a DOT tire can teach you before you start spending more money on a slick. When you can run Top level expert times at the track you run at with the best there then I would make the change to slicks. This is just my opinion. The DOT tires will heat up faster ( when comparing the same compounds on a DOT and Slick ) than a slick due to the extra heat created by the tread movement as Eric_77 has written. Slicks will last longer if you have your bike set up correctly but they will also cost more.
