im thinking of switching to pirellis (metzelers) because i hear a number of racers talking about how they switch the direction of the tire to get more out of it when on a dominant one sided track. is this ok to do, or is it nuts. it seems logical as long as its dry out. what are your opinions?
I've heard of some people doing this at Road America on a track day with no issues but who knows, maybe they go lucky.
When I crashed on the pirelli the bike went backwards not the tires fault. I have seen people run every brand of tire backwards. However they are made to run one way the arrow on the side. It really depends on the way the tire is cast. A butt joint is better than a lap type to reverse. A lap type joint is a one way only you could get sudden failure when the lap seperates. Michelin and dunlop had tire like this with differant type joints a few years ago. They both had tires that had to be mounted backwards due to the type of joint used and the arrow being on the wrong side. I just am to picky with tires and once you load the belts and get a wear pattern going turning the tire you have to reverse the pattern. If you can find out how the tire is made you can make the choice. Jeff Johnson roams around here some and would know the answer.
Check Critter's site,and email him. He had some Pirelli's inadverently mounted backwards, and raced them with decent results. I think he'll tell you they don't act the same, however.
I am NOT making a recommendation...just a comment on my experience. But we had heard that some successful endurance teams were doing this and decided to give it a try. I ride in about the top 20% of the advanced class of a track club (will cut my teeth racing this year with WERA) but we had no problem and could not tell any difference in handling on a 996Ducati when the tires were mounted different ways. I must have gone through six sets of tires this way and had no problems with those six sets. We did not switch the fronts. The 996's were eating those tires pretty quickly...and if they didn't work we were out the rest of a track day not a racing weekend. There wasn't as much on the line at the track days.
sounds good. ill have to give it a try. does anyone know how pirellis are constructed? either lap joint, or butt joint?
don't let them go too far before flipping them. we run them at willow springs, which grinds down the right side of the tire. i like to flip juuust as you notice the right side is starting to wear down. if i wait too long, the whole tire goes off rather than just the one side. so, based on my experience: flip at 50~60% and you'll gain a little extra life. ... flip at 80~90% and it's like you didn't do anything to the tire.
Good luck Bro. I hope everything works well. You have to let me know how it goes. You know where to find me... the other one.
