I run the Cup VA or VB, no warmers and have seen no appreciable decline in tire traction. I change them on principle after 3 rears. I get about 2 track days per rear. Thats 18 - 24 full cold to full hot heat cycles. These new tires do not seem to be as sensitive to heat cycling as the old ones.
interesing that the majority of answers are michelin. I have been running pirelli and never really liked the front. I felt they lacked feel and left me unimpressed. I recently mounted some older Dunlop16.5s and suddenly remember what a front is supposed to feel like. I will probably try the michelin next as I need to transition to 17s.
See, this is more what I was looking for.... So, I got one more rear then the front goes with it too. Muchas gracias!!!
the front tire is what makes for a good lap time as it instills confidence. A rear that isn't can be "ridden around" by a good rider. All the rears out there seem to be pretty darn good. The pirelli rear appears VERY good. I am gauging this by when I get to full gas and the guys i ride against get to full gas.. Our rear is pretty good, but our front, is friggin awesome. We had a bit of a stinker for faster lap times in the power 1 "V" dot tire. During this time, i used the 16.5" slick front whenever possible. Rob Jensen said it best.. "leave an old "V" on a rim to use in supersport races for when you have to run it, use the slick whenever else.. " But that was the old power 1.
I used to be a 250 guys so corner speed is more my style (as opposed to point and shoot). The Dunlop front is way better than the pirelli. I think the v-01 bridgestone rear offers better edge grip than the pirelli sc2. Can't speak to the bs front. The price point on the michelin is pretty close to the stones, so those will be my next full set.
cant stand the idea of only cold pressures from michelin. You heat cycle the tire just to readjust the pressure or what?
why do you think there are only cold pressures discussed ? there are ideal off track temps available, as well as tire warmer psi. just ask. Do they tell many what to set em at cold initially ? sure ... as that's easy.
oh okay. Guy I pitted with running them used to let them cool all the way down then reset. Trashed rears.
why were they trashed just because you let a tire cool? we do that all the time. zero issue. Now if he set em wrong, and he went out on a tire too high a psi or way too low, how is that the tire's fault? the info is out there, ya just need to ask.
I love the Michelin front B slick. Last a long time and is very predictable. Now if I could get their rears to last I would be in racer heaven.
If you have a good tire guy set and forget seems to work pretty well. I would almost guarantee the guy you were pitting with was running his pressures too low.
It's why we run Mich B slick front and Pirelli SC1 rear. I'm hoping the new Mich rear slick is better.
if you guys are not getting good live out of a B slick , there is a good chance you are using the wrong psi Steven (possibly anyway). Our (Tom's) 1100+cc 2 valve air cooled motor, makes 80+ft lb of torque, and 115hp or so. We could get an entire endurance event out of a rear, no issue, but with a single sided swing arm, and wanting to keep the pace up, we do a rear change at the pit stop. 19psi cold, never more than 25psi hot off track (same as i run on the r6) .. the reason so many are not getting life from these tires is they are up around 27-28psi hot off track, because they start at 22-23 cold (as many are told to do). that is fine if you are at a slower pace, and don't put heat in the rear.. i have often used LESS than 19psi cold. I too am anticipating what the new rear tire life will be like haven't ran one for more than 2 sprints.
Both stick and I have been all over the pressure range on my rear Michelin slicks. Hot or cold pressures all within spec of getting good life but it doesn't matter with me I still chew them up pretty quick. I even tried the D rear compound. Hated that tire it transferred way to much reaction up into m chassis. It didn't last either and was slow to come in on short sprint races. My focus lately has been directed to my rear shock setup Thermosman has for me. It could be the problem but due to his schedule and mine not lining up he has not actually did a hands on setup with me yet. Hopefully we can get together next weekend at the Talladega round.
I think alot of this has to do if your on a 200hp liter bike, a 600 or a LW. One rear might be fine on a 600 but can't hook up on a 1000 sbk. Also the braking with heavier bikes. Wtf do I know though
^^ exactly. the post i made above Roy's was for StevenD, who i'm pretty sure is on the suzuki 565 light wt bike. 1000's are gonna go through a lot of rears. would it be nice if the michelin rears lasted longer ? for sure. just this season, Thermosman had me go down a bit on spring rate and compression valving (sped it up). and that seems to have helped. I am often getting 3 sprints out of a rear now, with plenty of rain sipe left to use as a take off for an entire practice day next round..
I would be SO happy to get 3 sprints out of a rear Michelin slick. Two rears on a weekend (6 sprints) I can accept but my wear rate is a bit more than that at the current time. I am limping badly by the 3rd sprint on a rear tire. Favored side is usually way gone by then and it's left up to me to salvage a decent ride sometimes at considerable risk.
