Does it really matter what tire pressure you run? I've always just ran what is recommended by the manufacturer. Any advice/tips on what is best? Also, does it matter from brand to brand? I primarily use dunlop. Thanks!!
Yes different tire brands like different pressures. Your track side vendor is your friend when it comes to recommended pressures.
Of course it matters what pressure you run. You are talking about race tires on a race track here right? Not tires for your street bike right?
Meh....ive run 'em without majour issue. Ive had worse experiences on what were "supposed to be great"metzlers
Yes I was talking about race tires. I just didn't know if there was a better psi to run other than the factory recommendation.
The tire guys at the track will be able to recommend the proper pressure for your tires based on your use (warmers or not and so on) as well as conditions at that track and the track itself. Do not go with the max pressure on the side of the tire.
Oh okay cool! Maybey this is a dumb question.. Why should you not go with the psi printed on the tire?
the pressure printed on the tire is usually for the max load rating. its not for the best grip, best wear, best anything else. you shouldnt even use the max pressure on a car or a bicycle. maybe a trailer or a motorhome, maybe not.
Do a little searching around on this forum in the Tech air about tires and pressures to run. There's ALOT of content/data here already that doesn't need to get all typed out again. But just so you are aware correct tire pressures are both very critical with races tires and can also varying quite a bit depending on tire brand as well as track conditions/ambient temperatures. Search and read up as much as you can on here. And then when you are at the track speak with the tire vendors there (specifically for the brand you are using) to get their feedback on recommended pressures for the conditions. Some vendors you'll see put out a chart for the day with the recommended settings for the given conditions, something like this.
Pressures are important. We even have different pressures between slicks and DOT's in the same brand. Be careful googling tire pressures. I hear a lot of bad information come from that. Check with your trackside tire guy.girl. Each track likes a little something different.
For racing you want grip with decent wear not max wear at the cost of grip. If you check out your car there is a sticker inside the drivers door usually with suggested pressures - you should use those and not the sidewall. For things like RVs and semis Michelin even has a chart out there online for pressures to run based on the weight of your rig which aren't the max pressure the tire can handle.
On tire pressure and other things related to the bike. Try to think about what you feel on the bike. Even take notes when you feel something and what the setting are. (I don't even do this but I Always tell myself I will) You can start by what your tire guy recommends at the track. Then go to the fastest guy on the track running your tires and see what he's running. He's bike has a different set up than yours and he is running a lot faster. I don't think there's a right answer you have to figure out what works best for you close to the recommended pressures. Sometimes a chatter in the front could be fixed by tire pressure rather than suspension changes.
If it's being done right, the fast guy at the track and the vendor have the exact same numbers. However, there are pressure and compound combinations that will work better with different riders at different paces. It is always a good idea to consult the guy at the track with the most amount of data on the tires you're running. If that's not the guy selling the tires, buy tires from someone else.
