Pirelli tire selection

I think (hope) the reason for WERA West having issues is that there are a lot of other sanctioning body's out there that are pretty strong. With there being only so many racers per region, and a racer can only afford so many races, some one is going to get the short straw..

Grattan's turnout actually seemed better (at least for novice big bikes) The the May round. There were actually 2 tires guys there this time, Michelin (basically they live there) and a guy slinging Dunlops (and maybe Bridgestone as well?)

I had picked up enough Pirelli's at VMD to last me the weekend so I was fine.

 

So, whatever feelings and remarks I had about the SC2 after trying it in May have completely gone by the wayside. I used Friday morning to get up to speed on a set of SC1/SC1 takeoffs. Then after lunch I ran an SC2 front and SC0 rear. I was immediately running right around my non racing PB's. I felt like I could beat the living shit out of the SC2 front under the 2 hard braking zones. I also believe the firmer carcass (correct me if I'm out of pocket on that statement) helped me really just throw the bike into the corner while still pulling a decent amount of lever.

Saturday morning in practice 1 (so, this is like 9:15am at GRATTAN!) I went faster than I've ever gone while NOT in a race... I then tucked the front on someone's oil dry.. Got the bike back to the pit, made it out for the last round of practice on the same tires and went faster than I've EVER gone. 2nd race of the day I made it into the 1:22's there. Which has been my #1 goal for the year!

I really liked the SC0 as well, in the first 2 races I felt like I could just really feed that thing with the throttle. However, I lost a TON of grip by race 3 and it was tearing pretty bad, but I'm certain that's in my setup more so than the tire. I was starting the morning off with about 25psi in the rear and as it got hotter I was lowering the pressure. I did notice on Sunday that my tire warmer (brand new Woodcrafts) aren't getting the tire any hotter than 135-140 degrees (checked with a Longacre probe) They're run off a dedicated generator as well.. So, I'm betting that may be part of the issue. Especially after coming in from race one and getting 32psi in the rear right off the track. (was 25psi off the warmer)

All in all, I think I'll actually be sticking with the SC2 front from now on. I've never been that confident while braking. I'm going to Gingerman this weekend to coach with STT, and that's a VERY hard braking track. So I'm excited to see if I can beat my PB there if I get some free time.

 

If I am reading this right, you got half a track day, 1.5 practices and 2 races out of an SC0 rear? Sounds about right to me. The experts will be along to either concur or tell me I don't know wtf I am talking about.

 

Looking at the results by class both days I see there wasn't even 7 or more racers lined up. So low turn out from my guess.
Rumor is a guy from out east is slinging Dunlops in the North Central now? And he's racing at the events too?

 

Hey Trainwreck it sounds lke you're figuring it out! Trying new things is just one part of the puzzle to going faster. And I'm still thinking your rear setup is off, maybe too soft?
And yep with a SC0 you need at least 170f for 45 minutes. And don't forget to watch the hot pressure rise too.

 

I ran used SC1/SC1 for first half of Friday. Then SC2/SC0 for the second half. I then used them in Saturday practice, and switched to brand new SC2/SC0 for Sat races. I used Sat tires for Sunday practice and put fresh SC2/SC0 for Sunday races. I use brand new tires every race day. I don't want any excuses in my head. I then just use the race day tires for practice days/coaching..

 

Yeah I think I need to maybe go up on rear pre-load or even maybe switch to a stiffer spring rate? I have been having issues with "pumping" on corner exit. I cleaned a lot of that up with slowing the rebound, but now that I have picked up the pace a bit its come back. I don't have much more I can slow with the rebound I think I'm 2 clicks away from fully tight. Currently running a 600# spring on a Penske triple rear shock set up by Traxxion Dynamics. I'll try to show some tire pics later

 

I concur that having your tire give up in the third sprint race would be a little sooner than expected. Thanks for the details.

 

Here's the key things to look at. Low tire warmer temps in conjunction with a 25-32 psi rise? Figure out what happened here in relation to your rear suspension, and you'll improve tire wear, performance, and lap times.

 

And here's a bump to help answer questions for a few. FYI I post up the tech data sheets here every year

 

Could someone PM me the contact info for Jim who sells Pirelli at the Southern Region Events? I would appreciate it.

 

James Bock
[email protected]

 

Thank you

 

Time for a April bump!

 

A treasure trove of hard earned information. Thanks for the bump.

 

@Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

I'm racing ACC North this weekend with ASRA/CCS... Its supposed to be 42-47 degrees all day.. I've never raced in temps this low. Any tips or suggestions? My current go to is normally an SC2 front at 37psi, and I bounce between an SC1/SC0 rear at around 21-23psi depending on track temp/surface grip.

 

ACC North? Skip the SC0 rear and use the SC1. Probably start with the front a few pounds lower and then watch the pressures right off the track and adjust accordingly. And adjust your riding until you see how things are working. And maybe try a SC1 front if you have one?

 

Question. Folks now regularly using 125/70 front and 190/60 rear on R6 (superstock) in USA?

 

I have a few questions about the longevity of the SC3 compound. Trying to be more frugal with my tire budget this year (wrong hobby I know lol) and I'm looking at running Superbike SC3 rears instead of SC1 or SC2. I don't really care about winning races but I'm wondering how much slower the SC3 will be? If someone has some data around lap time differences with an endurance tire compound that'd be nice to know. The temperatures we have up in Canada are generally a lot colder so I'm interested to see how an endurance compound would work.

Side question: We have a brand new track that just munches tires, there is basically no traction at this track since the asphalt is so new (oil is still coming through, not sure?) I was also wondering if the SC2 and SC3 differ that much in terms of handling abusive track surfaces? For reference an expert class racer could maybe get 1 or 2 sessions out of an SC1 at this track on a track day before the tire was shredded.

 

I ordered a new SC3 DOT rear (180/60) for my 890. I received a new v4. Can anyone elaborate on the differences? It will be paired with a new SC3 v3 front. Website indicates 28 hot is still a good pressure on the rear.