RECOMMENDATIONS OF DOT TIRES FOR RAINY TRACK DAYS

Hello.
Yet again I've chosen a weekend to do a track day that it's gonna possibly pour the rain.
The gremlins at lil tally and amp love to see just how saturated they can get me apparently.
Need last minute advice for a street tire that works well in rain but has some grip as it dries out.
Running 120/70 and 180/60 on a lightweight sv in Novice.
Normally run the Metzler Trackday slicks and they are incredible for my skill level.
Is there a street tire with similar profile that works good in rain.?
Has anyone tried the Dunlop mutants or similar on track in the wet?
Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

 

I wouldnt ride AMP even when it’s dry… Talladega has enough grip for any DOT… I have even run slicks in the rain there but with rains you can go 90% IMO… just be careful of the seams after the farmhouse..

 

Rain tires work best in the rain. I ran DOTs in mixed conditions once and the front went away from me faster than I could fathom. If you have to run DOTs, run the softest thing you can find I guess. Any chance to find some cheap rain takeoffs?

 

Bahaha thats the exact spot caused me to reverse swallow my leathers the last time there !!! I retired after that, really cut the day short.
I had fresh Supercorsas on my mt so I had jumped on it, and I honestly think the s22 I had on it might have been better.
I want to finish the day out this time regardless of how wet it gets and I feel the sv even though it dont have all the safety nannies of the mt would be more fun and a better learning experience

 

I have been looking at new ones as not many people around here ride track. I have looked at sport touring tires too. Saw a video of Michael Neevsey talking about how it rains a lot in England and the schools using sport touring tires. Lots of options.
What ever I spend money on I hope its the right choice. Just got to be able to get them in and get them installed quickly.

 

You’re on the right path mentally by looking into what’s used in the UK…….due to the very fact that all it means when its not raining, is it’s getting ready to I had 3 sets of tires with me at the track: slicks, rains and dot’s for the off/on days. It’s been quite a few years, but I last used 2ct’s for the dot rims no clue what’s out now, but I’d like a fresh set now that I’m dusting off the cobwebs………

 

If you like Michelins the Pilot Road series moves a TON of water... You won't be as fast as those on Rains, but you'll stay upright!

I've always wanted to try a set of grooved DOTs as intermediates, but never put it to action. Something like Pilot GPs or SuperCorsas would be fun to groove into an intermediate tire.

-T

 

Thanks!
I think that's what I'm going to go with as other than the Dunlop Mutant they seem to have the most water channels of the street tires and most shops here carry them in stock.
I'm going to check with a friend that races dirt modifiedd see what he uses to groove tires , as I looked at a lot of rains and a 200 or 190/65 just isn't gonna fit in my sv swingarm.
Figure could groove a set of the racetec slicks and have a pretty good compromise for what I will be doing.

 

A grooved slick is still going to be a slick compound. It’s going to need heat to operate correctly. A street tire is likely to be a much better solution as it will not require as much heat to be in its operating window. Rains are the best solution for wet conditions because they do have a lot of grooves to channel water out of the way but they are also a very soft compound and heat up quickly.

 

True, good point.
I wonder how it would affect the pirreli t rack day slicks which like the Metzler td can be used without tire warmers but are a supposedly softer compound?

 

a rainy track seems like a private track rental. Some orgs dont ride in rain so definitely a valuable time to test.

 

We had plenty of rain to play in at Jennings on Sunday. It got so bad just before lunch that we had to come in because we couldn't see through the next corner. The rain tires worked great. There were folks out riding DOT's in the light rain, but they were being careful to avoid standing water and they were ~20 seconds a lap off of our pace on the rain tires.

 

Yep.
Track day with Trevor and the crew Sportbike Tracktime.
They have to run rain or shine, no refunds so I plan to try riding get what I paid for.

 

Have you looked into these?

Michelin Road 5 or 6
Pirelli Angel GT 2
Metzler RoadTec

I have a set of the road 6 tires (120/180) for "intermediates" but I'm not sure I'll ever use them.

There are other tires that can perform decently on a wet track -- depending on your level of smoothness -- that are better on a DRY tracks.

 

Yep, decided go with the Michelin as you're one of several that recommended them.
After 5this round though, I'm moving them to my. Mt and searching out actual rain tires.