I am just "mid-pack" in the "I" group and I am riding a Honda CBR 1000RR. I am about to upgrade to new tires because the ones I currently have are out of tread. I am not that fast but I would like to get some "slicks"? Is this a bad idea? My bike is used on the track only - so, no street use. I have been at trackdays when it rained and I just "packed it up" and did not ride in the rain. (It was hard rain with puddles) I really like the Dunlop Superbike n-Tec SLICKS but I do not want to spend $500+ bucks and the tire is a little to much for me. (I am not that fast and my lean angles are not that low) I can drag knee but I am not leaning the bike over to such dramatic "elbow-dragging" angles.
Do you have tire warmers? I run the Michelin Power One Commerical tires in Intermediate myself. As far as I could find, they're about as good a tire as you can get without needing tire warmers...although I run them anyways because I have them. They would be good enough to take you well into advanced from what I've read. They do fine for me in mid to upper Intermediate on my 1000. Plus, if you're riding with STT, they sell them to you for a good price and mount them for free trackside. There are also some Pirelli Trackday slicks that supposedly don't require warmers. I don't know if the Dunlop slicks do or not, but they usually do. What tires are you running now and what are they not doing for you?
I do have tire warmers! At this moment I am running Mic.Pio.Pow.2cts and I will be at Little Tally this weekend on them - in the "I" group. They are wearing really bad on the front side of the tread and "buggering" on the back side of the tread. This is not the only reason, I am slipping the rear tire all over the place in hairpin turns? It scares the @#$% out of me! Last, the michelin pilot powers 2ct that I am currently on have only seen about 4 track days and they are really low on tread (on the sides). I was hoping the slicks will last longer if I go with a medium compound?
Ah. I used the same tires before power 2cts, had the same problems. I was able to run the same times in the 2CTs as the Power Ones, but it felt a lot more stable on the Power Ones with less rear tire slipping. Try out the Power Ones, they'll definitely be an improvement you'll notice. As for longevity though...not so much. Looks like 4 days on a front and 2 days on a rear for me on the Power Ones. I doubt you'll find a racing rear tire that will last you more than 4 track days on a rear if you're pushing it hard...that's a lot of hard miles on a tire. But I'll sit back now and see what others have to say about that.
I used to have the same problem of acts lasting about 4 days. The power ones last about 5 days of not coaching tracktime. Slick I doubt would last as long. Also sliding the act is more than likely a greedy right wrist or the effect of higher temps.
Nope.. Slicks will last longer....And warmers are a big help.. Very similar to a Power 1 C... With warmers and proper flipping they can last awhile... Pending on the bike of course.... However dont forget about the wet stuff... They dont grip at all...
I've got a brand new set of those Pirellis (Diablo Superbike Pro) that don't requre warmers BUT I"LL HAVE THEM ANYWAY for SEPT Barber. Want to try them out. Dunlop Q2's are a GREAT trackday tire and you can find them on sale near 200 TYD.
I am running 30 front and 30 rear p.s.i. To answer your question, I am funning 30/30 psi on all my track days. I recently watched a "tire review" on the Mic.Pio.Pow2ct and the review said to run 31-32 on the front and 30 on the rear. So, this weekend I will be running 31 front and 30 rear at little tally!