Dunlop 209GPA

barry38

barry38

Member
I know there was a thread a couple weeks ago about these tires, started by my fellow CR John Allen, but my aged, feeble mind can't seem to remember where it is, and I did search and cannot seem to locate it, and since my attention span for this is about 1.5 seconds, I decided to just start a new thread. (wow how's that for a run on sentance!)

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program -

I put a set of these tires, the 209 GPA Medium/Soft compound, on for NJMP Lightning a couple weeks ago. Rode them a couple sessions CR'ing and "A" riding and my general impression was good. Overall turn in was good, held a nice line on corner exit and felt like tons of grip. The suspesnsion did however feel overly stiff, bordering on harsh over the few bumps on Lightning. I initially softened both compression and rebound 2 full clicks front and rear, and rode a couple more sessions. The bike felt better, but was squatting too much on exit, so I put two click of compression back into the rear. I was running 24/33 hot pressure front and rear.

As the day progressed I noticed a tear starting to form on the tire at the point where the two compounds meet. Noticed the same tear on pretty much every bike that was running these tires. Talked to Moon about it, he suggested adding another click of compression, which I did. By the end of the second day, the tear was still there, but it hadn't gotten any worse. In those two days of riding I logged 392 miles on the track, and was still very happy with the amount of grip I was feeling at the end of the day.

I flipped the rear for this past weekend at VIR. I intended on running them for South on Sunday, and putting a fresh set on for North on Monday. I talked with Derek when I got to VIR about the tearing issue. He suggested running 22/33 hot pressure, which I did. By the end of the day Sunday, after 7 B sessions and 4 A sessions, the tear on the rear had cleared up considerably, and I still felt the level of grip was excellent. Total miles on this set of tires was now 606, 29 sessions of CR'ing and A riding. Based on how the tires looked, and the fact I felt the grip was still good, I decided to leave them on for at least the morning sessions on North.

I ended up riding them all day, 7 I sessions, and one A session, and was still very happy with both wear and grip. And let me tell you the I sessions after lunch on Monday were no joke. That was probaby one of the faster I groups I've ridden, and anybody who went out the second session after lunch with all the CR's know we weren't bullshiting around. I hammered it for the first 3 laps, and started backing it down a bit as I was getting some slides from the backend (I figure I was running at my 85% to 90% pace). Even though the back end was spinning up, it was very predictable and easy to control. At the end of the day I logged another 157 miles, for a grand total of 763 miles and 36 sessions.

All I can say is these tires are the shit. Honestly, I have never been a big fan of Dunlop tires, and I really liked the Pirelli's, but after pounding the crap out of this set of tires I'm sold.

My next event is Summit Main in a couple weeks. I'm pretty sure I'm going to run these tires at least one more day.
 
HighWay

HighWay

New Member
I might be mistaken but isn't the recommend pressure 33(front)/24(hot)? I have those tires mounted on my spare wheels but haven't ridden on them yet.
 
HighWay

HighWay

New Member
barry38;79405 wrote: I was running 24/33 hot pressure front and rear.
barry38;79455 wrote: Per Derek Leslie, who is a shitload smarter than me, it's 22 rear 33 front HOT!
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Your first post threw me off. Thanks for the clarification
 
Thunderace

Thunderace

BIG JIM
Control Rider
One of you guys have got to ride a literbike one of these days. I bought a set off Derek and ran them for one day at VIR North and they looked good at the end of the day. Half a day on Lightning and the right side was frickin' toast. I also had a strange bubble appear on the edge of the tread that Moon had never seen before. Another thing that Moon pointed out was that there were no markings on the rear tire to say what compound it was. I obviously did not get 750 miles out of my rear. More like 200 miles, but the front is still going strong.

I also found they were a little hard as compared to the SC Pros I had been using.
 
stkr

stkr

New Member
I had some tearing this weekend at Blackhawk Farms on my 209's. These are the Med/Hard compound. I was running 33F/23R with the Suzuka tire warmers on high. I'm new to the warmers game, so I'm not sure if that's considered "HOT", or if it should be 23psi HOT off the track. Coming off the track, the tires were about 25-26psi.

These tires were brand new and only have 3 :i: sessions, and 4 :a: sessions after my bump.

My next track day will be Barber in November, and I'm hoping I can salvage these tires to run the whole weekend. Will lowering the rear to 21-22psi on the warmers be a good start for clearing up the rear? The front is wearing great at 33psi.
 
Meat

Meat

Member
stkr;81048 wrote: I had some tearing this weekend at Blackhawk Farms on my 209's. These are the Med/Hard compound. I was running 33F/23R with the Suzuka tire warmers on high. I'm new to the warmers game, so I'm not sure if that's considered "HOT", or if it should be 23psi HOT off the track. Coming off the track, the tires were about 25-26psi.

These tires were brand new and only have 3 :i: sessions, and 4 :a: sessions after my bump.

My next track day will be Barber in November, and I'm hoping I can salvage these tires to run the whole weekend. Will lowering the rear to 21-22psi on the warmers be a good start for clearing up the rear? The front is wearing great at 33psi.
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I was running 32/23.5 psi in the front/rear, hot off track, at Roebling and my GPA (med/hard) tires looked fantastic. I was running 22 in the rear and it was ripping up a little like your rear is showing. 2 Sessions at 23.5 psi in the rear cleaned it right up. BTW: If you didn't know Roebling is full of long high speed sweepers (I know nothing of Blackhawk Farms).

Derek (Southeast nesba tire god/vendor) recommends 33 psi front, but I am a rebel and run 32 psi...
 
Burnall4

Burnall4

New Member
alphamale;79450 wrote: I'm pretty sure 24 front would be asking for a lowside.
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I meant 34 sorry, the keys are right next to each other. Derek said once you get these tires scrubbed in you want to drop the rear pressures, as I did down to 21 and they wear perfectly! These are hot pressures obviously!
 
stkr

stkr

New Member
Meat;81056 wrote: I was running 32/23.5 psi in the front/rear, hot off track, at Roebling and my GPA (med/hard) tires looked fantastic. I was running 22 in the rear and it was ripping up a little like your rear is showing. 2 Sessions at 23.5 psi in the rear cleaned it right up. BTW: If you didn't know Roebling is full of long high speed sweepers (I know nothing of Blackhawk Farms).

Derek (Southeast nesba tire god/vendor) recommends 33 psi front, but I am a rebel and run 32 psi...
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Thanks :cool: I'll try the "hot off the track" pressures when I go to Barber and see if it cleans up some. I met Derek the last time I was down there. Good guy ;)

Blackhawk is 1.8 miles, no long sweepers, just a tight technical track for the most part. Here's a 2 lap video of mine to give you an idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgIcaPA3o0c
 
JRA

JRA

New Member
There are a lot of variables that affect rear tire wear so each riders experience may be different. Things like track surface, suspension set up, skill of the rider, horsepower of the bike being ridden, etc all will affect the life of the rear tire. I can say that I have experienced excellent wear from these tires at every track where I've used them; very similar to what Barry was describing.

I can also say that I observed another member (A group rider) who had some pretty serious tearing on his rear at RRR last weekend. We both started the day with new rear tires and mine looks excellent after a full day of riding, and his...well, it didn't look too good.

Our two bikes have similar horsepower, and we were running the same pressure so I can only attribute this to a rear suspension issue on the other bike.

I'm not saying that everyone who has had tearing has a shock problem, but I would definitely look at that first.
 
9

92illpony

New Member
i'm new to riding on the track and i've been on a different tire i think every trackday. I fell in love with corsa 3's at vir full and brought that set to cmp last weekend and i absolutley hated them there. I wiggled at every point on the track. accellerating, decelerating, turning, everywhere i was all over the place. I picked up a set of takeoff gpa's and i'll say they are the shit. I dropped 4 seconds of the corsa 3's and was planted all day until the last session of I on sunday in turn 8 the rear just went with no warning at all. I don't know if it was something in the corner but that was the first hint of slip and as soon as it sliped i was on the ground. I will be buying another set. Does Derek sell the med/hards or med/softs?
 
machdw69

machdw69

New Member
Thanks for the awesome insight on this tire Barry. I think everyone will appreciate an honest and thorough review from someone who knows what they're doing and has some experience to back it up. I'm currently in the market for new tires and this helps big time with my decision making. one of the best tire threads ever.

Also, I was on the qualifiers through B group but my speeds are coming up in I. Are these o.k. to run in I group speeds?

Thanks Again!
 
barry38

barry38

Member
machdw69;86235 wrote: Thanks for the awesome insight on this tire Barry. I think everyone will appreciate an honest and thorough review from someone who knows what they're doing and has some experience to back it up. I'm currently in the market for new tires and this helps big time with my decision making. one of the best tire threads ever.

Also, I was on the qualifiers through B group but my speeds are coming up in I. Are these o.k. to run in I group speeds?

Thanks Again!
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You'll be fine on them. Awesome tire, just give it time to get some heat if you're not using warmers.
 
Trent1098S

Trent1098S

New Member
When they're done, they're DONE. Very little to no warning. I burned through a rear in 2 1/2 days at Autobahn. Saved a nasty highside the last session of the day, although I almost packed the armco at 90mph after I landed back on the bike sideways....only warning I had was some minor sliding for about half a lap before this. Very sudden change in traction.

When you get quite a bit of wear on them, pay CLOSE attention to your pressures and the feeling you get on the rear. My tire went from 24 rear (hot) to 20 the session I went offroading. The right side is CONCAVE now. The shape of the tire on the right side actually changed when it lost temp, it puckered inward, and there was simply nothing there to give traction, period. Ron Hix explained that when the tire gets very thin, it sheds heat instead of taking on heat in that section. That caused it to essentially deflate on the track. It looks very strange.

Anyway while it was running good, it was a really strong tire. Just be careful not to overdo it!!!!!
 
machdw69

machdw69

New Member
glad to hear you saved the high side Trent. or should we call you Hacking? j/k!

the dunlop race tire supplier to the northeast said the same thing about tire thickness. the tire will heat up quicker and retain heat better the thicker it is. as the tire degrades it takes longer to heat up. also, even though the tread starts wearing off the sides and part of the tire may LOOK almost "Slick Like", the rubber is thinner in that area and will not provide better traction.

my qualifier took on the same concave shape on the worn side as what your describing on your D209.

i've ordered up another qualifier and this time i will flip it a little sooner than i did before.
 
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