Tire Selection for First Track Day

[rafterman18]

This has probably been covered in other threads but I don't have a whole lot of time to go through them. I have an 03' CBR 600RR that I signed up to do my first ever track event next month. The bike already setup to race but need to replace the tires before getting out there. What should I use? I was going to go with a standard DOT street tire since I won't need anything expensive and grippy.

Brand and style suggestions appreciated! Also good deals, Thanks!

 

[Mikey75702]

Q2's.... Pp2ct's.... Diablo corsas, etc are all perfect for you. Good tire, doesn't require long to warm up, last a while, grip good, etc. And they are cheaper then the race dots.

 

[HondaGalToo]

Mikey75702;196783 wrote: Q2's.... Pp2ct's.... Diablo corsas, etc are all perfect for you. Good tire, doesn't require long to warm up, last a while, grip good, etc. And they are cheaper then the race dots.

Agree with Mikey. Except get the newer Diablo Rosso Corsas if you go with Pirelli. But yeah, any of the above mentioned hypersport street tires will serve you well. Just remember to run lower pressures at the track than you would on the street. 30 front and rear cold is generally a good place to start. When you decide which tires you'll get, you'll be able to get more specific pressures to run.

 

[daddyfriedrich]

Q2's FTW if you're B group speed (like me). On my bike the Dunlop guy said 32/32 cold. They stuck like glue. looked like stucco though when I was done.

 

[Fastguy]

daddyfriedrich;196786 wrote: Q2's FTW if you're B group speed (like me). On my bike the Dunlop guy said 32/32 cold. They stuck like glue. looked like stucco though when I was done.

:agree:

 

[dimitri]

Another vote for q2's, I am on my 2nd set with no complaints. Plenty of grip and they are relatively inexpensive, if you shop around you can get a set for $200 shipped.

 

[rk97]

daddyfriedrich;196786 wrote: Q2's FTW if you're B group speed (like me). On my bike the Dunlop guy said 32/32 cold. They stuck like glue. looked like stucco though when I was done.

I set my cold pressures a bit lower than that, but I run Q2's in advanced. I also raced on them this past weekend without using warmers. No issues whatsoever.

And they're only like $210 per set. Amazingly cheap.

 

[rk97]

Actually, OP, where are you riding? I have the same bike, and thus all the sockets you will need to change tires.

 

[HondaGalToo]

rk97;196860 wrote: I set my cold pressures a bit lower than that, but I run Q2's in advanced. I also raced on them this past weekend without using warmers. No issues whatsoever.

And they're only like $210 per set. Amazingly cheap.

When did you get bumped? Congrats!!!

 

[BigBird]

Dunlop ntec racing slicks...

Or you can get q2's and be very happy with them in B group. They stick well and very much confidence inspiring. I run the pressures at about 27f/24r cold though

 

[jcurtis]

rk97;196860 wrote: ...I run Q2's in advanced...

When did this happen? Congrats!!

 

[rk97]

HondaGalToo;196876 wrote: When did you get bumped? Congrats!!!

End of the day a couple Sundays ago. Blame Kevin, Troy, and Rosey. I didn't actually get to ride an "A" session, and to be honest, I thought I was about a second off "A" pace, but after racing last weekend, my confidence is better than it was. I was quicker, AND more consistent. I did 12+ laps within .7 seconds of each other, and all at a good (for me) pace. That included 2 personal bests in the same race.

Thanks for the congrats. Now come join me

 

[HondaGalToo]

rk97;196909 wrote: End of the day a couple Sundays ago. Blame Kevin, Troy, and Rosey. I didn't actually get to ride an "A" session, and to be honest, I thought I was about a second off "A" pace, but after racing last weekend, my confidence is better than it was. I was quicker, AND more consistent. I did 12+ laps within .7 seconds of each other, and all at a good (for me) pace. That included 2 personal bests in the same race.

Thanks for the congrats. Now come join me

NICE!! Congrats again. I'm sure you were on "A" pace. They won't put you there if you're not. True, there are other things besides outright lap times, and consistency is definitely one of them.

 

[slowpoke]

rk97;196909 wrote: end of the day a couple sundays ago. Blame kevin, troy, and rosey. I didn't actually get to ride an "a" session, and to be honest, i thought i was about a second off "a" pace, but after racing last weekend, my confidence is better than it was. I was quicker, and more consistent. I did 12+ laps within .7 seconds of each other, and all at a good (for me) pace. That included 2 personal bests in the same race.

Thanks for the congrats. Now come join me :d

nice!! Congrats!

 

[Mikey75702]

Yep, Congrats.

 

[jimgl3]

dont know your skill level, but i started on sport touring tires then hypersports then "track day" tires and now race dot's. i feel like i learned a little something on each step including an appreciation for the next "level of grip" each time. but find a CR and go with what they tell you.

 

[jimgl3]

Mikey75702;196783 wrote: Q2's.... Pp2ct's.... Diablo corsas, etc are all perfect for you. Good tire, doesn't require long to warm up, last a while, grip good, etc. And they are cheaper then the race dots.

hey, let's play fair... why you leave off stones?

 

[Mikey75702]

jimgl3;196929 wrote: hey, let's play fair... why you leave off stones?

Forgot the name... Same as the conti's, etc. There are a TON of these hypersport tires out now.... I doubt there is much between them other then brand loyalty.

 

[rk97]

I did my first 5 trackdays on Bridgestone BT-45 sport-touring tires as well. For a 600RR though, if the tread depth is good on whatever he's got, they're probably good enough.

Continental makes some pretty decent street tires that will do fine on the track, and last quite a long time on the street. But if there are multiple trackdays planned for this summer, I can't say enough good things about the Q2. My ONLY complaint would be that I was led to believe the rear would last longer than it has, but it's also allowing for a faster pace than I had anticipated, and I'm beating on it pretty darn hard.

so far my Q2 rear has:

- approximately 3 sessions of riding at the WERA riders' school
- a full day (figure 70 laps or so) of Fast "I" or slow "A" riding with NESBA at BeaveRun
- 2 practice sessions and a 20 lap sprint at BeaveRun

(I flipped the tire Sunday morning)

- did 1 practice session
- three 10-lap sprint races that afternoon.

I anticipate getting about 1-1.5 additional track days out of this tire. I would replace it before racing on it again, but it's totally fine for practice.


A rider that's new to the track should get at least 5 days out of a Q2, and a lot more if they flip it.

 

[jimgl3]

just out of curiosity... what were the track temps like at the beave for those laps?