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Q3 Track Pressures ?


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This question is for Steve,

 

 

What's the recommended cold pressure on Q3's for track riding ??

 

I have been using the same pressures I ran my Q2's at, 30F 28R and have been quite happy with that, however a Tire Vendor recently recommended a MUCH higher cold pressure and stated that the pressures I was using would over work the carcass and cause the tire to become greasy.

 

For reference this is at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway and ambient temps in the low 90's

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Tyler

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The Q3 is not a tire I work with at the track with racers. thus my first hand knowledge with it is limited.

BUT, I did just spend some time speaking with the test riders that did all the development with the Q3, both for street and track. So I have the best first-hand feedback I could get.

Track day pressure for the Q3 is 30 PSI rear cold, and no less than 32 PSI front cold.

if you have a 600, maybe go to 28 rear cold, however, going lower you will not get more grip, but may have instability in the rear, so its not the solution if you want a good clean ride, keep it at 30 or slightly higher to suit your riding.

In the front do not go lower the 32 psi cold. The tire has a tone of grip already, going lower on the pressure only makes the contact patch fight with itself and results in instability, poor steering, heavy steering and chatter. 32 in a minimum, highly consider going a pound or 2 more to get the bike to feel better and steer better. you wont lose grip, but you will gain a better feel and more precise steering.

 

32 rear and 33 front cold would be right in the middle and good starting point.

 

There is a point when your lap times justify a good race tire. If you find yourself trying to tweak the pressure on a Q3 to get that last little bit of usable grip, you need to step up to a race tire like D211GP-A or Slicks. If the Q3 is working for you, cool! Stay with it. But if you keep trying to change things to get more grip out of a Q3, you have hit the glass ceiling and it time to step up.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I rode my Triumph Speed Triple at a NOLA track day yesterday. I had brand new Q3's on the bike. Start of the day was chilly (45 deg F) and damp from rain the night before so we all were very cautious the first two sessions. The sun came out just before lunch and with a slightly higher temp (50-55 deg F) and a dry track we all started to ride a bit more "normal". So, I started the day at 29 psi cold pressure both front and rear; I didn't bother with tire warmers. The Q3's were fabulous the whole day; never made any adjustments. I felt firmly connected to the track the whole time. Although I was cautious early in the day, even then I never had a tire squirm or give any vague or scary sensations. Always felt as though they were sticking like glue. Once the pace finally went back up to my near normal (a middle to upper intermediate pace) I felt nothing but confidence with what the tires were doing. Honestly, I don't have my thoughts and vocabulary well put together... in short, I loved the tires and my only question will be how well they wear.

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  • 6 months later...

So I had my BMW S1000RR fitted with Q3's before I took delivery. Best decision in a long time. On the track with CSS my tires were set to 32F 30R and they were absolutely perfect.

 

My bike spends a lot of time on the street though. I'm wondering what a good pressure for street riding would be? I'm not super aggressive on the street and would love to preserve the tires a bit for track days. Any suggestions? I don't want to sacrifice a lot of grip but I would like the tires to last as long as they can.

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Hey Amigo,

 

Going to interject a biased opinion. I know some run higher pressures to get a little more life from the tire (and I would if I was riding 2 up, or with baggage). But...I want the best traction I can get, and I don't know that the pressure is going to be much, if any different. Wouldn't mind Steve's input, but another 10%-20% of life, but at the sacrifice of any traction isn't worth it to me. I tossed my first bike down the road and I think tire wear was a factor, I'd let them get too worn.

 

CF

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Cobie,

 

That's why I asked. I absolutely want your opinion biased or not. :)

 

I'm hoping to find a "happy medium" for a street pressure on the bike. The problem that I have with the BMW is that it's so tempting to ride all the time and the throttle is like crack for my right wrist. I'm noticing just the slight beginnings of a flat spot developing on the rear tire and left unchecked it will likely fail me on a tech inspection when I head to the track. I suppose I really just need to find some roads with more corners in them and even out the wear a bit and stop marveling at how quickly it builds speed in 1st and 2nd gear.

 

I agree with you completely on the grip thing. I run track pressures on my MV Agusta F4 on the street as It's not ridden as frequently and tires are a lot cheaper than limited production Italian bodywork. Since there's less mileage and less power and temptation the Michelin Supersports on it are in remarkable condition.

 

As an experiment I pumped the tire up to the shockingly hard 36.3 psi front and 42.1psi rear in the manual. It's downright twitchy. Still quite ok at that pressure but not a pressure I would want to keep. I have been considering doing a "practical test" to see if I can find a pressure that works well for me. I have the BMW datalogger and it gives a "slip%" reading that could give me an idea of the grip I am getting at various pressures. I would just need to figure out a way to make the test semi repeatable. Anybody have a tire test track laying around? :)

 

I may end up just going back to the pressure that worked so well at the school. At the end of the day you are right. Tires are a LOT cheaper than other things that can happen due to a lack of traction at the wrong moment.

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http://wikimapia.org/2188390/Dunlop-Proving-Grounds

 

Anybody have a tire test track laying around? :)

 

As a matter of fact... Dunlop has one near you in Huntsville, AL. Give it a shot. :D

 

http://wikimapia.org/2188390/Dunlop-Proving-Grounds

 

LOL. Did not realize that was so close.

 

Probably the "office" of a certain gentleman wearing a blue suit who lapped me so frequently this last CSS at Barber. :)

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So I decided the factory pressure was too "twitchy" for my taste.

 

I dropped the pressure to 33 front and 32 rear and that seemed to work well. I might play around with raising it one or two more PSI but that pressure seemed to work pretty well for the street. In my "unscientific" ride I also noticed a reduced slip rate on my datalogger comparing the two pressures. The factory pressure riding was actually less aggressive than the 33/32 riding and it still had a lower slip rate.

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  • 1 month later...

So I know the cold pressure but what's the hot pressure need to be on these? I recently did a 101 degree track day and it was painfully obvious I needed to adjust the pressure but I had no frame of reference for a hot pressure. Any ideas?

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Below is what I received from Dunlop. Anyone who has Q3's has probably read pressures all over the board though, even into the low 20's cold. I posted this in another thread but it is more appropriate here.

 

"The best and easiest way to set your tire pressure is to start at 33psi cold front and 31psi rear, do a track session, then as soon as you come off the track, check your pressures and adjust them to 35 front and 34 rear for the Q3's. Don't be worried to try +- 2psi depending on how polished or coarse the track surface is. Lower psi for more polished tracks and higher psi for more course tracks."

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I should have mentioned this but prior to today, I have not used this recommendation. I emailed Dunlop after my last track day since I lost faith in tire traction after a low side. OK, two but one was in the rain. Anyway, someone on an S1000RR recommended very low pressures so I gave it a try. Well, they were very squirmy at first and I just never felt comfortable with it.

 

What is the result you ask? Not one slide today and they felt solid through all 30 minute sessions. I ended up going down 2 psi in front and back after checking hot temps but the day also rose 20 degrees. Usually 1psi for every 10 degrees for those that don't know. Also, I previously figured I needed to start at cold 30/29 F/R to get to the 35/34 F/R.

 

One more tidbit is that I track on a 2009 650R so results may vary. I assume a liter bike would get the tires hotter? I really am very curious to see results on different bikes though.

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