DUNLOP-RTS

Certainly the race tire will have more grip and be better for the track. Using a 400 mile worn street tire is not a good option for the track. I would use the Race Tire on the track and then go back to your street Q3 for the street.

I'm with Hotfoot on this one. She is spot on. You have really answered the question yourself. You are going 15-20 off the pace and your lap times don't change with a higher performance tire. So stick with that tire and get more tire life. The tire is not what is holding you back. When you up your pace and start to slide the street tire, then step up to the higher performance tire. Or if you want more insurance step up to the performance tire now at the expense of more tires usage. Its ultimately your call. Don't overthink this.

Dr. Loannis, You questions a bit to general and specific to a region and the supply in that region. Please email me directly and I will be happy to answer you question (after I get more specifics from you), and if I cannot I will get you in touch with your regional supplier. [email protected] Steve Brubaker

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.

In a perfect world, one where your bike is right on the track record setting pace and the setup is spot on, you would then make changes to accommodate a tire switch. But since you have a mid pack or track day pace and setup, you cannot be certain of the direction you need to go with changes. In your situation you can just put on the new tires and start making small setup changes from there. Its kind of like being lost in the woods, no map, no compass, and asking if you should turn left or right to exit the woods. You might get more lost or not. But if you had a GPS and map, you would know exactly which way to go. With suspension, you need to know where you are at, in order to make a change, confidently, in one direction or another.

The D211GPA and the KR448-KR449 slicks are the same tire before they go in the mold. same construction and they come in mostly the same compounds. The slick having a little bit more grip and wear becaue it does not have tread. Other than that they are the same. The 120/70x17 D211GPA and the 125/80x17 KR448 slick are the same width and diameter. The 190/55x17 D211GPA and the 190/55x17 KR449 slick are the same width and diameter. The 190/60x17 D211GPA and the 200/55x17 KR449 slick are the same width and diameter. These can be interchanged without ride hieght changes.

The tire has tread left so its no the cords showing. It look like you locked up the front tire on a grooved pavement. IF this is the case it should slowly wear away, unless its now out of balance, in which you should rebalance it. Or, you let it sit on a grating of some sort for a long time, leaving an imprint. If this is the case it should go back to shape when heated or ridden on and it flexes back. Hard to tell by just a picture.

I'm planning to order some 8477 GPA rears for use at NOLA. I have a couple 5436 GPA fronts already. Any reason I shouldn't use the 5436 front in combination with an 8477 rear? Also, I would like confirmation: the 190/60 GPA rear is not the same dimensions as the 190/55? It seems clear by the public specs but I'm just double checking... 190/55: Width (188.5mm/7.42"), Diameter (647.3mm/25.48") 190/60: Width (191.3mm/7.54"), Diameter (657.4mm/25.92") YES, the 190/60 is a larger, higher performing tire. It will fit, no problem. All AMA teams use the 190/60. It works better and comes in the 8477 compound, and the 190/55 does not. If you are at NOLA, you clearly should have the 190/60 8477. Have fun!

7455 is med, 8477 is med+ I very highly recommend the 8477 for any track day riding. very grippy, consistaint and last a long time. It also can win an AMA national, like it did in Mid Ohio and NOLA.

Agreed on this, that is the same thing Will told me. There are different ways to connect the ends, and only certain methods are compatible with being able to flip the tire; for instance if the overlap at the end was cut to a 45 degree angle, you wouldn't want to run it in the direction that could peel back the end of the junction. http://dunlopracing.com/newkr451/

AGAIN: The side that is worn out (or in your case torn), does not magically become new by flipping the tire. You are just using it on a different side. This is not the remedy for a worn out tire.

The front 125/80x17 is the same dimensions as the 120/70x17 D211GP-A, the are identical in shape, width and height. For Putnam, which is very abrasive, use a med(5436) or med+ front and the med(5436) rear. If you are doing track days, stick with that compound. There is nothing to be gained at a track day by going softer. Softer will wear out quicker and not do what you need for a trackday.

The KR448/KR449 USA made N-Tec slicks are made in the same compounds and the same construction as the D211GP-A just with no tread. They are an upgrade in performance, last longer and are the same price. They have the current track record at Chuckwalla, and, in testing, they have lapped at 0.5 sec under the track record at Homestead. The WERA National Endurance Championship was also won on the KR448/KR449 slicks. You can read about the available sizes and specs here.

There are a lot of factors in play with motorcycle racing and especially motorcycle tires. Steve's physics class is well taken and understood. However there are many factors involved beyond just pulling a piece of rubber across a table with a string. To simplify the entire subject of tires down to that one point is not workable and its not the solution. Thanks Steve for your input. Its time to move on and put our attention on things that can really make us faster. things like rider training, checking your tire pressure and having a good basic suspension setup. To put our attention on this subject of contact patch, and place a large amount of emphasis on this exact subject is not the correct placement of our attention. Remember we only have $10 of attention. our attention is much better spent on other more important points. Time to move on.

WOW! You all had great responses and really hit very good points. The simple matter is this. The physics of tires are not as simple as a brick sliding on a table. The rubber moves around, it can push into cracks and rough surfaces, it does this differently at varying temperatures ,PSI settings, construction variations and compounds, thus creating variables not noted in the link. To directly answer your question, there is no direct simple "big is always good and small is always bad" answer. Simply having a bigger contact patch does no ensure better traction. If this was true, then we would all run 5 PSI in our tires and the story would be over. And for that matter, why 5 PSI, why not 4 or 3 PSI? Its about USABLE contact patch. Can you use the contact patch effectively? Tires have widely different constructions, and thus some make better use of a larger contact patch while others may not, and some may not have a larger contact patch but still get the job done. I would not try to place any large emphasis on this "contact patch" theory. The patch is the patch. If one brand says their tire has a bigger patch, that is no guarantee that it WILL BE BETTER, nor is it a guarantee that a smaller contact patch will be less performing. The tire has the grip that is has for MANY MANY reasons, contact patch being one of them, but not the deciding end all factor.