PatrickMitchell Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hi Guys! I was a student at the VERY rainy Friday session at Pocono. Thanks for the tire deal. It is a very nice solution to an abbreviated school. I'm running at the fast end (if there is such a thing) of "B" group with NESBA and TPM. I don't own a set of tire warmers. My bike (Triumph 675) is a dedicated track bike. Will I be better off with the qualifiers, or the sport max GPs? Is there a huge wear difference between the two tires? Recommendations would be appreciated. I'll see you for level 2 at NJMP in August! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bigalow Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 Hi Patrick, Both are good tires. The qualifiers will last longer since they are geared more (not much) toward the street with a trackday or two thrown in. The GP's will have more grip, but will wear faster. Since the GP's are geared more toward racing (even though they are DOT approved for the street) they take a long time to get up to proper riding temp, especially on cold days without tire warmers. I personally dont like riding GPs on the street just for that reason, but love 'em on the track.. GP's are also more sensitive to heat cycles after alot of use. (Hi racer ) [the heat cycle thing was a whole other post ] If cost isnt a factor and your bike is track only, I'd would use the GPs. Since you not using tire warmers, just be careful your first couple of laps every session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 The Sportmax/D208's used to come in a street compound and a full race compound way back when I was running them. Now it appears the Qualifier is the official "street" tire and the Sportmax GP/D208 are the pure DOT racing tires. (With a dual compound rear to boot!) And even the Qualifier seems to be a full generation of technology beyond the last time I rode/raced on DOT tires. Wow. I can't wait to get back on track! What is the major difference between the Sportmax and the D208? More grip? And more money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bigalow Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 I believe 'Sportmax' is Dunlop's designation for "sporting riding" tires and covers many models, racing and touring. I'm guessing they switched from having a DOT race / street tire available in two compounds, to a tire with a whole different name IE Qualifiers to eliminate any confusion. ??? The 208GP (sportmax) use to be Dunlop's DOT race tire, replacing the 207. They then switched to the 209GP (sportmax) which was / is a GOOD tire IMOP. Fairly recently to the 209GP Ntec. And now, the latest and greatest is the 211GP. I personally haven't ridden the 211, but have heard good things. The N-tec's are nice if you like to spin up the rear slightly (in a good way). Very predictable tire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickMitchell Posted June 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 Got my tires last night. Thanks again guys! I'm looking forward to my next school at NJMP. I can't wait to run that track.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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