General Track day Chat

Tire pressures too low are a common problem at the track. I ran R11 at 32/26 hot. The Cup2 at 35/28. Now on the Pirelli at 34/27. I hear guys in the pits talking about pressures like 30/22 and then saying they need their suspension tuned.

Cango, buying slicks seems to be difficult online. You can get the Michelins from sportbike tire service. I buy my Pirelli's at the track. Bridgestones you can try Turn One Racing. I think I've seen the Dunlop slicks online, but they were marked up something stupid (like 280 for a rear). I just got a Pirelli slick, with mount and balance, for $245.

Just looked it up a couple of days ago & downloaded their PDF; Bridgestone's track-only tire pressure recommendation for the S22's in 120/R70-17 & 180/ZR55-17 are 30 front & 26 rear (cold tires). Considerably lower than the 750's owners manual that shows 36 front & 42 rear for the G.V.W. rating of 835 lbs

Chango said:

Where do you get your slicks from? Before I start blindly looking for race tires, I may as well have a starting point.

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Trackside vendor. If you buy elsewhere (online) you'll pay shipping, sales tax, and install. If you buy at the track everything is baked in usually at the same price.

I've run the Q2, 3 and 3+ and then the S22 at 32/30 cold with good results. I did drop down to 30/28 at times. The numbers Bridgestone offers are in the ball park.

koth442 said:

Trackside vendor. If you buy elsewhere (online) you'll pay shipping, sales tax, and install. If you buy at the track everything is baked in usually at the same price.

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That's good to know. I figured buying tires at the track would be comparable to buying hot-dogs & beer at a ball game.

HydeWhyte said:

Just looked it up a couple of days ago & downloaded their PDF; Bridgestone's track-only tire pressure recommendation for the S22's in 120/R70-17 & 180/ZR55-17 are 30 front & 26 rear (cold tires). Considerably lower than the 750's owners manual that shows 36 front & 42 rear for the G.V.W. rating of 835 lbs

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Yeah.... different conditions and considerably different carcass than the OEM street tires.

HydeWhyte said:

That's good to know. I figured buying tires at the track would be comparable to buying hot-dogs & beer at a ball game.

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Fortunately, no. Tires at the track are usually cheaper than other places. Somebody figured out that kicking us in our tenders after we paid for the track time was a bad idea.

Chuckster said:

Yeah.... different conditions and considerably different carcass than the OEM street tires.

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I figured the pressure for track use would be lower, so I went to the tire mfgr to see if they had pressure recommendations. That and y'all already get enough stupid newb questions in these forums.

We were all newbs asking the newb questions at one time or another.

koth442 said:

We were all newbs asking the newb questions at one time or another.

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Trying to tackle the easy ones myself and leave the harder stuff for the questions. After work yesterday I was moving my rear-sets around the three available positions to see which spot fits the track boots best. Also playing with the built-in lap timer, still have some experimenting to do to see how to transition from one lap to the next. The manual instructions don't seem to be very clear on that part of using it.

Ok so I’ve long since memorized the track at COTA (really surprised how easy it was to do and thought it would take longer) and have been looking for better vids than the reckless 3:16 Trackdays guy in the vid I shared earlier. This one rides SO much better lines and, being an instructor, I think he is purposely holding back and and letting other riders pass so he can observe and give feedback on their technique post ride.

Quality YouTube trackday vids are super underrated. Nice find.

HydeWhyte said:

Ok so I’ve long since memorized the track at COTA (really surprised how easy it was to do and thought it would take longer) and have been looking for better vids than the reckless 3:16 Trackdays guy in the vid I shared earlier. This one rides SO much better lines and, being an instructor, I think he is purposely holding back and and letting other riders pass so he can observe and give feedback on their technique post ride.

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Nice, Cota looks like a fun track. Maybe someday I'll ride there too.

HydeWhyte said:

This one rides SO much better lines and, being an instructor, I think he is purposely holding back and and letting other riders pass so he can observe and give feedback on their technique post ride.

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Instructors absolutely hold back on track days, and yes, it is so they can observe and give feedback to their students. They might "cut loose" for the last session or two of the day, but they are still holding back and obeying the passing rules of the group they are riding with. Even so, they are showing the faster students that there is much more speed available than their current level.

Todd_Sails said:

One week till my next TD's! It's a 3 day event over Memorail Day Weekend.
A different track configuration each day.

I found this on the webs today

View attachment 300987

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At least we don't have to worry about kids playing outside and possibly running out into the road anymore. That seems to be a thing of the past, I guess kids these days are too busy inside on their electronic devices to play outside anymore. It's very rare that I even see kids outside these days.

Hey there everyone,
I'm slowly prepping and packing for my first TD's this season!
Doing 3 in a row. Autobhan Country club, North course Satruday, South course Sunday (I did this onw my first TD 2 years ago), and The combined/full course Monday!

I'm already planning my meals- new/larger generator, using my propane burning for the first time at a track day, etc.

I found this recent wrap up of the first of the season so far in MotoAmerica too, check it out. Lot's of behind the scenes stuff going on there!

Now the forecast for Autobahn area is 80 Saturday, 83 Sunday, and 88 Monday!
At least it will only get down to about 60 at night! I'm camping there too.
No rain forecast.

I hope the 'slime/seepage' situation is non existent too!

I am NOT jealous of those who still do track days…
I am NOT jealous of those who still do track days….
I am NOT jealous of those who still do track days….

Should I keep on going until it’s true lol

Todd_Sails said:

Now the forecast for Autobahn area is 80 Saturday, 83 Sunday, and 88 Monday!
At least it will only get down to about 60 at night! I'm camping there too.
No rain forecast.
I hope the 'slime/seepage' situation is non existent too!

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Now the forecast is 79 Saturday, 81 Sunday, and 85 Monday!
We're 2 days out now, it sholdn't change much from this. Sounds Perfect!
Last May I slept in the bed of my truck under the pop up tarp. It was 35F. Even with my bag for colder weather and earing thermals- It was rough night, froze my ass. This will be in my bed in the back of my SUV- should be much better.

Newyork said:

I am NOT jealous of those who still do track days…
I am NOT jealous of those who still do track days….
I am NOT jealous of those who still do track days….

Should I keep on going until it’s true lol

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NY, IIRC you have a LOT of harware to show for all your track time and racing?

I thought I'd miss my Catamaran sailboat racing more, but with my time consuming hobby, my Reef tank, and my TD's, and work, - it's not too bad. I do understand that you may miss it, but I also feel in your case with your injuries, and all your past success, it was a good decisioin.