PACIFICMAN Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I have an '02 VFR. It came with brand new Dunlop Sportmax Qualifiers on it. I have really enjoyed these tires. I had Michelin Pilots on my last bike and came to prefer these. I realize they are much sportier/stickier and that really came across. The concern: I use the bike about 50%-60% of the time on the freeway commuting. I got good service out of this recent rear, nearly 10,000 miles. Yesterday the center wore through. The front still looks nearly brand new The question: I originally set my pressures at 36 psi, front and rear, this was what my last bike called for. I had NO problem on the freeway riding and since I was "growing" into this bike (much higher performance envelope than the last one) I did not notice any lack of handling in canyons. When I went to the track with it, I adjusted the pressures per the "Tire Guys" specs (lower still). I would readjust the pressure for the street 36/36, no problem. Then I got clued into the 42psi rear, set for that, did a 300 mile canyon day with Outstanding handling on Thanksgiving and Presto, center worn to cord the next time out (200 mile freeway trip). So, did I get this much service from this rear because I under inflated for the first 9000 or so miles? Secondly, what is the downside of this under inflation for freeway use? Thanks all in advance for your input... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jeremy556 Posted December 7, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted December 7, 2009 If you are getting nearly 10K out of a set of Qualifiers, I would run Pilot Powers. For freeway use 36/42 f/r as recommended by Honda is ideal. Your previous bike was much lighter than the VFR I would bet, and calls for lower tire pressure. Your tire wearing out after you increased the pressure was just coincidence. Tires last much longer at higher pressure, but produce greater grip at lower pressure. Lower pressure means more carcass flex and increased heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACIFICMAN Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 I was running Pilot Road 1's on the last bike a 2001 Kawsaki ZR-7S, slightly lighter, about 75 lbs I believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Buy the newer Michelin Pilot Road 2. There are twice the tire the original Road was and provide better grip, handling & wear. They cost more but are worth it. :biggrin: Run 36/42 always on the VFR period! ps qualifiers suc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BusyLittleShop Posted December 7, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted December 7, 2009 I agree with Jeremy and Bailey... On the road the VFR was designed for a contact patch size governed by 36 psi in the front and 42 psi in the rear... you may run 5% lower and still have that overall balance of grip and stability which Honda blessed it with... namely 34 front and 39 rear cold tires... to know hot tire pressure take a reading after your strongest road ride... To know your track tire pressure that info depends on bike wet weight... riders weight and the amount of heat generated during the strongest laps... ideally you still want to be within 5% of maximum during the hottest laps... that means adjusting a cold tire lower than than 34 front and 39 rear to start with but end up no higher than the highest reading you took after your strongest road ride... in this fashion you will establish a more accurate cold tire track pressure that can be altered up or down to suit feel... it takes the guessing out of the game... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jeremy556 Posted December 7, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted December 7, 2009 Buy the newer Michelin Pilot Road 2. There are twice the tire the original Road was and provide better grip, handling & wear. They cost more but are worth it. :unsure: Run 36/42 always on the VFR period! ps qualifiers suc If he is getting 10K miles out of Qualifiers, Road2s are going to dryrot before they wear out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Ryanme17 Posted December 8, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted December 8, 2009 Tires last much longer at higher pressure, but produce greater grip at lower pressure. Lower pressure means more carcass flex and increased heat. +1. Running 42 Psi will get you a bit more life, with about the same level of traction. Lower pressure = more traction less life. Higher pressure = less traction more life. This is true, but is a bit of an oversimplification, and really depends on the tire type. Some race tires are designed to run less than 30, but get anything below 30 psi on street tires and you start to lose traction. The difference in traction on most street tires from 30-36 front or from 32-42 rear is not that great, but will significantly affect tire life. Again, this depends on a lot of factors, most importantly the tire compound, road temperature, ambient temperature, road conditions, load, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACIFICMAN Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 Thanks to everyone who responded! I scored a virtually new Michelin Road 1 off Craig's list for $50. I am going to run this for commuting and whatever during the winter. If I go to the track I will put something more sporty on for the track day. When the front Dunlop (still pristine) wears I will replace both with a set of Road 2's. Thanks Again, And Bailey, are you feeling better" Healed up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trace Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Lower pressure = more traction less life. Higher pressure = less traction more life. Not true. Not true. Not true. Not true. Not true!! If a tire is designed to run at 36/42 cold, no amount of jacking around with pressures will increase traction. But it will decrease life. Underinflation allows for excessive carcass flex which leads to high tire temperatures which shortens life. This is gospel at Michelin, as I described in detail in this thread: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=54334&st=0&p=642826&fromsearch=1entry642826 And obviously, overinflation doesn't do much for your, either. :goofy: I just don't understand why folks think they can change a design point (pressure) of a highly engineered item (tire) and make it "better" than the company that designed and tested it in the damn first place. And another thing...there's not a street rider on VFRD who can fully utilize the available traction of a Pilot Power when it is inflated to 36/42. So...why screw around and look for MORE traction? [there ain't none!] Does anyone really think they can rip the Dragon better when they're at 35/41? Does anyone think they can actually feel the difference? Ha....no way. Street riders--Quit screwing around with tire pressures and nitrogen! Put them at 36/42 cold (or whatever your tire is recommended to run) and let them heat up to whatever PSI they increase to (because it doesn't matter what it goes up to, as Michelin has already figured that out for you).....and work on improving your riding skills instead worrying about PSI or what oil you're using..... :goofy: Racers indeed have to adjust the pressures of their RACE tires as per the heat that the track layout, the track surface, the ambient temps and their riding ability puts in them. Let's emphasize "riding ability", as a slow guy at a track day is going to put much less heat in the tire than a top-rated fast rider. Clearly, race tires are highly variable per conditions.....and street tires are not race tires! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I have an '02 VFR. It came with brand new Dunlop Sportmax Qualifiers on it. I have really enjoyed these tires. I had Michelin Pilots on my last bike and came to prefer these. I realize they are much sportier/stickier and that really came across. The concern: I use the bike about 50%-60% of the time on the freeway commuting. I got good service out of this recent rear, nearly 10,000 miles. Yesterday the center wore through. The front still looks nearly brand new The question: I originally set my pressures at 36 psi, front and rear, this was what my last bike called for. I had NO problem on the freeway riding and since I was "growing" into this bike (much higher performance envelope than the last one) I did not notice any lack of handling in canyons. When I went to the track with it, I adjusted the pressures per the "Tire Guys" specs (lower still). I would readjust the pressure for the street 36/36, no problem. Then I got clued into the 42psi rear, set for that, did a 300 mile canyon day with Outstanding handling on Thanksgiving and Presto, center worn to cord the next time out (200 mile freeway trip). So, did I get this much service from this rear because I under inflated for the first 9000 or so miles? Secondly, what is the downside of this under inflation for freeway use? Thanks all in advance for your input... You get more wear with lower pressures. The more mileage comes from the OEM max pressure setting for the tires 36/42. Your traction will be reduced (all relative) with this max setting but for commuting it is better for mileage. For heavy carving, drop about 4LBS out of each tire. The pressure is lower the tire will have more friction. Friction = heat, traction and wear. I think if you got 9K you did so in spite of the pressure. I hear people say they get 8,9,10K out of a tire but I usually only get 6k out of my tires. I don't ride them too far past the tread bars as several things have changed at that point that effect the performance of the tire. Shape (profile), contact area and traction are less when you pass the tread bars. I prefer performance over mileage since I am on a bike and only have two tires and traction and performance is integral to your safety. I run Bridgestone BT016s on my VFR Honestly they have lasted as long as OEM and the Michelin Power Pilot 2CTs. Tire pressure is tricky and the pressure should be set for what you are doing. The MFG (Honda) rates the pressure 36/42 and it is for what the bike is designed to do mostly sport touring....Heavy Carving (track like roads) Drop some pounds. Track Drop even more....Commuting and most riding 36/42. Not sure any of this helps but I tried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I run the diablo Corsa III's and the recommended cold track pressure is 32/32. Normally, I run 33/33 and that works good for the street. The hot pressure is 36/36, which is a good number in terms of the sweet spot for the Corsa III's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericlw Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 i run 38 front 40 in the back.i like how it handles much better.but i am quite a big feller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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