Pirello to Bridgestone (review)

[Randy Grein]

Thanks for the review Jo. You might try dropping the front a couple of  
millimeters to get the front to track properly again - just an idea,  
I've not heard the Dunlops were prone to understeer but I've not  
considered them for about 4 years - since a friend wore out a front in  
1 race.
Randy Grein, WMRRA #41

On Aug 18, 2008, at 11:32 PM, Jo Rhett wrote:

> So Friday at Infineon was just me having fun, as I wasn't going to  
> race that weekend.  All morning I was having trouble lighting up the  
> rear, nice fun slides out of every fast corner - 2, 3, 3a, 4, bottom  
> of the Carousel, you name it.  Not surprising given that I had 3  
> race days, 4 practice days and 3 track days on the set of tires.
>
> At lunch I replaced the soft/soft Pirellis with soft/medium  
> Bridgestones just to have some fun.  I've got 5 trackdays before the  
> final WERA race, so why not fart around and see how I like the tires?
>
> I actually dropped out of the A Race group figuring that switching  
> tire brands would slow me up for the rest of the day.  I went out  
> behind a moderately fast guy to pace myself and not get stupid, but  
> felt so good I passed him entering the Carousel and never saw him  
> again.  My 4th lap on the new tires was 2/10ths of a second faster  
> than I did on the Pirellis all morning (as well as all succeeding  
> laps).
>
> First impressions:
>
> * the profile is different, and my first thought was that the tires  
> actually "rolled better".   Especially on corner exit, the bike  
> seemed to be moving faster right away.
>
> * On corner entry the tires held awesome and solid.  I really had to  
> work to get the front to push, and I never successfully spun up the  
> rear.
>
> * Just like the Pirellis, once I had turned in the bike was stable  
> and solid, completely reassuring.
>
> However, it wasn't all good. My perfect suspension from the morning  
> was gone.
>
> * The bike seesawed mid-corner (fixed by adding rebound to the front  
> and taking some out of the rear)
>
> * The front under shuddered under hard braking, fixed by adding  
> rebound to the front but it came back as soon as I went faster again.
>
> * The tires exhibit the Dunlop "drift".   Unless you push the front,  
> a Pirelli will exit the corner *exactly* where you think it should.   
> The Bridgestones exhibit the Dunlop Drift where you find yourself  
> just a foot wider than you expected exiting the corner, but you  
> didn't push the front.  The whole bike just ... drifts a bit.  I  
> hated this on the Dunlops (which is why I went to Pirelli in the  
> first place) but this appears to be evident in the Bridgestones  
> too.  *shrug* For now I'm just riding it.
>
> Next stop: Miller Motorsports Park, Utah.  I'm returning after a  
> fairly successful weekend on Pirellis there, we'll see how the  
> Batlax holds up.
>
> -- 
> Jo Rhett /  velociRaptor Racing
> #553 WERA / AFM
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