Pirello to Bridgestone (review)

[Jo Rhett]

I'm not certain I can.  With the GSXR front it's pretty low, and a  
couple millimeters will probably have me dragging the belly pan.  I'll  
give it a try though.

On Aug 19, 2008, at 12:07 AM, Randy Grein wrote:
> 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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

-- 
Jo Rhett /  velociRaptor Racing
#553 WERA / AFM