Pirello to Bridgestone (review)

[Jo Rhett]

I have some ride height adjustment in the shock as well.  When I tried  
that on the Pirellis I just lost traction, though.   We'll see.

Any considerations, Zoran?  You're more used to the harder tires...

On Aug 19, 2008, at 9:37 PM, Randy Grein wrote:
> Check the swingarm angle - you might be able to increase rear height  
> instead.
> Randy Grein, WMRRA #41
>
> On Aug 19, 2008, at 9:31 AM, Jo Rhett wrote:
>
>> 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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

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