Jump to content
CBR1100XX.org Forum

Tire pressures/ temperatures


02XXCA

Recommended Posts

I know we had a previous post that had some sugestions for proper air pressure and desired temperature for both street and track.. I'm asking because I bought a new InfraRed thermometer and I wanted to start checking my tire temperatures at different pressures after warming them up. I want to find a presure where I'm getting good to the ideal temperature for the street without undue wear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So much of that depends on tire construction and tread compound that your going to have to work it out yourself. Temperature readings obtained at the track are not going to translate well to the street as heat cycling to the same level will kill tires in a great big hurry.

In addition, there is not really a whole lot of correlation between tread temperature and tire internal temperature. The first is a reflection of the amount of sliding, felt or not, the tire has been doing while the latter has more to do with the amount of flex the carcass has been getting and that depends on the relative roughness of the track/road.

Baselines? 135 degrees across the tread with maybe 140 at the 35 degree lean angle points. For pressure, 10% rise in inflation pressure from dead cold, maybe as high as 15. Code starts everybody at 33 PSI f/r with the 208 rubber they run.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So much of that depends on tire construction and tread compound that your going to have to work it out yourself. Temperature readings obtained at the track are not going to translate well to the street as heat cycling to the same level will kill tires in a great big hurry.

In addition, there is not really a whole lot of correlation between tread temperature and tire internal temperature. The first is a reflection of the amount of sliding, felt or not, the tire has been doing while the latter has more to do with the amount of flex the carcass has been getting and that depends on the relative roughness of the track/road.

Baselines? 135 degrees across the tread with maybe 140 at the 35 degree lean angle points. For pressure, 10% rise in inflation pressure from dead cold, maybe as high as 15. Code starts everybody at 33 PSI f/r with the 208 rubber they run.

Thanks for your reply. I'm running the M1 Z6 combo and have never run them in the summer. I ran my last pair of Avon 49 front 46 rear close to 40 PSI and they stuck well in the summer and I got close to 9000 miles out of them. What kind of pressures are people running in the Winter with there M1 Z6 tires.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tend to run less pressure than you and rarely change it, summer or spring. I live in Florida so no winter.

37.5 f/r seems to work well for me. A compromise between main roads comfort and backroads traction. If I have the bags full or a long distance pillion, I might raise the rear to 39 or so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

So it's starting to get cool here in the morning and I am trying to find out when my tires are "warmed up". Is there a magic number? I read the previous post and it brought up a couple of questions. Can you rely on the surface temperature to evaluate whether a tire is heated up enough for optimum performance? Is a laser temp gauge the way to check this? If not, how do you test the carcass temp? What do you use at the track? I noticed tire warmers are set to 174 degrees. How do they (warmer) determine the tire is at temperature?

I suspect you guys and gals who live in the cooler parts of the country have a good deal of experience with this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Generally, you're looking for around a 10% increase in pressure from cold to hot.

If you start with too low a pressure, you'll see higher increases. If you start with too high a pressure, you'll see lower increases.

Optimum surface temps vary from tire to tire, but around 150 is common for street tires, IIRC. All that said, if the roads are cold enough, you'll never really get enough heat in the tires as you're rolling along on one great big heat sink. Colder weather means less grip, no matter your tire pressure- unless you're switching tires/compounds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am going to say that street temps will no where near get to 135-150 unless the tire pressures are extremely low.

I've melted street tires a bit running 34/36, on the street. Didn't have an IR thermometer on me, but when ridden even semi-aggresively I think the temps can get up there. Hell, I've had the center portion of the rear ball up a bit after running "5 over" on the slab for extended periods (think Wyoming), and that was at 40psi. The nice thing about street tires is they don't have to be that warm to grip pretty well- but I do think they get pretty warm if pushed a bit. I'll have to bring the thermometer with me on the next River Run, see what I can find out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use