I just did my first full track day yesterday at Grattan after having done two bike nights at Gingerman. I had a ton of fun and can't wait for more. My rear tire had some odd wear and I was hoping to get some input to work it out. It is a Michelin PP3, set to 30psi cold, and my pace was medium/fast Novice. It was sunny and hot (mid 80's) so track was pretty hot. I also ride an '05 F4i and weight 200lbs before my gear so I know I am heavier than my suspension was designed for, but I did play around with the preload, compression, and rebound to get it the best I could. My (unexperienced) thoughts based on my research is that my rebound is too fast which caused the trailing edge of the grooves to wear significantly more than the leading edge. I am not sure what to make of the tire temps though (cold tear vs hot tear) or the "globs" of rubber that are forming. What are you more experienced opinions? I greatly appreciate the help!
It doesn't look that bad. The gobs of rubber are loose rubber picked up when the tire was hot. If the leading or trailing edges are wearing quicker, you can try some rebound adjustments and see if it clears up.
Looks like they were running too hot, too low of pressure. Got to feelthetrack.com and read what Dave Moss says about what tires can tell you about pressures and suspension settings rather than taking my word for it, or anybody else's for that matter! Seems like tires have been a running theme on all the forums I frequent today. Seriously, Dave Moss is 100% trustworthy and you can even send him an email just like you posted here with pictures and he will most likely respond within a day or two. Really great guy with great amount of knowledge!
Thanks guys. I have read some of Dave Moss' stuff and it is great. I also agree that more laps and more lean is a good idea. I was a little lean-shy because I went a little overboard with it at my first track day and ended up high siding. Need to work my way back into it I guess. Going to Gingerman again this Friday so we'll see how that goes.
Don't worry about adding lean angle. Use only as much lean angle as needed. Lean angle = risk. The tires look fine. If you haven't done so, get a baseline on your suspension, make sure it's in the ball park. You can't worry about tire wear if you haven't done a baseline, set your sag and make sure you've got the proper springs installed.
I did set the preload to the best I could. The front is maxed out and my sag is still a bit much though because the F4i's have light springs and I am not (6'2" and 205lbs before gear).
About the baseline suspension set-up, is there someone who does that at track days or did you mean on my own. I read/watched a ton of stuff and did one on my own and I think it feels really good now, but I am sure an expert would make changes.
If you're going to worry about tire wear and how the bike rides, you have to start with the basics. The right springs. Ken is at most the Northern Region events. You can check with him on what it would cost to respiring the bike properly. You don't say where you're from. There are others out there, but the convenience of coming to the track and getting all I need is always nice.
Most of that looks like rubber you picked up off the track, you're not running fast enough to wear it off. I would get the bike resprung for your weight, and have a baseline rebound / compression setup done by someone knowledgeable at the track. After that, the bike & tires are not holding you back from getting faster. I have run 1:27's on PP2CT's on a R6 at Grattan, so the tires are capable.
Get on the race line, that excess rubber is from missing apexes and rolling over everybody else's discarded rubber
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I am excited to learn all I can and advance my skills. These track days are so amazing.
