If you aren't planning on racing Keith you are going about it the right way. Just continue to take your time and advance at your own pace and confort
Absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. That kind of mentality will keep you upright more times that not.
i ran Q2's all last year WITH warmers and had no issues. however, once i started consistently running at a lower A group pace, (09 R6). they started to slide exiting corners and really shake my confidence. i know rider input figures into this but i wasnt trying to set the world on fire, just gradually increase my pace. i have asked for and received advice from many of the CR's and racer buddies of mine, and i think i will, and need to move up to a more race oriented tire. believe me i HATE having to do so, you just cant beat the value Q2's give you. BUT if its gonna be in my head all day, i'll never be able to concentrate on anything else.
Two points for Q2s: Why is the first lap that important on a track day? Why would anyone need or want to go WFO from the first turn on a track day? Wth races, you have the warmup lap, grid, then start. WARM UP lap. My Q2s are warm enough at all tracks I go to by the end of the first lap (warm up lap) to drag my knee. I got a generator for Christmas. I still feel no need to buy tire warmers. I have that much confidence in the Q2s.
Good to see you Jimmy! I'm too freakin OLD to race But you know how it is, when someone you know puts a pass on you, you see red and say to yourself: "oh, HELLL no he did NOT just do that"....
I'm the same way. I run Michelin race tires and actually don't use warmers unless it's a race weekend or it's really cold out. At trackdays, I'm spending so much time running around, and sometimes do double sessions, so it's just a PITA. It also gets me in the mindset that the first lap is NEVER all out, so that if I get into a situation where I am using warmers, and they break, or the genny ran out of gas, or whatever, it's not a panic because my tires are cold. It's more like "meh, ok I just have to watch it for the first few turns" We did not like the Dunlop AMA Spec tire that came on a bike we bought last year, because they HAD to be on warmers... they really liked being hot hot. Useless for me because I had it in my head that I'm not fast enough to keep the heat in them... thus not as confidence inspiring. That all said, do whatever makes you comfortable and more confident.
Since there is a fair amount of tire info in this thread and the OP seems to have his answer I would like to ask if anyone has advice on the Pirelli Diablo Rosso II. I just bought a set for track days and street use to replace my 2CT's. They were recommended to me as a better tire than the 2CT's and the Q2's on the track, I'm hoping this is true. Anyone have any experience with these?
For me personally Jen, I had to work really hard last year to break a bad habit. Last year being the first year in a while I did a full race season, I was constantly loosing 2 to 3 spots in the first lap by being too cautious the first lap. I changed some stuff around that worked for me. Drop the hammer as soon as I leave the pit. I have never run the Q2's, however I have witnessed them in action at a Pridmore school last year. A few of their instructors were able to run stock bikes with Q2's down to within about 3 seconds of the then old track record. I was pretty impressed.
But do you drop the hammer as soon as you leave the pit on a track day when you're coaching? I've found that (for me) the out lap pace for Novice and Intermediate has never been more than cold tires can handle. I'm kind of screwed when I go out in Advanced, and always remind who I'm going with "hey, I have cold tires" if I haven't been out in Intermediate beforehand but otherwise, I tell that story because I see so many people who are starting out thinking that tire warmers are a must have item, when they're not absolutely necessary, and sometimes even not good. (i.e. running hot warmers on a hot day on street tires.) I do use warmers on race weekends, and so then mentally that first warm up lap, is the warm up lap, and when the green flag drops, I'm not thinking about it anymore. You do bring up a good point though, and while I'm not consciously going slow for the warm up, I don't really push either. Then again all my classes start behind the amateurs of another class, so when the race starts, I'm working on traffic before I even get to the 1st turn ound: and you know how much I like working through traffic. Going back to track day riders, I do think if you like them, and they give you confidence and less things to worry about, by all means use them. I'm just giving a POV that it's not the end of the world if you don't.