Michelin Power One 2ct tires ?

All Michelin Power One tires use 2CT (dual compound technology)... These are primarily TRACK tires.. read my review:

Michelin Power One Tire Launch at Algarve Circuit in Portimao Portugal.
A little about the track. This facility was built in just eight months in the south of Portugal and can best be described as “a long Barber with a horsepower straightâ€. It is a 2.85 miles long, technically demanding track with an abundance of elevation change and rewards a pilot who can nail its rhythm, it is also an excellent track at which to push tires to (and beyond) their limits. The location sits near the Atlantic coast in an arid region that can best be compared to San Diego. Temps were 68-72 in the day with sun and a few morning clouds, perfect riding conditions.
I chose to ride a 600 (09 CBR600 to be exact) as I felt this would be a bike that I could easily pilot around the circuit and frankly because I’m a big pussy. Yes, I just said that. There were several 1000cc and up bikes available but in the last three years I have really fallen in love with 600’s and felt that this was the bike best suited to me.

The new Power One DOT tires utilize Michelins 2CT (Two-Compound Technology), NST (Near Slick Technology) and SCT (Synthetic Compound Technology). All Power One tires are dual compound and are 95% slick tread pattern. The new synthetic rubber matrix allow instant warm up which Michelin has never been especially noted for. The new tire was literally knee-down and throttle on exit by turn four.

We started off with new commercial variant of the Power Ones spooned on and headed on track. The first session was basically learning the circuit, gaining confidence and making sure the bike was set up to my liking. I must say that by the end of the 30 minutes I was REALLY liking the layout of the track and feeling pretty confident.

Session two was time to go faster, much faster and make my one and only major blunder of the trip. My first impression of the commercial tires was that they were utterly predictable and neutral. (Remember, we’re talking about a tire here that is billed as a hyper-sport street and track day tire). Turn in was progressive and required some effort but not overly so. A mildly triangulated profile aids in this and I guess the best way to summarize this part of the tires character was that I never had to think about it. I would call the commercial 120/70 front “predicable.. maybe even quick to turn-in†but never twitchy, it inspires confidence. The front is stable and inspires confidence and all angles from straight up and down to full lean with a progressive transition, never “falling in†abruptly.

It is noteworthy that while I was kind of daydreaming I was headed around the down hill, knee on the ground turn 14/15 (which has riders entering in 2nd and shifting up through the gears into 5th ) I had a brain fart and forgot I was on a street shift bike!!! YIKES!!! I shifted from third to second and came very, very close to a huge highside. Kudo’s to Honda for the great steering damper which I think helped save my ass and thumbs down to me for having my head in the wrong place.

By session three it was hammer down 100%. Just to test the warm up properties of the Power One, I hit T2 & T3 flying and the tires stuck like glue. Note, we never used warmers on the commercial Power One.

The Agrave track allows some pretty intense trail braking opportunities and the commercial front allowed me to brake deep and fairly aggressively to the apex. The commercial front tire has one less ply than the full-race competition model and this is noticed as the front “flexes†just a bit under very aggressive braking and most noticeably extremely aggressive trail braking. It was never something that caused me any concern as the tire stuck and was planted but a faster more experienced ride will notice this tire feels more compliant than the Power Race Soft or Med-Soft. I managed to get the front to push and slide in the very fast, blind, downhill final turn coming on to the front straight. However I feel that this might have been more the result of something on the track surface (there was a days old kitty litter oil dry line) combined with a click or two lack of compression damping in the rear.

The commercial 120/70 front has one less ply that the full-race tire so it is more forgiving and will last longer because it is more supple and moves a little bit (versus the Competition Power One version which is much stiffer due to additional ply and will wear faster because rather than flex it is stiffer and the rubber scuffs off but it also provides increased feel for really fast guys and gals)

The rear 180/55 never did anything but hook up. It was hard to get the rear to spin… with me only really spinning up the rear (intentionally BTW) once late in the day. The Power One rear has a bit taller profile than the Power Race and offers a bigger contact patch at lean angles. To repeat, warm up was a non-issue and while warmers could be used but are not a necessity and I did not use them.

I found that I was able to get on the gas a bit earlier and harder with the Power One than I was with the Power Race Medium and they retained better traction longer in their life cycle than the Power Race predecessor.

Lastly, Michelin made it easy to choose the correct compound with these… because there is only one! LOL!! This tire will work from 35 degrees through 95+ degrees with the optimal range being 45 degrees on up. Note that Michelin bills this tire as 80% street and 20% track….. IMO whoever did that is flying with one wing clipped. The Power 2CT is still IMO a much more versatile performance street tire and an excellent choice for street and track. In fact the Power 2CT just won SportRiders tire shootout and it ROCKS on wet/damp tracks.

Where the Power One Commercial version comes in is at the very top of the street performance curve and then into the track segment. These Power Ones will take you all the way into the top ranks of the Advanced group and are even good enough to bring home some wood in WERA or CSS.

I know you might be thinking…. Well what’s wrong with these, they can’t be that good? Well I wouldn’t want to ride them in wet conditions but if you get caught out in the rain they won’t be as sketchy as the Power Race, as this Power One compound has more silica and carbon black ($$$$) which greatly improves wet performance

 

Monte-
I'm on the verge of getting warmers, a generator and race rubber for the first time, and now you've confused me even more on which tire setup I should run. So to clear this up once and for all, because their are so many threads out there on this, you're saying:

-You tested the "commercial/street" version Power One
-This street version is the tire you're selling on the website, not the "race" DOT version
-Warmers are not needed nor recommended for the street version
-The street version has less undesired carcass flex than the Power Race soft and/or med-soft you're selling in the 4-tire package deal (huh?)

Until now, my budget has kept me from warmers, a generator, and DOT race rubber. Because of that, I've been running Pilot Power 2ct's for the past 3 of my 5 track seasons, last season in the Advanced group. Even though I like the PP2CT's, I reached the limit on them in the dry early last season. Needless to say I had planned to go with the Power Race package and the whole warmer/generator setup, but now in your review you're saying that the Power Race Softs flex and squirm more than the Power One Street?

I'm confused Monte... so confused. Please help. I gotta get this figured out before I drop a bunch of cash on warmers and a generator.

 

Almost.....

I have tested the commercial and competition models.

Carcas flex is a personal thing. Pirelli fronts flex and LOTS of guys gop really fast on them. I hear many comments that our commercial front "feels" like a Pirelli. Not a bad thing.

Our Power One Compitition models have additional plys in teh carcass and different compound matrix(s) and need warmers. we sll those as well but do not advertise them on our website as our sub-distributors sell these trackside at WERA & CCS events.

The Commercial Power Ones do not need tire warmers. I would give any tire a lap to warm up. You can use warmers if you wish but they are totally optional. Healea, Ski, Burton and I like to drag a knee on pit-out... don't care what you're on that takes warmers or a great medical plan with a low deductable.

Keep your Power 2CT's in case its wet and buy a set of the Power Ones, you will be very happy.

 

Monte, will you have the commercial power ones at mid ohio 4/25-26? How much for a set 120/180 if you do? I have my $25 off coupon to use as well. Thanks, Mike

 

Hello Monte,

First time caller, long time listener.
( A) grouper

I just spooned on a set of the Power One 2CT's Street
( not sure what to call them exactly yet) and used them
for a track day @ Beaver Run this last weekend.
No warmers

As far as my abilities go- this is an awesome tire and for me the best tire is the one that I never have to think about.
Just ride it as hard as possible and enjoy.



Whats your suggestion on pressure? I believe the Power One web site suggests 27R/31F unless I'm translating pressures incorrectly.

 

Never Mind

I found my answer in another thread.

 

Monte's quote.........

"I found that I was able to get on the gas a bit earlier and harder with the Power One than I was with the Power Race Medium and they retained better traction longer in their life cycle than the Power Race predecessor."


So they have more stick than the PR medium? And last longer? Am I reading that right?

Thanks Monte!

 

I am going to guess that what he is referring to is the Power One competition.

The ones the OP is referring to are the Commercial (street) version.

But, if past experiences hold true (since I have not ridden any of the power one products yet) in general a street tire will have VERY similar amounts of grip and feedback, so much so that they are only slightly off race paces when pushed.

The BIG difference is how long they can hold up to a race pace. They will overheat and get greasy faster. BUT KEEP READING DONT SHUT THEM OUT YET!!!!, most of the time that does not happen until they are pushed to a "fast intermediate/slower advanced" pace. And even then it takes several laps for them to start to get greasy (6-7 laps on an average track) and when they do they are very progressive and predicatble

Everything I just typed goes for nearly all modern street tiires.

The truth of the matter is the tires are usually more capable than we are, and modern street tires are wAY better than race tires just 10-15 years ago.

 

Thanks for the reply moto......! After rereading his post several times, it seems to me that Monte is indeed referring to the commercial version of the tire when he made that statement. If thats the case - which I think it is, it is one hell of a good tire......!

 

My reference was to the Power One Commercial

 

Wow - it really sticks better and for longer than the Power Race Medium.... :shock: ...thats impressive!

Thanks again Monte........

 

very interesting. What sort of pace was this at. at a race type pace? If so that is amazing to say the least
:shock:

I have yet to get on any of the power one tires. I am too busy helping burn up old stock of Power race stuff

 

Good tires. The rear moves around a bit but they stick good. I lost the front once (my fault) and it actually caught and regained traction. Sticky!

 

good info guys thanks!! :lol:

 

Power ones

I used a power one 190/55 rear on my GSXr1000 at Grattan and Mid Ohio i have to say that 80 Degrees outside temp this tire road and felt like PR MED i put a front on at Mid Ohio my second day there and the tire felt good but nearing the end of second session i blew up my engine so i cant give you much info on the front sorry.

Stt tire guy
Todd

 

Can we revisit the Power 1 Commercial for moment?

I have these mounted on my 08 GSXR 750 Track Bike
with 4 track days on them.
1 Day at Beaver Run, 3 Days at Nelsons.

Been playing with the Pressures.
According to Power 1 site - 27 rear, 31 front ( correct?)
ran them at Beaver at this suggestion- seemed to work pretty well.
Monte's review and others have suggested 22-24 rear
I ran 3 days @ Nelsons experimenting between 22-24 ( not on warmers)
Ran them @ 24 and they seemed a little too high when hot I cant remember exactly what Hot Temp they were now but I think they were around 29, so I took out 2.
Next session they got real greasy and I was sliding through the carousel and 13.
Did I take too much out??
Also- even though they got greasy, I never felt like I was going to loose it but it did make the ride more interesting.
The tire wear went up dramatically too and the right side is gone.

Maybe 4 track days in Advanced is it for these?

 

It is really going to depend on your speed, setup, smoothness, and track surface.

I cant make a rear last 4 days if I tried. Coaching half the day each day maybe. But even at that, the tire is near BALD by the end of the 4th day.

I am pretty quick, I have a good setup, but i am hard on rear tires, and surface doesnt seem to matter for tire life :hammer

 

GDC Emoticons don't work here joe,

On your comment of track surfaces, I wonder if your tracks down south are slightly different surfaces then up here in the cold north. Reason I say, is I ran my first TD down at CMP, rough surface, and even for a first timer, did one hell of a number to my tires. Just ran NJMP up here last weekend, same setup, weather and such. But tires did not chew half as bad, and I was running much faster this time.

So maybe just maybe your southern tracks are harder on your tires.

 

I just gave the powerone commercials a try.
3 days coaching at Autobahn (south south full) and a day at Road America (needed the rains the other day )

I agree with Monte's write up that these things come up to temp quick and they were sticking right away. No need for warmers.
They ran great the first day right outta the gate. The second day coaching in Adv it was warmer with the sun being out, I'd get a little too much heat in them running a front of the pack pace. But they held up fine when I was coaching/towing people around at Mid to back of the Adv pace.
The 3rd day we had rain. And I mean full on rain with pools of water on the curbing at apex. I corner camped it and hammered it down the straights with the others braving the weather. Power1 was def better than the PR5 I was on last time at ACC South in the rain.
I ran 1 more day coaching group 2 at road america with those P1's. The front still looks great. The rear, is done.
I would guess that I could throw a new rear on and run 2 more int pace weekends just fine.