After trying several brands of tires my 1st year on the track I switched to Michelin Pilot Power Race Mediums front and rear for all of 2005 . Love the tires and have had Zero incidents but my questions are : What is the difference in the PR series than what I've been running ? Are the PR (1,2,3,& 4 ) series available at STT trackside and what are the cost ? I've been getting the Medium Power Races from http://www.americanmototire.com/ for about $280 delivered for the set . I used 2 sets this year for 6 trackdays but am only planning on 2 days per set next year as the 3rd day gets kinda hairy sometimes toward the end
PRs Rock! They should all be available trackside. It's always good to order them in advance though, to actually get your name on a set in the trailer. PM STT GUY for the lowdown on prices.
I'm interested in an answer to DarkSide's question, as well. I've heard from a friend that there are differences between the Pilot Races (and, he also claims, between the Pilot Powers, but that's another post), just as DarkSide has indicated. One type of PR is rated by S, MS, M, etc. The others are rated by numbers. Are they the same tires? If not, what are the differences? I've looked around the Michelin site, but they only mention models by compound description, no numbers. Thanks, Kurt
This is how I understand it... The "Power Race PRx" has a different carcass than the "Power Race Soft/Medium Soft/Medium" and it's manufactured in a different plant. The _only_ "Power Race" that's supposed to be streetable is the "Medium". Michelin claims that they are all "race" tires. If you look up the compound numbers you will find the same compounds on both the PRx's and the Power Race s/ms/m, I forget which match with which. To date I have used PR 2, 4, and 5, as well as a "soft" front. My impression is that the "soft" had a little stiffer carcass, but a softer compound than the PR2, but I have no Idea if that carries across all of the tires... I've been paying $340 for PR's...
Thanks guys . I think I'll try starting '06 off on a set of PRx's ....Now which ones ?? I also ran my fastest consistant times on Power Race Mediums this year and one set has found their way to the Busa for the remainder of thier life ..Seem to be holding up pretty well .
I'm still confused by Michellin's tire naming system. Pilot 1800, Pilot Race, Pilot Power Race, Pilot Race M2, Pilot Power... Pilot Pilot Pilot. Why do they have to repeat the same name over and over with itty bitty minor variations? LOL. I gave the 1800 slicks a shot at the end of this past season per Monte's suggestion and fell in love with them. Real nice tires! I'll have to give the DOT's a shot now. So someone tell me... I see the 1800's and the Race XX/XXXX are both slicks. On STT's site the 1800's are described as "Michellin Slicks" and the Race XX/XXXX are described as "Michellin Pilot Race Slicks". What's the difference? Other than the XX ones look like they come in more variety. I think Monte once told me that the 1800's are basically the Pilot Power Race DOT's without the tread. If so, does that mean the Race XX slicks are a step above the 1800 slicks? Not that I need more than those 1800's gave me, just curious is all.
1200s & 1800s are race slicks. Pilot Power Race Soft, Medium, etc., are DOT (treaded) race compound tires designed for Supersport style racing. The PR# series are Pilot Power Race DOT race tires in dual compounds. Pilot Powers are street tires that are simply sick! I ran the 1200s & 1800s for the most part two seasons ago, then PRs for the most part last season (mainly to have some tread if it rained). I'll probably just run Pilot Powers most of the time next season, and have a set of slicks mounted on an extra set of wheels for the occasional hot session & racing. I wouldn't steer anyone away from race tires for the track, but the performance of the Pilot Power street tires is unbelievable!
I've heard that about the Pilot Powers. I'm buying a second set of rims off a friend (after I fix my transmission and see if there's money still left over) so I'll probably do the same as you - run PP's when coaching and/or in the rain and then the DOT's or slicks on days I race or wanna squeeze in some hot sessions.
i love the pilot powers on the track, too. they're usually warmed sufficiently by the 3rd turn and offer excellent grip, especially in the rain. i did 12 trackdays last season on one set (i'll admit, this was a bit foolish... http://www.bmwforums.net/forums/images/smiles/cmr-rolleyes.gif )it wasn't until the last day that the front tire went off, skipping-skitering across the bowl, at grattan, on a 58 degree day. fortunately it regained grip, & i dialed things back a few notches for the reat of the day... granted only 5 of those days were in Intermediate, the rest in novice, and my bike is pretty easy on tires, inspite of being a bit porky, but i'm impressed by the tires nonetheless. The new Dunlop Qualifiers are supposedly even better, i may give them a try, since i'm in the market for a new set of tires... Cheers, lance
This was what I was told about the Pilot Power , Pilot Power Race and the PRx's .............. The PRx's are all Med/soft single compound ...all PR are med/soft but there are degrees of softness 1 and 2 are both frts . 1 is softer than 2 3 is a rear but from what I hear is a qualifier (very soft) 4-5 are both rears as well 4 being softer then the 5 Pilot Power is the premier street/trackday tire - 80/20 street/track Pilot Power Race Soft & Medium offer very limited use on the street (20%)... Most riders will go faster on these tires than the Pilot Race S2/M2 from last year. 20/80 street/track Power Race Medium Soft, PR1- PR5 are 100% race track due to complex compounding which do not work well on the street. This type of tire was only available last year to the very top riders. For 2005 all racers have a choice because these tires are available to everyone.
I've got a question: since my bike only has a 5" rear wheel, the largest rear tire i can mount is a 170... i'd like to get a better grip up front:is it possible/safe to mount a Pilot Power 170/60ZR17 rear with say, a Pilot Power Race front? my bike is rather low powered (100hp) so overpowering the rear (leaving darkies/sliding etc.) isn't much of an issue, but because of both the weight of the bike (and rider!?!?!? :roll: ) and bmw's funky front end (which performs extremely well, at the expense of front end feedback) i'd like more stickiness up front. i'd rather not get a bigger wheel, as i'd rather focus $$$ towards getting a better trackbike, but i'm gonna have to keep flogging the beemer in the meantime & i'd like to make the most of it. is this doable or should i just stick with the street based tires? which admittedly i haven't had any problems with, aside some front end skittering/skipping which i attribute to the tires having 1800 track miles on them and low pavement/ambient air temp about 55 degrees. thanks, Lance
If you attribute that skittering front end to overused tires (1800 miles, what is that 12-15 td's?) then why move to a race tire, why not just get new PP's? You say PP's served you well so far, so why change? PP's are great tires and should work for any Novice or Intermediate rider, and even many Advanced riders. Hey, my R6 is only 98hp! Even for a heavier bike, 100hp isn't that bad. Heck, most of 2004 my baby was only making 86hp and I didn't even know it.
well it's 100hp at the crank... :cry: so 90 at the rear wheel, 500# bike + gigantic rider= slow... :wink: lance
it was 12 days why change? i dunno, the eternal pursuit of improvement, i suppose. i guess i'd rather not find the limit the hard way. i will most likely go with another set of PP's, i'm just curious, that's all.:mrgreen: thanks M, L
Okay, 90hp and 150lbs more is a bit low powered. 500lbs, wow BMW makes some heavy bricks. (Kidding!) I know what works on my bike and similar modern sportbikes, but I wouldn't presume to guess what tires would suit your BMW well. It's a delicate balance between what tires are necessary, what tires inspire confidence and what tires you can afford. LOL. Good luck. .
well it is more of a sport touring bike ala VFR, Ducati ST* etc. in that role, it performs quite well. it's meant to have hard bags and do long distances. still, it can surprise people at the track too. maybe next season i'll put the hard bags on for a session, to remind people that they just got passed by a touring bike :twisted: L
Lance, Stick with the Pilot Powers, front and rear. They heat up faster than the PR's and will last you longer. I beat the snot out of Elin's bike with Powers on it and they didn't push a bit! Plus they are great in the wet. Later.
He has a point . if you are comfortable with the street powers and are not using tire warmers. they do heat up quicker...
thanks guys and gals, for satisfying my curoisity. i won't bother with the PR's. at the level i'm riding, (1:38's at grattan) i'm willing to bet that the PR's will slow me down, rather than help. yea, the pilot powers are pretty good in the wet, too. when i get a proper bike, perhaps, but for now they'll do quite nicely. plus, they're darn cheap! Lance
You could try the Power Race Mediums . I used them all year with great results and now they reside on my Busa A little sticker than the PP's but still considered a street tire mainly .