Been out testing the tyre warmers that arrived this morning. £80 for a 2nd hand set off ebay (wanted a decent elasticated set after reading peoples comments on the forum). They get proper hot, I can almost burn my hands on them. The bonus is that they run off my little 720w generator to, so I'm sorted for Cadwell now The questions are:- 1. How much towards the edge of the tyres are they supposed to heat, as the edges feel much cooler, especially the front. 2. Am I right in thinking that the red light is to tell me that they are warming up and the green light is to tell me that they are up to temperature, as the red light doesn't work on the front and the green light doesn't appear work on the rear (although I can tell the state if either lights are off). 3. I was going to change the Pirelli Dragon's to Michelin Power One (2CT), but the Pirelli's seemed softer when warm. Any thoughts on if I should fit the Power One's and just trust them?
1) The warmers will cover your 120 front and 180/190 wheel fine, they will be on the wheels for 30-35 minutes between sessions so will heat the whole tyre fairly well, you can get skins for the sides so its completely contained. When you come off track you already have heat in them so the warmers just keep you ticking over, the idea is to get the heat right into the rim of the wheel from what I've heard. They also put the tyre through less heat cycles, so increase the longevity of them. I always give it a lap before I start leaning right over. 2) Yes the red light means they are on. 3) Any tyre you put on is gonna soften up when up to temperature, I'd try the power one's and see how you feel. I've always ran SCs/Sc2s/Racetechs so far, both have shit loads of grip.
Nice one, cheers. I did wonder if the time i was testing them for wasn't realistic for track day conditions, but i get what you mean about keeping the heat within the tyre as i guess by getting the heat into the steel belt they tyre will stay hot for longer and transfer the heat across the tyre better. Might fit the Michelin's tomorrow then, or look up another decent set as I liked the Racetechs on the blade.
Thanks. I took your advice on elasticated ones and i think they are the same brand that Wedgie was using, so i'm taking all that as a recommendation
1 - They should heat all the way around the tyre 2 - Red means thery'e heating and green means there on temp 3 - No idea about those tyres, I only use race tyres(slicks, racetecs, SC ) not street tyres... You will find that the motogp tyre warmers don't heat up to the proper temp 80°, I've tested different warmers and these ones only get the tyre to about 60-65°... If I can ride straight onto the track without waiting then I'd be on the side doing a knee down at the first corner. If I have to wait a minute of longer then I'll take the first lap easy and might be on the side by the final 1/3 of the lap... Don't forget to take them off Take Your Warmers Off!! - YouTube
My moto gp heat tyres to around 79-82 used a digital reader to test a few times by the time you have waited at the holding they will loose halglf there heat but better than going on stone cold hoops and a lap usually gets them back up to temp
You could have got a new set of warmers from Andy at Demon Tweeks for £103 delivered. They're called Uber and work really well! As for the Michelin tyres myself, And7rp2 and Jason have used Michelin Power Sports and we'd all highly recommend them. They're a newish model on the market, Jason did quite a few trackdays on them and also the Scotland trip, which as you well know was extremely wet. Give them a go you won't be disappointed.
Yeah i remember Jasons tyres, I thought they were Power One's, but having just checked google images I can see the Power Sports have a slightly longer tread pattern. I may put the 2 sets of Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa's and Michelin Power One's up for sale as I've just arranged to look at a set of Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa scrubs tomorrow. I also have ordered a new Dunlop for the front of the Blade, which will free up it's Metzeler Racetec front as a spare for the track bike.
Ha I love this clip, STILL makes me spit my tea...............just soooooooooooooo funny!!!! lolololol He must have been soooooooo keen to get on track, WISH I could see him riding off ripping the cord from the gen/wall....lol Deserves to be embedded!
