Q2 Tire Pressure

[G35CO]

The Q2 website recommends 36/42 but my bike sticker recommends 33/36. What you recommend for street, canyon & track?

[asp_125]

I would run what the tire manufacturer recommends for that particular tire, over the bike's sticker - which is a generic recommendation for their OEM tire. The tire marking is MAX pressure, call Dunlop and speak with a rep who can recommend the proper pressure for your bike

[G35CO]

36/42 sounds high but i could be wrong. I wonder if that's the recommended max tire pressure or cold

[OUTLAWD]

Triumph says 36/42 for my sprint, but its a heavy bike.

at 36/42, I get the best mileage, so if I'm doing a long trip, or highway miles, I leave it at that, if its really cold out, or I plan on pushing it in the canyons, I might do 33/36. I haven't ridden street tires at the track in a while, but I normally just lower them 1 psi at a time until it starts feeling worse, I normally ended up around 31/30 hot IIRC.

There are a bunch of guys with track time on the q2's, so hopefully they will chime in.

[cbrjohnny]

when they build a tire they dont know anything about what bike it will go on so the give the tires max pressures on the side of the tire... car/truck tires are the same way.

the sticker on the bike (or car/truck) is vehicle manufacture recommendations. the engineers that design these vehicles come up with these pressures based on many factors such as weigh, power etc.

go off the sticker.

[Scer]

Run 34 in the front.

38 in the streets in the rear.
35 in the canyons.
28 - 32 for the track.

just trust me on this one. :)

play on playa

[cptschlongenheimer]

Run 34 in the front.

38 in the streets in the rear.
35 in the canyons.
28 - 32 for the track.

just trust me on this one. :)

play on playa

The crash last summer lost a very spirited thread on this subject. I'll save ya some time... listen to Scer...
A

[Mother Goose]

Run 34 in the front.

38 in the streets in the rear.
35 in the canyons.
28 - 32 for the track.

just trust me on this one. :)

play on playa
^^^ This. Scer knows his Q2s for obvious reasons. :lol: I've followed his tire pressures and never had any issues with these tires.

[G35CO]

Run 34 in the front.

38 in the streets in the rear.
35 in the canyons.
28 - 32 for the track.

just trust me on this one. :)

play on playa
That's what i was looking for :up: Thank you guys

[Sean]

Run 34 in the front.
Even at the track? Just curious. :loop:

[OUTLAWD]

how dare you question the great SCER!?!?!?!

[Sean]

Nothing wrong with asking a question. :up:

[Scer]

Even at the track. :)

question on questionas

[Sean]

Even at the track. :)

question on questionasThat's really interesting. Thanks for clarifying.

If you don't mind me asking more; why is that? I've run Mich PP/PP2CT and Metzler M3's (pls don't get mad:rant:) before at the track and it was always suggested to drop a few pounds in both tires. Are Q2's a newer/different technology then some other companies use? Is it going to become the "new trend" for sport tire manufacturer's? OR, is/was it a safety thing that would just offer a little more traction, but wasn't really necessary?

Thanks again, Scer!

[Scer]

To put it simply.. yes, the Dunlops as a whole (including the Q2s) now are a different breed. (FYI, Q2's is the skinny hot supermodel daughter of the championship winning N-Tec UK GP race tires) Back on 04-ish, the AMA level Dunlop race team had released a type of tire called a New Technology (N-Tec) tire. These tires were different in many ways. 2 of them being the lower riding pressures (From 40 F to 33 F and 33 R to 23 R) and JLB manufacturing. JLB "basically" means that no matter how fast you spin that tire it won't grow in size. (To be totally honest, if it does grow it will be a matter of very very few millimeters).

This helps because if you have ever had a bike that was not quite right geometric wise, you might find that the bike will "waddle" as you ride faster. This was due to tire growth.

SO, giving a standard pressure of 34 is an all encompassing value. Basically the tire is so dynamic that 34PSI covers you for all the riding that you will do. The rear is more particular just because of the fact it's bigger and the power distribution tire.

Could I recommend you do 36 for street, 34 for canyon and 32 for track? ..sure. But it's not necessary. The Q2's are not that specific. (especially in the front where the change of values are only 6% where as inversely the range of values in the rear is 26%) The street tire is very forgiving and meant to work on a wide range of variables. My DOT race tires are not so forgiving and have a smaller range of positive usability. Slicks are an even smaller range.

I could, and do, tell my riders to use the race front at a 33 recommended front PSI. However, there are times when the weather is too cold or hot or the track surface is different from one place to another.. that's when we have to stray from the recommended pressure and use what works better (Because of the smaller usable window the race tires have). BUT the average (and even above average) street/track riders are not looking to gain the extra .2 seconds through peak to peak and usually not looking to gain that extra 2/10 of average MPH.

It simply comes down to being particular. You really don't have to follow recommendations. It's your tire now and you can do what you wish with it. We (Dunlop) have spent lots of money testing the tires so you don't have to though. :)

I could go on for a little longer but my wife might miss me after a while. LOL I hope I answered your question Sean and please feel free to ask more if any come up.

I am planning on doing a basic tire seminar before the race season starts. Just looking for a good central venue to have it.

ask on askas

[Sean]

Thanks for all of the info Scer! You answered my question completely. It's really interesting that there is not much growth in the front tire at the different temps. The advances in technology are pretty amazing. Thanks for taking the time to share. :applause:

[G35CO]

Anyone knows what's the max psi for these tires?

[Mother Goose]

Teach on teacha!

[sloridr]

I'm running Q2's on my DRZ at the moment 120/160. Not sure if it was the change from 150 to a 160 or just a different tire. But it inspires little to no confidence on it. I shoot a lot of corners really wide. Not a good wet tire I found out, almost the hard way. On a street bike with more power I could are it being a great tire. With the power to get it a little warmer a little sooner. Any thoughts on my thoughts other than get a different bike?.

[cptschlongenheimer]

I'm running Q2's on my DRZ at the moment 120/160. Not sure if it was the change from 150 to a 160 or just a different tire. But it inspires little to no confidence on it. I shoot a lot of corners really wide. Not a good wet tire I found out, almost the hard way. On a street bike with more power I could are it being a great tire. With the power to get it a little warmer a little sooner. Any thoughts on my thoughts other than get a different bike?.

Your setup/bike seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Most everyone I know who's put a pair on have been impressed. The Q2's are far superior to the OEM's on the R6. Wet performance is even more standout when compared to the OEM's. I'd be curious to see if there are others who've had a similar experience.

[Bueller]

I'm running Q2's on my DRZ at the moment 120/160. Not sure if it was the change from 150 to a 160 or just a different tire. But it inspires little to no confidence on it. I shoot a lot of corners really wide.
Probably due to putting that "stud" tire on there. What is stock 140? And remember you are a shit ton lighter, you should probably not run sportbike pressure

[OUTLAWD]

dirtbikes should have knobbies on them ;)

[Scer]

I would not recommend going further than 2 PSI above or below the values I stated earlier.

what pressure are you putting in the 160 rear?

play on playas

[G35CO]

Scer, what you recommend for IMI?

[Scer]

34 front and 29 rear. its a small slow track so that's why you can get away with the lower pressure on the rear. have fun!

ride on ridas

[G35CO]

Newb question, I know that you lower the tire pressure to get more traction but how’s that work? How would I know if I’m running it to low or too high for front and rear?

[asp_125]

Newb question, I know that you lower the tire pressure to get more traction but how’s that work? How would I know if I’m running it to low or too high for front and rear?

If you didn't make it to 'Scer's tire seminar:

http://2wheeltuesday.com/2009/06/diy-how-to-read-the-tire-wear-tire-tear-on-your-motorcycle/

[G35CO]

Thanks for the info!
The article recommends 5-7 psi increase from cold tire to hot. I read someone post recommending 10% increase. Which number is correct?

Also, can you feel by the way the tire react when you ride your bike if it’s over or under inflated?

[asp_125]

..
Also, can you feel by the way the tire react when you ride your bike if it’s over or under inflated?

A couple pounds either way? No. Vastly under inflated? Yes, particularly the front, it feels sluggish changing directions. Vastly overinflated? It feels more nervous than usual. IMO YMMV etc

[G35CO]

A couple pounds either way? No. Vastly under inflated? Yes, particularly the front, it feels sluggish changing directions. Vastly overinflated? It feels more nervous than usual. IMO YMMV etc
Thanks!

Scer, do i need to check the psi increase from cold to hot?

[Scer]

Unless the tires are doing something funky then I wouldn't check the hot pressure. However, usually you can just set them "cold" and ride!

As slow as IMI is and such. I bet you won't be growing too much pressure wise anyway. Have fun!!

ride on ridas


Thanks!

Scer, do i need to check the psi increase from cold to hot?

[Bueller]

However, usually you can just set them "cold" and ride!



I concur with this statement. Don't over complicate shit 'till in needs to be over complicated.

[G35CO]

Thank you for the input everyone!!!
I need to attend Scer next seminar