How do you know when your tires are warm?

[IG.]

I personally don't have to guess much because my TPMS tells me tire temperatures among other things at the touch of a button. If tire temparature is above 100 I can start being more aggressive, and when the temperature reaches above 120, I can do whatever I want.

After I had had some experience with my (7-year-old) TPMS, I can pretty much have a good estimate of what the tire temparatures are even without looking at the display.

At the track, the first lap is always a warm up which is more than enough, especially on a warm day.

Interesting side point. If front and rear have the same cold pressure, the rear ends up noticeably warmer for obvious reasons. For the sake of better traction on the front, I always maintain the front tire pressure being 2 - 3 psi lower than the rear. Besides slightly larger contact patch on the front, this also brings the front tire temperature to be almost as high as the rear.

For example, when having the same cold pressure of 35 psi and ambient temperature of 80 degrees, an aggressive street ride will increase tire temperatures as follows: front - 105, rear - 125. If I drop the front to let's say 32 psi cold, that same ride would warm up the front to about 120 degrees. I may be off by a few degrees, but you get the idea.

 

[BusaBret]

Anyone who has included in a post "These tires warm up quickly" please share exactly what instigated that statement! There are lots of you out there so don't hold back on us.

I am guilty of saying that in the past. My best explanation begins back when I had my 06 and ran PPs. One of my favorite twisty roads is less than a mile from my house and about 5 miles of curves. On the PPs when I went thru the rear end would lose that "unsettled" feeling less than 1/2 way thru the 1st time. When I changed to Avon Storms(I know Tuf) they wouldn't feel settled till 1/2 way thru the return trip.

PPs felt "warm" after 2.5 miles and Storms after 7.5 miles therefore the PPs "warmed" quicker??

 

[Tufbusa]

Ok Tuf, since you are in an answer teasing mood today I have a follow up question...

If you ride a few miles on the interstate then hit a hard mountain wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that the sides of the tire are not heated the same as the center is or does the heat distribute through the tire to the edges fairly close to even though only the center was used to get there?

Same thing after you hit the mountain and ride 20 miles to the next set of twisties does your tire maintain or reduce the heat it accumilated evenly or does the outer edges drop slightly in temps compared to the center?

Obviously the tire in general will lose heat if not keeping it working, but I'm wondering about the differences between portions of the tire. It can't be much, right?

Great Question!

A tire never heats evenly. It's always hottest in the portion that is being worked the hardest. On a left hand track where most of the turns are to the left with only 2 or 3 are RH turns the left side of the tire will be the hottest and the right side will be 10 to 20 degrees cooler. On a race tire being worked properly will be 170 degrees or so on the working side, the other side may only be 150-160 with the center somewhere in between.

Most of the time you'll find more crashes on the cool side of the tire simply because the hot/working side has more grip.

The rear tire always gets hotter than the front simply because it has more work to do. Tires also spin much of the time without the rider's knowledge.

 

[Commuta_Busa]

Tires also spin much of the time without the rider's knowledge.

if you can keep the slip below say 8% you're doing a good job or just not pushing hard enough.

 

[Tufbusa]

I always maintain the front tire pressure being 2 - 3 psi lower than the rear.

That's exactly backwards. The rear tire should always run equal to or lower pressure (cold) than the front for performance riding. The only time the rear should exceed the front is for a passenger or heavy load.

For instance, I run my Q2's two pounds lower in the rear for street or track and for the N-tec race tires I start out with 18.5 psi rear and 29 psi front (cold).

 

[Rook]

i usually can tell when the back stops sliding out in corners! the majority of riders will never push a tire hard enough to even know its warmed or cold.

Very true.

 

[HillbillyTom]

I've been aiming to pick up an infa-red point and check thermometer ($29.99 @ Harbor Freight) to check tire temps and such. I know on a warm day, at the end of one of the better 17 mile stretches of twisties, both tires are very warm to the touch. But no idea what the actual temperature is.

 

[DEMMYM]

You come to Okla. and just turn onto one of our streets.


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[Tufbusa]

112 degrees tomorrow, are you serious?

Damn, you folks have got it rough.

It was in the 90's at the track in Eastern Oregon yesterday and I thought that was hot!

112 is to hot to even play with boobies for goodness sake!

 

[BA BUSA]

I know they are warm when they stick GOOD!!!
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[sportcustoms71]

well turf.....since you posted this because of me, i'll tell you i'm just like pretty much everyone else on here. not a track guy by no means and i'm always up for advice i do a little bit of everything, as i stated in my thread....i usaully ride around for quite a while before i hit the curves and the curves are about an hour away from here. so that's my idea of a good warm tire. if the tires haven't warmed up by then something must be wrong.....you have to be an idiot to ride hard only 10 or so minutes of riding.

 

[sportcustoms71]

and this is the only thing i posted up about my tires warming up.


i noticed the pr2's take a little linger to warm up and hopefully i will get a little longer life out of the tire, considering i've started commuting with the bike.

 

[EarlyBird]

How do I know if my tires are warmed up? Hmmm, I feel my way and try to use good judgement along the way. I dont have tire warmers when I do track riding. So, I try to give myself a lap or two, before I start pushing the bike. I also check my tire pressures when I come off the track to get an idea if the tire pressures are set correctly when hot and adjust accordingly. I can usually tell that the tires are starting to heat up as I get on the brakes harder and harder. The tires seem to start biting more and the bike slows quicker for the same brake lever pull. Giving a positive feel of slowing down. Also, the same when going into corners. It feels more positive, the bike feels like it is sticking, not wanting to slide. That is my answer to a very good question! I cant wait to hear Tuff's answer!

 

[BUSA CRUSEN]

If they are on fire then you know you're ready to ride the curves.

 

[BUSA CRUSEN]

You come to Okla. and just turn onto one of our streets.


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cry me a river. Go to Iraq where it gets to 148F (at least while I was there) that makes everything else just luke warm.
Warning: all other temps are very close to the one posted

 

[RussellJ]

I have chip sensors strategically embedded in the tire that give me accurate readings to the thousandth of a degree using unimaginable formulas that are fed via bluetooth to my dash accessory display which then calculates the data and says "Tires Warm" when they are good and warm

 

[fastblackblur]

At the track

On street tires I always use the 1st lap of any session as a warm up lap, if it's cool out I'll use 2 laps to warm up. Even I'm running a NTECs w/warmers I still don't ride all out on the first lap. Maybe an uneeded precaution... I also monitor my pressures after sessions to make sure the tire is getting up to temp.

When I'm cruising around on the street/public roads I just don't push tires as hard and tire temp isn't really on my radar I just assume they are always a little on the cold side.

I know what I need to do to warm up a tire at the track and I'm typicaly not riding remotely close to that pace on public roadways.

 

[Pardini]

But the question Angel, is how do you know they are grabbing more? Do they slide through the corners or do you fall down twice before you know they are hot enough to keep you up

I just want to know how the fellas that tell me they know when they are on a tire that warms up quicker than others, how do they know?

Anyone who has included in a post "These tires warm up quickly" please share exactly what instigated that statement! There are lots of you out there so don't hold back on us.

Oh just let the Boyz talk the talk. Your such a kill joy.

 

[moloko]

If I nail the throttle and it spins, it's cold.
If I nail the throttle and it wheelies, it's warm.



I do weave quite a bit within my lane to warm them up when I'm first leaving the house. Lean pretty hard and relatively rapid motions.. you know what I mean, I know you've seen guys do it. That works right? RIGHT?

 

[red1100cc]

112 is to hot to even play with boobies for goodness sake!

::11 IT IS NEVER TO HOT TO PLAY WITH BOOBIES! :watching: