|
|
 |
As a closed event, only racing insiders are privy to the happenings at the annual Dunlop Daytona Tire Test. We at Dunlop want you to feel as if you're at the track, so our Road Race Manager Jim Allen is here to review all the new tire specs, rule changes and how motorcycle tires have changed over the years.
|
Jim Allen, Road Race Manager |
 |
What kind of information can you give us about the new tires you're testing this year? |
 |
Well, for the Superbikes, we've pretty much settled on size at 16.5 inch front and rear. We do a lot of work with compound mixes; here at Daytona we've used multi-compound tires for five or six years now. You see, at Daytona there's a huge disparity in tire temperatures, right side to left. There are only two right turns on the entire track, and they're fairly close to each other so the right-side compound has to be relatively soft. The bikes spend most of the time turning on the left side of the tire, so that has to be pretty hard. And then the middle has to be able to withstand these super-high Daytona speeds. Profiles, carcass construction and compounds are all inter-related and finding the right mix is essential.
After we find a tire that will work well for the fastest guys, we work up at least two alternates for the front and rear. You have to consider that race day in March could be freezing cold or it could be abnormally hot -- both will affect tire performance. On top of all that, we need to work on tires for the Supersport and Superstock classes. |
|
What is your perspective on the Superbike rule change, with 1000cc four-cylinder bikes being allowed, and the forthcoming impact on tires? |
|
That's hard to predict right now, because the teams will be developing the bikes for quite a while. It's important to understand that it's far more complex than just a weight and horsepower issue. It's not so hard to generate sheer horsepower, but it gets more complex as tuners search for engine setups that will get the most power to the ground under most circumstances. So the teams will be tuning the bikes for different kinds of power deliveries at different tracks, and we'll have to develop tires to work with these bikes when they get close to finalizing their setups. I think the tire casing construction will likely stay common for the V-twins and the inline fours, but we will have to do some work with the compounds. |
|
How have Daytona tires changed in the past five years, 10 years, 15 years? |
|
The 18-inch fronts and rears that existed when I started doing this have since changed to 16-inch fronts paired with 18-inch rears, then to 17-inch fronts and rears, and once again to 16.5-inch fronts and rears.
The skinny little fronts and rears we used when I started have evolved over the years to wider and wider tires, and we're at the point now where the rears we use at Daytona are wider than the tires used on most compact cars you see on the road.
One of the most significant innovations in the last decade has been the introduction of the multi-compound tires we use nowadays. Dunlop was the first company to market and sell multi-compound tires to the racing public at Daytona, and that innovation alone has given us a much faster and safer race. Both factory riders and privateers have benefited from that change. My friend and colleague Dave Watkins from Dunlop UK was granted a patent on the process.
|
|
Provide a simple description of slick-tire construction compared to DOT tire construction so the layman can understand the differences. |
|
The simple fact is there's not a lot of difference between the construction methods, materials and tire-building techniques used in manufacturing slick and DOT tires these days. Obviously, a DOT tire has a tread pattern, which by definition you don't find in a slick, but most of the same materials used in slick tires are also used in DOT tires. You could almost make the case that DOT tires have a much harder life than slicks. Even if they are specifically designed for Daytona, racing DOT tires still have to be road-legal and therefore have to deal with a different set of problems than slicks face, problems such as under-inflation, potholes and other road hazards. Strange as it may seem, it's sometimes easier to make tires that will deal with sustained speeds of 200-plus mph than it is to make tires that have to deal with overloading and under-inflation on the street. |
|
|
