hey, if it works for you go for it.

personally, i run 32/32, and have been for years. i get good mileage out of my tires, and no issues with traction.

 

Racers are often somewhere around 30 pounds of tire pressure for the maximum cornering traction.

Street riders often have about 36 to 40 pounds of pressure so that the tires last longer.

 

Pressure depends on tire...

I don't care what kind of tire it is, pressures in the 40's would make me crash. You must be riding a slow pace to not be sliding the bike with over 40psi in there.

My Dunlop race tires are 32f/23r HOT, which translates even lower when cold.

For street use I would use the recommended pressure that the specific tire manufacturer has for that model tire.

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I remember forgetting I had flipped a rear tire and didn't set the tire pressure. I went out and led a Round Robin for a school I instruct for and even at an extreme novice pace I was sliding the rear. When I came in and checked I was at about 45psi.

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OP run the pressure you feel confident with. Your friends think aggressive riding automatically means you need to drop tire pressure because it's what they've read racers do. Racers, not friggin jaunts down a back road where you don't need it. Tell your friends to do whatever they want and you'll do the same.

 

tire pressures are intensely personal.

street (commuting twisties) I'm 33/36. I wouldn't go below 35 psi cold. but that's me.

track, depending on how hot a day it is, 30/30, or there abouts. if you like 36/42, then good for you.

more contact patch does = more grip. whether you are riding a straight line or draggin' a knee in the twisties.

You should try it, on a familiar road, see what you think, of the lower tire pressures.

 

Elevation has an affect on tire pressure too. Personally in the canyons I run 34/36 then at the track 30/28 or 28/28. I crashed doing 30/30 on the track so no more of that lol.

 

Ideally you are looking for about a 10% increase from cold to hot. Check your tires before you ride, then as soon as you get back from your normal ride. For instance I use 32f/33r (rosso corsas) for my local twisties. When I get back I'm usually at 35/37. On the track, I use 28/28 cold and no more than 32 hot. And that advice was given to me by the northwest Pirelli dealer who is at most track days in Oregon and Washington.
If your tires aren't heating up to the 10% increase, they're over inflated. But really, do what feels most confident. 36/42 is MAX pressure according to most manuals.

 

This.

Tire pressures directly affect carcass temperatures which in turn affect grip. Lower pressures allow the tire to get hotter...but you don't want it to get too hot. A tire that is too hot will have less grip.

 

I'm gonna try 34f- 38r tonight.

 

It came up with my riding buddies this weekend again. When I stated I was using 36 and 42 for some aggressive twisty street riding I got scolded by them. None of them could convince me I was wrong. If I am I'll go with it but why am I? I've seen many tire release articles where journalists are on the track lapping successfully with recommended pressures. Why does everyone recommend lower pressures which are just above track day pressures. I understand the idea of a bigger contact patch but is that necessary on the street? Are we not just wearing out tires faster than necessary? In a magazine article in one of the cycle mags is states you can go a pound lower on the street but no more! I'm not hitting gp 65° lean angles obviously but I am riding aggressively in some incredible turns. Can I not do this safely on stock settings? Am I just not understanding something? I love not wasting money.
Sorry its repetitive but don't want new riders throwing away money if its unnecessary. Am I wrong?
Thanks,
Happy6

The way I understand it, 36 and 42 are NOT the stock nor recommended pressures. Those are usually the MAXIMUM pressures listed for those tires under the maximum load they are rated for. The higher pressures are used when the bike is loaded down with a lot more weight (e.g. riding two up, or carrying a lot of luggage). If you run those pressures without all the added weight, you will get less traction.

The actual recommended pressures will depend on which tire model you are running as well, and you should be able to get that information from the manufacturer or distributor/dealer in your area. What tires are you currently running?

 

Im running Q2s at the moment and I run 30f/29r at the track and 32/32 on the street.

 

I am running Q2's as well, and I use 30/30 on the track and 31/31 on the street.

 

Below is a video about tire pressure, but it is street oriented- generally people run pressures a little lower on the track:
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You won't feel much of a difference at 34/38, but it's a start.

 

Q2's. In that vid it states use 36 and 42.

 

I got my recommendation for the pressures I run from the manufacturer and from Dave Moss.

 

Kawi says 36/42. Dunlop says 36/42. I tried 33/38 this weekend.

 

Kawi says 36/42. Dunlop says 36/42. I tried 33/38 this weekend.

can you link to this?

 

Well its in the kawi manual and on dunlops website it states 36f/42r for the q2's.

 

I've always run 32/32 like Nevada, but if going to twisty bits I prefer 30, hwy riding 35.

And lately I've found that a couple pounds higher in the front helps with turn in, so maybe 30 Rear, 32 Front is my favorite combo.

 

Just spoke to rep at dunlop. Was told 34 front and 32 rear for agressive street riding. Huh! i stand corrected.

 

Those are decent numbers and should be much better for you. The main reason for the higher number in the front for aggressive riding is to handle the increased loads from heavy braking.

 

I've been way high in the rear for a long time then.

 

Well now that i removed head from arse ive adjusted them and will see what ive been missing.

 

Now that you've lowered your pressures so dramatically (which I agree with) you will almost assuredly need to adjust your suspension to speed up the bike's turn in, as a lower pressure will typically slow it down some.

 

Just take it to the track if you want to ride where pressures are important

 

^ very true. I'm gonna try the 34/32 combo. thx for posting it.

 

I've basically noticed that pressures will ride about 2-4 psi depending on temperature. So you may want to start 32/30 cold and adjust as the temp rides

 

OEM tires pressure recommendations are about load capacity - and they must recommend pressures that support the maximum rated gross vehicle weight....which in the case of a zx6r is ~400 pounds of passengers/cargo.

Most heat build up in a tire is from flexing the carcass.

Not enough heat and you're loosing out on traction
Too much heat and they'll go away...greasey, tearing etc...
Too much deflection and you can have a belt failure (ie: blowout)

"Street" oriented tires generally won't build as much heat so you might only get a 3-4psi rise, even in a track environment. That said, "street tires" are intended to grip over a lower temperature window too.

 

It's really up to you, I'm a new rider.However, in the car world track junkies usually go higher psi for increase tire response. Some say this and some say that, I usually go 5 psi over the manufacturers recommendations on my miata. I would at least go with the recommended tire pressure on your bike, if not higher. There are too many variables.