Racing tires for a 180/55 rear

[Michelle]

Hey there!

I've been doing some tire research lately to figure out what tires I want to race on this year. My past experiences have only been with Pirelli Supercorsa V2 tires for track days and such. I love them but want something to provide more feedback and confidence. I'm not doing the 180/60 conversion because it's way too expensive right now. So I want to run the stock 180/55 rear size. I was thinking of going with Pirelli SC1 slicks since they have a 55 size. What about rain tires? Seem like most rain slicks come only in 180/60 or bigger. The closest I could find so far is the Michelin Road 5's but I know they aren't a race-oriented tire. Any suggestions? Thanks!  

[M. Hausknecht]

I suggest you stick with what you know for your first few/several race weekends. Fewer new variables means less anxiety for most of us. Yes, there is more potential grip with SC1s, but if you can't keep them hot by riding them hard enough, especially on cooler days, you'll either have less grip and/or tear the rear up. You'll also need tire warmers that can get the tires to 195 F, which is a good bit hotter than many single temp tire warmers can reach. There don't appear to be any legit rain tire options in 180/55. A 160/60 PIrelli can be stretched onto a 5 1/2" rim, but the profile isn't ideal and the smaller circumference messes up the gearing and chassis geometry a bit.   

[Michelle]

On 2/24/2024 at 9:25 AM, M. Hausknecht said:

I suggest you stick with what you know for your first few/several race weekends. Fewer new variables means less anxiety for most of us. Yes, there is more potential grip with SC1s, but if you can't keep them hot by riding them hard enough, especially on cooler days, you'll either have less grip and/or tear the rear up. You'll also need tire warmers that can get the tires to 195 F, which is a good bit hotter than many single temp tire warmers can reach. There don't appear to be any legit rain tire options in 180/55. A 160/60 PIrelli can be stretched onto a 5 1/2" rim, but the profile isn't ideal and the smaller circumference messes up the gearing and chassis geometry a bit.   

Thanks for the advice! I do have tire warmers that I put on my Super Corsa's so that I can go right out at pace. The warmers are single-temp from MotoD though I believe with a max temp of 185 degrees. So maybe Super Corsa TD tires are the way to go? Do you think they'll be enough for amateur race pace? That sucks that there is no real good rain tire for the 180/55 not sure what I am going to do about that...  

[M. Hausknecht]

16 hours ago, Michelle said:

Thanks for the advice! I do have tire warmers that I put on my Super Corsa's so that I can go right out at pace. The warmers are single-temp from MotoD though I believe with a max temp of 185 degrees. So maybe Super Corsa TD tires are the way to go? Do you think they'll be enough for amateur race pace? That sucks that there is no real good rain tire for the 180/55 not sure what I am going to do about that...  

I found that my single temp Moto D tire warmers were hot enough for Dunlop slicks but not for Pirelli SC1s, so I got a set of Chicken Hawk Professional Digital warmers. Getting and keeping enough heat in the SC1s is key to them working right. My suggestion that you use what you know is to reduce variables during your first race weekends. Many new racers feel a lot of stress their first few race weekends, and reducing variables helps to limit stress and its adverse impact on performance. The less new stuff when you start out racing, the better. Your initial  pace will be what it is but, be assured if you're like most riders, you will go faster in a race environment than you ever have during a track day with no changes to the bike.    

 

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[Michelle]

2 hours ago, M. Hausknecht said:

I found that my single temp Moto D tire warmers were hot enough for Dunlop slicks but not for Pirelli SC1s, so I got a set of Chicken Hawk Professional Digital warmers. Getting and keeping enough heat in the SC1s is key to them working right. My suggestion that you use what you know is to reduce variables during your first race weekends. Many new racers feel a lot of stress their first few race weekends, and reducing variables helps to limit stress and its adverse impact on performance. The less new stuff when you start out racing, the better. Your initial  pace will be what it is but, be assured if you're like most riders, you will go faster in a race environment than you ever have during a track day with no changes to the bike.    

 

Great advice! Thank you so much! I'll stick with what I'm comfortable with which are the super corsa's.