Tyres are turning blue, should I change them?

Wyvern971

Wyvern971

Wyvern971

Associate
Joined
6 Oct 2004
Posts
1,921
Location
London
After a couple of days out on track at Le Mans my tyres have a distinct blue colour on the shoulders front and rear.

There is a fair amount of tread left on them, but I'm slightly concerned.

Should I be thinking about changing them?

Tyre.JPG
 
Heat cycles....
Do you not use tyre warmers between sessions? this is a big cause of bluing, if you ' use warmers of course

I personally would not use those tires on track again, a few days on track at le mans they have taken a beating and obviously gone though a fair few heat cycles by the looks of it, I would use them on the road to use them up though.
Unless you have used warmers inbetween sessions then I probably would use them again on track though...
 
Last edited:
are those Metzler racetecs? If so great choice, they will last much more then 2 trackdays.

they look fine TBH. seeing as its only trackdays your doing they should last t least a couple more. From my racing days Ive learnt tyres are often replaced needlesly.

Tyre warmers will help to preserve them for longer but I havent noticed that much difference over the years.

I find you can 'feel' when youve used them up, they start to slide and feel sloppy.

this is just my advise, I cant vouch for how they 'feel' on the bike or how hard youve pushed them so ultimatley its up to you.
 
Fireskull said:
Heat cycles....
Do you not use tyre warmers between sessions? this is a big cause of bluing, if you ' use warmers of course

I personally would not use those tires on track again, a few days on track at le mans they have taken a beating and obviously gone though a fair few heat cycles by the looks of it, I would use them on the road to use them up though.
Unless you have used warmers inbetween sessions then I probably would use them again on track though...
Click to expand...

Hi - not sure if you mean use them on track again IF they have been used without tyre warmers previously and don't if tyre warmers were used ??

I have blue racetec K2 on my bike from 2 days @ Le Mans in August ... not sure whether to get new tyres or not!
 
Sorry I mean I would use them again if they HAD been used with tyre warmers between sessions.
Mainly because in theory if you use Tyre warmers all day then that set of tires has only been through 1 heat cycle, its the hot then cold cycles that ruin the tires grip...
But this is all in theory really and based on how hard you ride etc... To be fair id rather not pass any advice as if one of us goes yea i've ridden on blued tires for 5 track days and never had a problem then someone else with bluing goes out and loses the front on their first session it don't look good...
I personally have used some bluing tires on track and they lasted about 4 sessions before the rear started giving, and then again I was given some race scrubs before that had some bluing on them too and they felt awful to just touch never mind ride, all hard and un-sticky lol, I guess they had been left to cool quickly and stored outside in the cold... so I never fitted them so cant really say what they would have been like.

The safest option is to call the manufacture and get their advice, they will probably tell you the amount of heat cycles that are ideal for track use.
 
I used my last set of racetecs till they were giving out on me big time (unpredictable rear end slides) and I don't recall what colour they were as it was few years ago - have been using bridgestone till recently. When the racetecs came off the rear was paper thin in the half lean bit :eek: So that was pure wear & tear ..

I'll go with the blued tyres for now and if I am concerned by how they feel, I'll ditch em at the track as there are a few bike shops nearby who will do a set of tyres for me (at Le mans end of next week again!) :)
 
Fireskull said:
Lucky! whats the average price for doing le mans, getting there etc..?
Click to expand...

Fairly easy for you mate - hop on the Condor Ferries from Poole/Weymouth to St Malo ;) Then a 2 hour ride ... hotel is 5 mins from circuit, as is fuel ... it is a lovely fast track, and each lap seems to go much quicker than what the watch says! Just check out the corner at the end of the start/finish straight!

2 days on track is £279 and NoLimits have a few spaces left :D :D :D :D
 
Thanks all, I don't own tyre warmers........

I'll leave them on for now, but I'll take another set up with me in case :)

Le Mans is awesome btw, though it's only £279 for 2 days the rest of the costs add up a bit
 
Its oil coming out of the tyre due to being cooked, over worked.
They will have less grip and not feel as good.

Check tire pressures before you go out what psi are you running cold ?
 
This is what the tyres look like now ... they were perfect until the second afternoon (it got colder and I got faster!!) when they started to tear ... I was running 30 rear & 31 front both days. No blueness on them here .. I used warmers and let them cool with warmers fitted but turned off. There are a lot or right handers there at Le Mans!


img0514sr.jpg


img0513um.jpg


img0512w.jpg
 
Righto cold pressures are Front 32 Rear 30

I've done a day out at Donington on them, and they are now going to be replaced as there is sod all tread left on the rear now.

As a side note I'll be leaving the SP at home for Mallory and take my 450 SM, and possibly have a go no my sisters 600RR :D

l28.jpg

:)
 
Fireskull said:
I got these sorts of angles with a blued rear tyre, sliding round like hell for the last few sessions though :D so dont think I would trust a blueing front for a whole day.

JH4Q9898.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks like the photographer got you as the front was about to tuck :p
Blimey ... :eek: Either that or there's more lean for me to go for yet :D

First thing on my shopping list methinks is rearsets seeing as my toe sliders are now worn and my wee toe is in real danger :p
 
Haha nope no tucking, thought I must have been mm away from it :p
Got back after that session and had this mark on my fairings and a scrape on the exhaust, I have been hanging off more since then though, just anglesey is so grippy + I had so much faith in that bike! :p
DSC_0126.jpg


Get some gilles rearsets they look great on the k4/5 :)

Oh and that looks like a slight cold tear on your rear tyre..
 
Last edited:
If those were my tyres I'd be checking first that they were up to temperature before I went for it and if the tearing continues then the most likely culprit is shock setup.

With tearing like that it's most likely coming on the power banked over but with too much compression dampening. This causes the shock to stop moving as the rear loads and the tyre takes up the strain rather than having the force absorbed by suspension travel. I had near identical wear problems on my SV650 until a took 4 clicks of compression dampening off the back. Cleared right up after that and gave me far more grip and much better tyre life.
 
Fireskull said:
Haha nope no tucking, thought I must have been mm away from it :p
Got back after that session and had this mark on my fairings and a scrape on the exhaust, I have been hanging off more since then though, just anglesey is so grippy + I had so much faith in that bike! :p
DSC_0126.jpg


Get some gilles rearsets they look great on the k4/5 :)

Oh and that looks like a slight cold tear on your rear tyre..
Click to expand...

Impressive!
 
Dureth said:
If those were my tyres I'd be checking first that they were up to temperature before I went for it and if the tearing continues then the most likely culprit is shock setup.

With tearing like that it's most likely coming on the power banked over but with too much compression dampening. This causes the shock to stop moving as the rear loads and the tyre takes up the strain rather than having the force absorbed by suspension travel. I had near identical wear problems on my SV650 until a took 4 clicks of compression dampening off the back. Cleared right up after that and gave me far more grip and much better tyre life.
Click to expand...

Now that makes sense - I have 1 1/2 turns in from max on the rear compression so next time out I'll knock that back a bit ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom