Ok first things first. The single biggest mistake most people make when trying to find the right pressure for a new surface is, they start at normal pressures or just a bit higher. Then once tear starts, they “try to cure or fix the tear”. The rubber is already damaged and exposed once the tear starts, plus half of the rubber has been left out on track. So the best your ever going to get is the tear not to get much worse. Even if you achieve this you are still not going to have conclusive data.
Instead the best way is to start much higher than normal then come down slowly until you see a little bit of tear start. Once that happens go back up 1 psi. That way you don’t destroy tyres while you are learning the new surface PLUS! You will have reliable, usable information that is specific to you and your setup.
Currently for Broadford’s new surface on Pirelli’s we recommend the compounds pressures in the below table. Start with these then work your way down on the rear only. Leave the front at these pressures in the table.
NOTE: These are ‘IN’ pressures. That’s the pressure we want when you come in from your session. You need to check them within 30sec to 1min of parking your bike.
On cold day you can expect your front to drop 3 – 4 psi depending how fast you are. If you are not really fast the rear will drop about 2 psi as well. Fast riders won’t see a rear drop. This will also change a little depending on what warmers you use but you will get a feel for how much your pressure change. The key is to start high.
So if it’s really cold and your front target IN is 38psi, set it to 42 or 41 on the warmers before you go out. Yep! That high. When you come in if the psi is 38psi, just leave it. You don’t need to check it again before you go out. If it’s too high when you come in, let air out, if too low, add air.
Example: Target IN is 38 PSI, yet when you come in and check it’s 40psi, let 2 psi out then and there. DO NOT reset it before you go out again. LEAVE IT! Then check it after the next session, if it’s 38psi. Leave it and enjoy your day.
If for example it came in at 35psi, add 3 psi then and there, and repeat the above.
Don’t be concerned about the high pressures. The new surface has so much grip. The grip is actually too high and will wreck the tyre. Thus increasing the pressure will reduce the overall grip to more normal levels and look after the tyre and you will still have heaps of grip. If you run low pressure you risk tear and once torn the tyre will not offer much grip.
In terms of adjusting your setup for the high pressures. Only if you’re really fast do you need to worry. The biggest thing we need to allow for is the change in balance. Tyre pressure affect bike balance massively. They form part of the overall suspension. As such we have increased the rear pressure a lot more than the front. So if you are really quick you can add 2 turns of front pre-load and take off ½ a turn of rear preload if you have a threaded preload collar or 2 turns off if you have a hydraulic preload adjuster.
BUT don’t fear, unless you are a really fast rider you won’t need to adjust any settings. Just get on top of the pressures and enjoy your day.
As for the track! Well the surface is smooth for the most part, really smooth. There is still a lack of rubber down really wide but it’s getting there slowly. The 2nd half of pit turn to the entry of the left is a bit bumpy so get your eye in around there before you push too hard.
Also we have new feature to deal with. The “speed hump”. There is a big bump where the surfaces join in the braking zone for Pit Turn, Feel it out. As this is in the breaking area we recommend you add 2 turns of front preload if it upsets you too much, it will help a bit. But wait until it upsets you before you do.
Anyways, we hope this info helps, thanks for joining up and welcome to the team, FY!