Pro and cons for installing scrub tires | GTAMotorcycle.com

Pro and cons for installing scrub tires

Corsara

Corsara

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So far the only tires I've been putting on my bikes are new street tires. Now that I plan to do the occasional track days, I was wondering if anybody can chime in on what they think about buying scrub race tires (many people sell them after races or just doing a certain number of laps), and riding those on the street, as well as on the track every now and then.

I was wondering if there are any major disadvantages to trying to save some money by doing that, or it's actually a pretty good deal (in regard to the stickiness race tires will provide even on the street).

Thanks in advance.
 
Pro: Cost savings

Cons: Plenty!

Who's scrubs are they, how many laps, properly warmed up / cooled down on tire warmers is an issue....Type of tire is another thing to consider.

Something that is more of a race tire might not generate enough heat on the street to get optimal grip. But something like a cross over tire like a pilot pure or a BT-16...or even an BT-003 would be a great choice....
 
Find another set of wheels for your track tires. If your buying scrubs and can run a decent pace they won't have much life on the sides after a full track day. The middle will be fine for the street but race tires aren't meant to go through a bunch of heat cycles and don't warm up the same as a street tire. you may find out the hard way that your sticky tire is all of a sudden not so schticky any more. That's my opinion anyway but I would ask someone like recidivist (Dave at competition cycle) for their more professional opinion.
 
frekeyguy said:
Something that is more of a race tire might not generate enough heat on the street to get optimal grip. But something like a cross over tire like a pilot pure or a BT-16...or even an BT-003 would be a great choice....
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I'm currently running a BT-16 on the front and BT-16 Pro on the rear. Sometimes in a higher speed on-ramps if I get on it harder at decent lean angle, I'm toying with it on the verge where the rear is just about to lose traction (and sometimes it does). I was thinking that maybe if I was running scrub race tires, I'd be able to give it a bit more juice in those cases...?
 
How about toning it down a little? Again the sides of your tires aren't going to be all that healthy after a track day running scrubs. A 1000 will spin the rear, learn to ride what you've got and save the limit pushing for the track.
 
Well....I've run scrubs on my bike for the last 7 years. Never had any issues with them. They only last a few track days and the rest used up on the street. Mine used to finish up still rounded....more recently they have finished up more squared off. If you get a spare set of rims, use a "fresh" set of scrubs for track and them use the rest of the tire on the street. I've even toured down to the Gap on em and finished them off on the way home.
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Then again, I'm not pushing it on the street.
 
Scrub tires are great for people trying to save a buck who don't intend to lean the bike over that much. Scrubs have fair centre-tread still..but the sides have obviously been pretty much finished. You're buying a tire that's had 50% of its life taken out of it..
 
invictus43 said:
Scrub tires are great for people trying to save a buck who don't intend to lean the bike over that much. Scrubs have fair centre-tread still..but the sides have obviously been pretty much finished. You're buying a tire that's had 50% of its life taken out of it..
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I guess scrubs are not going to be good for me then as all I wanted to consider scrubs for was to get a bit more traction at lean as compared to street sport tires (e.g. like the BT-16).
 
I advise against scrubs. My one and only spill (so far) were on scrubs riding minimal lean angle. Mind you this was back in march, it was cold out and I hit a slick patch of road. But the tires are are like rocks when cold and don't warm up well on the street (I'm sure it varies a bit from tire to tire). They're only meant to endure a few heat cycles which are usually spent at the track.
 
Corsara said:
I guess scrubs are not going to be good for me then as all I wanted to consider scrubs for was to get a bit more traction at lean as compared to street sport tires (e.g. like the BT-16).
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I've used the BT-016 on the track and it has good traction. The problem with the street is there are many variables. Can you get enough heat into the tire to make it work? Is the surface good? How old are the tires? How many heat cycles have they gone through? There are roads that no matter how good your tires are, you're going to have much less traction than you think and you can easily spin the rear. If you're going to treat the road like a racetrack, then I think, no disrespect intended, you should buy good tires that haven't been shagged out by someone. The reason people sell scrubs is because they have minimal tread left on the shoulders and they're losing traction. And it offsets their cost for new tires to go fast again.
 
AF4iK said:
I advise against scrubs. My one and only spill (so far) were on scrubs riding minimal lean angle. Mind you this was back in march, it was cold out and I hit a slick patch of road.
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Awesome.

Blame the scrubs :)
 
My Dunlop Q2's were miles ahead in traction vs the BT016's. Maybe try a better street tire?
 
As mentioned the main benefit is cost. I ran scrubs on the street for a few seasons, i couldn't tell whether they were "stickier" or offered more dry grip than a regular street tire.
 
invictus43 said:
I've used the BT-016 on the track and it has good traction. The problem with the street is there are many variables. Can you get enough heat into the tire to make it work? Is the surface good? How old are the tires? How many heat cycles have they gone through? There are roads that no matter how good your tires are, you're going to have much less traction than you think and you can easily spin the rear. If you're going to treat the road like a racetrack, then I think, no disrespect intended, you should buy good tires that haven't been shagged out by someone. The reason people sell scrubs is because they have minimal tread left on the shoulders and they're losing traction. And it offsets their cost for new tires to go fast again.
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Yes, it makes sense. Maybe I was misunderstood though---I did not complain of the BT-16's, I do think they are very good tires and I'm happy with them. Perhaps I go quite hard in some SELECTED corners, which have perfect surface and zero chance to hurt other people, so these variables are accounted for. Maybe just that's the limit, maybe would be able to go faster on properly warmed up race tires, but apparently as far as scrubs go, it's a no go for me. As for my current BT-16 rear, it's 1.5 months old, about 3-4k km on it, probably 30-40 heat cycles, but I think it was providing pretty much the same traction when I put it on new (I might be wrong though, it's all in my own perception --> not really accurate way to say for sure). The actual tire was manufactured a year ago, so not much shelf life..
 
rbjeepthing said:
My Dunlop Q2's were miles ahead in traction vs the BT016's. Maybe try a better street tire?
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The BT016 was designed for more tread life in the centre and softer tread of the shoulders. It succeeds as an all-rounder, track and street. A more track-oriented tire will have less tread-life generally. It's a trade-off. I suspect someone shopping for scrubs though is more worried about price and probably wants longer tread life. It's a tough combo..cheap and good..
 
Corsara said:
Care to elaborate? Next time I'm changing rubber I'm coming to you anyway ;)
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You should just ask Donnie directly. He knows a thing or two about tires..shagged and otherwise..
 
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