Metzeler Roadtec Z6 Interact Tire Review

[dlaing]

Not logical. The plasticiser in it that is outgassing is there to aid production. Why else would you carefully heat cycle a new racing tyre to get better grip? Why would tyre fitters advise you to take it easy with a new road tyre until some miles have passed? These chemicals _reduce_ grip.

Not sure about the heat cycling racing tires, but I'll bet that oil rising to the surface that Ratchet quoted is a plasticizer.

Whatever...I'll let you two argue about it.

Just be careful with "new" tires, whether they have been on the shelf for five years, in the Sun for a year, or factory fresh, be careful with them.

 

FWIW I currently have an unused pair of Pirellis mounted last weekend. If I am reading the dates right, one is a 2006 and the other is a 2008, and they smell the same to me.

Maybe the 2006 has less plasticizer or oil in it, but it also probably has more ozone damage to it.

Which will break in faster?

Which will obtain better grip once broken in?

Which will last more miles?

I can't really do a fair comparison since one is a Diablo (older front) and the other a Diablo Strada (newer rear)

I know, some of you will never mix and match tires. <_ whatevah they are a pretty close matchup.>

[Guest ratchethack]

. . .I'll bet that oil rising to the surface that Ratchet quoted is a plasticizer.

Indeed. Point being (??)

[dlaing]

Indeed. Point being (??)

What's a point?

[doug m]

great to see dave and hack getting along so nicely. oh yea,...I swear by metzelers myself. I think they may have saved my life a few times. The difference being when your rear tire starts to break loose, they give you a split second to recover where some other tires ,once they let loose they're -you're gone.

[antonio carroccio]

great to see dave and hack getting along so nicely. oh yea,...

Yeah, as usual. No matter what's the point of the thread is, no matter wich argument, it's always the same story.

Fukking boring! <_>

[Guest ratchethack]

Yeah, as usual. No matter what's the point of the thread is, no matter wich argument, it's always the same story.

Fukking boring!

Sorry, Antonio. I'll try to do better from now on to make sure all my posts are sufficiently entertaining, and contain amusing new stories that meet your standards of approval -- just to ensure that you never get bored. And not only that, in the spirit of fairness and equality, I'll make sure my posts meet everyone else's approval standards too, make sure they're impeccably politically correct, controversy-free, and even have a small carbon footprint. I'm sure Dave will do the same.

[fly4hire]

FWIW, I just bought a pair of Z6's on BikeBandit to replace the old Battleaxes on my V11. If you enter the code CUSTREVIEW43 on checkout it was worth another 10% off for $256 for the pair delivered (120/70-17, 170/60-17). Best deal I found by a good margin.

[mike wilson]

http://www.carolinariders.com/Links/Choosi...20for%20you.htm

 

"The more plasticizer that is released, the stickier the tire!"

 

Slightly longer quote:

"They are sensitive to heat cycles which means that at their ideal operating temperature, plasticizers in the rubber are liberated making the rubber pliable. The more plasticizer that is released, the stickier the tire! This only happens when the tire is hot. When the temperature drops and the plasticizer has been depleted, the tire turns hard resulting in very little grip"

 

This doesn't seem like the sort of stuff we are used to from you. Almost Wikid in its simplicity.

 

However:

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7150301/description.html

From which:

"Typically, the plasticizers may be selected from those commonly used in the known art. Advantageously, they are selected from mineral oils, vegetable oils, synthetic oils and the like, or mixtures thereof, for example: aromatic oils, naphthenicoils, phthalates, soybean oil and the like."

 

Doesn't sound like the sort of stuff you would want oozing all over your tread when you are striving for max grip. Sounds more like stuff you would want helping the raw rubber to fit in every part of the mould....

 

http://www.sportbikes.com/articlesc5bb.html?id=1244

"There is NO manufacturer that uses mold release on the tread area of the tire. Approximately 70% of any tread compound is oil."

 

Well, again, this is just bull. 70% might be _derived_ from oil but that is not the same as saying they they _are_ oil. Although, from my quote above, commonly used plasticisers _might_ have some effect on mould release.

 

I suppose we shall just have to agree to disagree.