Domestic production of the Q5 and respective tire tests

Dunlop has announced that the country of production for the Q5 will be changed to Japan, with some production to be in Thailand.

This is expected to ensure a stable supply.

In that case, if it is a tire for public roads and there is a stable supply, there would be no need to stick to the Q5A for gymkhana.

However, the Q5A's stable performance will be a welcome addition for beginners, self-driving cars, and those looking to save on costs, so we plan to continue testing it in various ways.

This time, I went to test the tires on a weekday because I was asked by CST to do a tire test and I have never put Q5 tires on a Z650 before.

In under a minute, design a course that includes left and right turns, tri-khanas, big and small eights, and a long straightaway where you can accelerate at full throttle.

Now onto testing each tire.

By the way, the Q5 and CST CM-S5 are brand new, and the Q5A is a tire that has been used for five practice sessions and two tours, so a direct comparison is not possible, but it has not worn down significantly, so I think it can be evaluated to a certain extent.

We will not change the suspension and will focus on comparing only the tires.

① Q5A

To stabilize the tire temperature, set the warmer temperature at 65°C.

The grip level is stable and you can drive with confidence. Even when braking hard, there is little slippage, so you can drive with confidence.

When you slip, the recovery is slow, which is reassuring.

The best time was 53.034.

②Q5

The tire warmer temperature is 65℃.

Immediately after starting, I felt a grip on a different level to the Q5A. The turning ability when loaded is also excellent, so it's a tire that you can use to get a good time.

I thought so. The time I got after three runs was 51.956, which was 2% different from the Q5A.

③ CST CM-S5

The tire warmer temperature was set to 80°C as specified by the manufacturer. "Maybe that was a bit too high?"

Grip levels aren't quite as good as the Q5's, but they're still quite satisfactory.

After that I switched back to the Q5A and tried driving it, but it seemed like the Q5A lacked grip.

In terms of handling, there was a slight quirk to it, and it felt like the front would tip over for a moment when banking.

Furthermore, compared to Dunlop tires, it seemed to have difficulty entering the track when braking.

The best time was 52.970, but it doesn't look like I can get any better than this.

I feel that the S5 is the only one that needs a change to the suspension set, so I think that changing the suspension set will also improve this area.

This is a tire that can be purchased quite cheaply, so it would be good to use for practice, but I think it would also be durable enough for the real thing.

The air pressure was set to the manufacturer's recommended warm F2.1 R2.2, and this air pressure proved to be the best so far.

I think it would be wise to use the Q5A and S5 in future practice sessions, and only use the Q5 for the actual race!

In fact, the Q5 and Q5A can run with the same setup.

Next time I'd like to test it with the front and rear of Diablo V3.