Pirelli Diablo Corsa III
Introduced back in late 2006, the Pirelli Diablo Corsa III was Pirelli's dual-compound answer to the Michelin Pilot Power 2CT that came out a year earlier (and is also featured in this test). Actually, only the rear Diablo Corsa III has two rubber compounds in its construction; Pirelli feels that a single compound tire works fine for the front. Both front and rear incorporate Pirelli/Metzeler's zero-degree steel belts in their construction, and both also use the Pentec fiber in the carcasses.
The Diablo Corsa IIIs received high marks for warm-up and break-in on both bikes at the track, with Kunitsugu and Holst also scoring the tire highly for compliance and feedback at all lean angles. "A near-perfect balance of carcass [stiffness] and compliance," wrote Holst, adding, "front tire is also near my ideal of responsive, relatively low effort [steering] without being twitchy." Kunitsugu felt the steering wasn't as easy on the literbike, however, noting that it required a bit more effort to flick through transitions and make midcorner steering changes. Both gave the Diablo Corsa III high marks for stability, especially under braking. However, although initial tire traction was excellent, both riders noted that edge grip fell off quickly after four laps, enough so that Holst felt hesitant to choose it as a track-day tire.
On the street, the Pirellis offered the same excellent combination of compliance, feedback, and light steering characteristics, although again Kunitsugu noted that switchbacks at speed required more effort than usual on the ZX-10R. Grip over rough pavement was very good, with little of the chatter-induced "walking" tendency of some of the other tires in the test. Wear rates were moderate on both the racetrack and street loop.
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Pirelli Diablo Corsa III
| | ZX-10R | GSX-R600 |
| GENERAL | 8.6 | 9.1 |
| BRAKING | 8.8 | 9 |
| TRACTION | 8.5 | 9.1 |
| STEERING | 8.5 | 9 |
| AVERAGE LAP TIME: 1:08.67 |
| SR RATING: 88.3 |