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Trackdays, tyre pressures and temperatures


TAFKARM

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I don't do anything with my tyres on a trackday, apart from perhaps give them a kick once or twice. Am I missing a trick? What should I be doing with my tyre pressures and why? What should I be looking for with an IR heat gun?

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Hi Russ

I am sure there are more qualified people than me on here but when I was in the states the guys there set pressure by measuring the temperature across the tyre. This assumes that geometry etc is all ok for the car and track. Idea was to get temps even across tyre. If hot in middle then lower pressure..and vice versa. Idea was to have maximum tyre contact area.

 

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Set the back to 60 psi and start drifting

Sorry I'll move along now:getmecoat: 

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13 hours ago, Mole said:

Hi Russ

I am sure there are more qualified people than me on here but when I was in the states the guys there set pressure by measuring the temperature across the tyre. This assumes that geometry etc is all ok for the car and track. Idea was to get temps even across tyre. If hot in middle then lower pressure..and vice versa. Idea was to have maximum tyre contact area.

 

True, however the measuring needed isn't quite so straightforward.

The tyres start cooling sufficiently to give inaccurate readings surprisingly quickly, and it's not necessarily the surface that you're best measuring.

The normal process, is to come haring into the pits, stop immediately in your box, then test the tyres with a tyre pyrometer - which has a needle like probe that you actually stick into the tyres surface to measure the temp.

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Yep! That's how they used to do it. Flat out into pits someone run out and probe the tyres... Worked on some well set up cars... don't think it did much for the guys who did it with their standard road cars!!!

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With regard to pressures, I try to maintain my pressures at 18 psi when hot, so as the tyres warm up I end up reducing the pressures after the first few laps.

Seems to have worked well so far, for me at least on both Toyo R1R and R888Rs.

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After a trackday, my tyres cool down to around 15psi, so in theory if I start the next trackday at 15 they'll rise back to 18 hot. However every day is different, not only track temps, but different circuits will warm up the tyres differently. (e.g left handed circuit v right handed) So, I prefer to start the day at 18psi cold and drop them after every session as they come up to temp. They usually stabilize after the first couple of sessions.

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