Motorsport Wheel Alignment: Keeping Track of Tyre Pressure - Documentation
Keeping Track of Tyre Pressure - Documentation
02.16
00:00 | - As we've discussed so far, tyre pressure is a tricky thing to lock down since so many factors can affect it. |
00:06 | This includes the particular car and the tyres fitted to it, the track conditions and track temperature, the length of a race and even our driving style. |
00:14 | Sliding the car around for example is going to generate more heat in the tyre which results in more tyre pressure. |
00:21 | Where this all comes to a head is when we turn up to the track at the start of the day and we need to make a decision about what cold pressures to set our tyres to in order to achieve our ideal hot running pressure. |
00:33 | Getting this wrong could result in the running pressure ending up too high or too low, resulting in poor car balance and a reduction in grip and of course slower lap times. |
00:43 | The best way of staying on top of tyre pressure and also giving yourself the best chance of achieving your target pressure on the track is to carefully document the tyre pressures every time you head out for a track session and then again immediately after you return. |
00:58 | This needs to be done as soon as the car comes back into the pits as the tyres will begin to lose temperature even during the cool down lap. |
01:05 | So checking tyre pressure after you've removed your race suit, had a chat with the other drivers and grabbed a cold drink, isn't going to tell you much. |
01:13 | It's actually easiest if you can have a helper do this for you as soon as the car comes to rest, so that you can consistently make sure this information is collected. |
01:23 | There are a few options when it comes to documenting your tyre pressures and some of the more upmarket tyre pressure gauges feature a built in memory so that you can quickly check each tyre and then review the information at a later point. |
01:36 | Alternatively there's nothing wrong with good old fashioned pen and paper, and you can utilise one of the setup sheets we've included in this course to help you. |
01:45 | What we want to do here is log the cold tyre temps and the hot tyre temps, along with information such as the racetrack, weather conditions and track temperature. |
01:54 | Over time, as we build more information at more tracks, we can start to see a trend emerge as to what cold tyre pressures we need to run in order to achieve a specific hot running pressure. |
02:06 | It's not an exact science but by using this technique, I can guarantee you'll be a lot closer to the ballpark than just guessing. |