Having precise control on your tyre pressures is the first step in opening up a whole range of tactical and strategic options to help you improve the balance, pace and performance of your race car. With tyres that are operating at the correct pressures, you can confidently start to evaluate all the other tuning tools at your disposal – springs, dampers, aero, camber angles, brake balance and everything else.Īnd if you get really into it, you can even start to strategically plan on whether you want more grip (or a certain balance) earlier or later in a race or stint.

If you can get control over your tyre pressures then you are well on the way to getting more control, and more performance, out of the whole racing car.īy removing an element of guesswork, you can more easily start to refine your handling balance in a known and much more predictable way. Setting your tyre pressures incorrectly is entirely preventable I’m not saying I haven’t done it in the stressful environment of a race weekend (I have) but there is nothing more disappointing in racing than performing badly because of something entirely preventable. If you just take a moment to consider the time, effort and money people put into their racing car preparation, to then guess the settings on one of the most fundamental tuning devices on the car is just odd. Hoping for the best isn’t a great strategy.

Complex: Try setting the cold pressures lower than the target psi by a bit, do a short run, come into the pits, take a hot reading and then, for next time, adjust the cold setting up or down by the psi amount the hot readings are out (and THEN hope for the best…).

Simple: Pump them up the same as last time and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, you can’t get at the tyres when the car is on track you can only set the pressures in the pits and when the tyres are relatively cold.

Irrespective of what you pump the tyres up with (air, dry air, nitrogen etc.) the pressure will increase when the tyres are working hard and getting hot out on the track. The issue of course is that these Target Pressures are HOT targets. Just pump up your tyres to the target pressure and away you go, right? Furthermore, if you can’t find them then generalised tables such as the one below are often quoted as an initial guide to those who know where to look: Whilst each tyre is unique, there are often published guides as to the ideal pressure ranges for your specific racing car tyres. However, despite seeing many people who look like they mean business with tyre pressure gauges at the track, it strikes me how much guesswork still seems to go into it. So racing car tyre pressures are a big deal. Get them wrong though and not only are you leaving critical performance on the table, you can easily make the racing car feel unbalanced, or even undrivable. Getting the tyres working at their optimum condition will at best give you a massive advantage, at worst, leave you equal to the best. Whatever kind of racing car you drive, setting your tyre pressures perfectly is critical to maximising your racing performance (and your enjoyment).

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