Tire pressure for tracking car- Gen I 17" tires??

[RT/ED]

What is the correct tire pressure for a Gen I (17" tires) when tracking car, i.e., Gingerman Raceway, MI??

 

[SNKEBIT]

I had 17" Kuhmos at 28 psi.

 

[GTS Dean]

Hot pressures are what you need to tune with. On stock wheel widths, I tend to look for 41psi front and 35-36psi rear. Start with 29/29, then measure them mid-session and right when your session is done. Then, drop the hot pressures 1-2 psi at one end (try fronts first) and put some laps on it. If it feels mushy, add pressure back and try it a little above 41. Once you feel good about your fronts, then experiment with the rears in a similar manner.

 

[DrumrBoy]

What Dean said.

The delta (difference between hot and cold pressures) will be different for different tires, but assuming you have normal street tires, shooting for 41 pounds hot sounds right. Also unless its a really cold morning, 29 pounds as a starting point is also good advice.

If your pressures don't come up all the way to 40-42, you'll still have some bite but the sidewalls will scuff. You can see this and adjust accordingly. If you start too high and get to 46+ hot, you'll slide like a hockey puck trying to make turns that a few laps earlier were no problem.

rule of thumb: start low and make small changes to find the right spot for your tires!

 

[GTS Bruce]

Do it the easy way. Set the pressure cold 29 rear and 32 front and go from there. GTS Bruce