Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasChuck
My first time at a track was yesterday. With an instructor, not an event. I put my tires at 39 psi at home cold tires. Temps in the mid 50s. Then when the track's tech checked my car, after us driving there (45 miles) in 60 degree temps, the tires showed 45 psi, and the tech lowered the pressure to 38. Me being a complete novice accepted this. The actual drive time on the track was a lead follow thing, with me following the instructor (he in his car/me in mine). I could feel the softness in the tires. I know in auto X you want the tire harder just to keep them from rolling off the rim when cornering hard. And I felt like I was cornering pretty hard, but of course nothing like a more experienced driver would. So, I'm confused .
Any experienced input will be helpful.
Thanks
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First of all, where did you hear that running 39 psi on cold tires was proper or that tires “roll off the rim when cornering”? I will take a guess that this comes from some forum “expert”.
Remember, advice you receive from someone at the track is almost always better than anything you read on this forum. That track tech was absolutely correct in lowering your tire pressure to 38 psi (he probably wanted to lower it more but did not want to hurt your feelings).
Sure, tires inflated to 45 psi are going to feel stiffer but the tire was not designed to operate at that pressure. You need to relearn what it feels like to drive on tires inflated to 35 psi. Of course there are no hard and fast rules. There may be times when you will need to run such high pressure (such as the Bonneville Salt Flats or tracking on snow tires).