Hot and Tired

by Ray Bryden on July 3rd, 2010

I have always been confused by sim racers who complain about the tire temperatures being meaningless and wrong in iRacing, as I have always had the opposite experience since they tweaked the tire model last year. In fact, I find that reading the tire temperatures is vital when trying to tweak a setup.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, tire temperature is highly transient and tends to spike as the result of high corning loads. Thus the temperatures you observe will depend somewhat on what has happened to the tires the seconds immediately preceding your exit from the track. For instance, a long progression down pit lane at slow speed will cool-off the tire and may reflect the straight-line aspect of camber on the contact patch and resulting heat distribution. So lots of negative camber will show-up as a hotter inner edge tire temperature readings compared to a case where you just finished cornering at high speed, before exiting the track.

Second, a stressful finish will throw-off any meaningful data. So slamming on the brakes to the point of lock-up or spinning-out will negate the useful tire temperature data you were hoping to use to tweak your setup. Similarly, if you brush against a wall or another car, you may have damaged the suspension enough to void the relevance of the tire temperature readings at the end of the run.

And finally, {ooof}

Further proof of iRacing's arrival on the international sports scene: Neil Horan's cameo appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway!

Neil Horan here. Sorry, but Mr Bryden has decided to resume his vacation and invited me to finish off this prophesy. Now where were we – ah yes, tyre temperatures. Well, as you may know I have had the opportunity to cruise down Hangar Straight at full trot and I can tell you the tyres whizzing by are quite hot at that part of the track. Almost as hot as the fires of hell… but I digress. A competitor must take care of his equipment lest he be blind-sided from an opportunist seeking glory or ethereal reward. So take good care of your tyres and be aware of the delicate dance they must perform with the track, not unlike an Irish jig – another topic dear to my heart . . . as you can plainly see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYnh67NffDY

In closing, let me say that iRacing is a wonderful pastime, especially since there are no track marshalls yet who have a tendency to ruin a fun time.

READ THE SPORTING CODE. THE SPORTING CODE IS ALWAYS RIGHT!