Recommened tire pressures for track

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Jun 8, 2017 | 04:20 PM

C7 Pilot

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From: Mission Viejo California

Recommened tire pressures for track

I plan to take my C7 Z51 Corvette to Auto Club Raceway in Fontana in a few days for the first time. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-70s. I'm running stock Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires with about 70% tread left. I've never been to this track before and it's been 8 or 9 years since I been on any track.

My question is, what is the recommended starting tire pressure be when I begin my laps?

Thanks.

Jun 8, 2017 | 10:39 PM

Gearhead Jim

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Jun 8, 2017 | 10:51 PM

Mordeth

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St. Jude Donor '10, '17

You need to establish a target pressure when hot, and many things will influence this. It is also easy to over-complicate things.

But to keep it simple, I would target 35-37psi hot and see how it feels.

This means, depending on the track and temp at the start of the day, you will likely need to start at 28-29psi. At the end of the session, check your tire pressures. Anything above 37psi should be brought down to 35-37psi. You want to avoid a hot pressure of 40psi+ as they will get greasy.

As the day gets warmer, you get faster and the track heats up, you will need to keep watching them after each session. Any tire that is above 37psi should be lowered to 35-37psi.

So I would start the day at 28-29psi and monitor for readings above 37psi hot.

Jun 9, 2017 | 12:26 AM

village idiot

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I aim for 33-34ish hot on street tires. I know Michelin has soft sidewalls, but they're also runflats.

Jun 9, 2017 | 07:05 AM

Poor-sha

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Quote:

Originally Posted by village idiot

I aim for 33-34ish hot on street tires. I know Michelin has soft sidewalls, but they're also runflats.

I believe the owners manual tells you 26-27 cold for track use which has been about right for me. The Michelin's start to fall off at 35 PSI and badly about 37-38. Shoot for 33-34 PSI hot like village idiot says.

Jun 9, 2017 | 08:38 AM

RussM05

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From: Thomas Texas

At Spring Mountain, my car started first thing in the morning at 26 psi cold.

Jun 10, 2017 | 06:07 AM

Stamanti

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Quote:

Originally Posted by RussM05

At Spring Mountain, my car started first thing in the morning at 26 psi cold.

26 psi cold has been the best starting point for me. 28 psi cold was too much on the pilot supersports. I also found that the pilot supersports got greasy after 12-15 min of track time.

i upgraded to pilot spirt cup 2+ and started those at 26 psi cold. This worked better for me. Just monitor tire pressure, feel across each tire for hot spots with your hand if you dont have a tire pyrometer, and keep the pressures equal. If the tires feel hot in the middle of the tread after a run group you have too much pressure. Hot on the edges you have too little pressure. The goal is consistant temp across the width of the tread.

Jun 11, 2017 | 08:31 PM

Citation

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From: Sayre PA

I agree with above. I just spent two days at Lime Rock with my Z51. I started out at 30 psi cold, which got up to 38 hot. I dropped them to 28 cold, that made the car stick better, but I would go lower next time. It depends on how hard you are pushing the corners, but 26 is probably a good place to start.