Story and Photography by Richard Newton
When you total your expenses at the end of the season you’ll notice that tires are one of your biggest expenses. Tires also make the single largest difference in how well you do at your various events during the season. How about a few tools that will help your tires work better? These tools allow you to collect data. If you assemble a lot of data about your tires the tire companies can give you guidance about changes you might want to make to your car. You spend a lot of money with these companies you might as well get some help in using their tires. The first step is to let them know what your tires are doing on the track.
Pressure Gauge – There are two things we need from a tire pressure gauge. First it needs to be accurate. Next it needs to be reliable. Reliable is more important than accurate. A tire pressure gauge can be off a few pounds and that’s not a big deal. Just so it’s off by a few pounds every single time you use it.
If the readings on your gauge vary by a few pounds every time you check the tire pressure that’s a really bad deal. That’s an unreliable tire gauge. It’s also a bad tire gauge. Throw it away. You can live with small inaccuracies, but you don’t want to keep an unreliable gauge around.
You should always use a gauge that works within the range you use on your car. Pressure gauges are most accurate in the middle of their range. That means if you run 30 lbs of pressure you want a gauge that reads to 60 psi. The other thing to remember is that you’re going to be taking pressure readings when you come off the track. Normally that reading will be around forty lbs. That means most of us need an analog gauge that reads to eighty pounds.
If you’re using a dial gauge make sure that you never peg the needle on the high side. If you do this you’ve just destroyed the inner workings of the gauge. If you need to check your transporter tires use a separate gauge that reads well over whatever pressure you need to check. Never use the racecar gauge to check truck tires.
When you purchase a gauge look for features you might actually use. I like pressure gauges that use a length of hose and a swivel chuck. I also want a bleed-down button on my gauge. This allows me to bleed down to the appropriate pressure. I also like a gauge that will hold a reading once I remove it from the tire valve.
Pyrometer – Are you using your whole tire or are you driving around on the edge of your tires? A pyrometer lets you measure the temperature of the tread.
You want to take three readings on each tire. You also want to start with the tire that gets used the hardest. On most road courses that means the left front. If you drive oval tracks the right front tire is the dominant tire. Always check the dominant tire first.
Once you learn how to take tire temps you need to know what to do with the data. The easiest, and maybe the best, way is to take your readings over to the people who sold you the tires. Ask them what they think about the temps. The tire guys should be your best friends during the weekend. Get to know them and give them good data. Understanding tire temperatures takes a lot of experience. The guys at the tire trailer will look at more tire temperature reading in a day than you’ll see in a whole season. Trust them.
Durometer – When you first bought your tires the rubber was nice and soft. Now the rubber has gotten a little harder. That means you slide around the turns a little more. A Durometer lets you know just how hard your expensive tires have become. Almost all durometers are an analog gauge with a test probe. The durometer is placed firmly against the tire and read immediately. Be very consistent so your readings can be compared to other readings you might take in the future. Temperature will have an impact on the durometer reading. A tire that has been exposed to the sun, or a tire that has just come off the track will have a lower durometer reading that the same tire at ambient temperature.
Tread Depth – Measuring the tread depth can give you an indication of how well your suspension is working. In an ideal world your tire should wear evenly across the tread surface. If you’re getting even wear across the tread surface then you’re getting the entire surface of the tire to the ground. That’s what you want.Humidity Measurement – Most of us park our cars outside during the race weekend. That means the damp evening air can get into your tires. I don’t car if you put helium in your tires moisture can easily penetrate your tires. If you find you have high readings on Sunday morning take your tires over to the tire tent and have them purged.
The idea behind all of these tools is to collect data. The more data you collect the more informed you’ll be. It will also help the tire companies guide you in your set-up decisions. When you show up at the tire tent with some decent data the experts can help you with suspension advice.
If you give the tire people good information they can give you good suggestions. Invest in some good tire tools and you’ll not only be faster but your tires might even last longer. At least that’s the plan.
If you give the tire people good information they can give you good suggestions. Invest in some good tire tools and you’ll not only be faster but your tires might even last longer. At least that’s the plan.
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