The Importance of Tire Temperatures

In the course of testing the handling of a car, use tire temperatures and driver feel to make adjustments. It is critical to monitor tire temperatures often. They offer valuable clues to the setup of the car. The areas of adjustment that tire temperatures are used for include: tire pressure, camber, body roll, shock settings, wheel width and transient handling response.


Troubleshooting Tire Temperatures

All tires too hot
Compound too soft for track and ambient temperature conditions.

Front tires too hot
Understeer
Front tire pressures too low.

Rear tires too hot
Oversteer
Rear tire pressures too low.

Inside edges too hot
Too much body roll
Too much negative camber or too much toe-out.

Outside edges too hot
Too much body roll
Too little negative camber, too little toe-out or too much toe-in or wheel width too narrow for tire width.

Center of tread too hot
Tire pressure too high.

Edges on too hot
Tire pressure too low.

All tires too cold
Compound too hard for track and ambient temperature conditions or car not being driven to limit.

Front tires too cold
Inadequate load on front tires.

Rear tires too cold
Inadequate load on rear tires.