At 33psi my tires are running REALLY hot around 230 degrees! Is their any other setting that can lower this temp down? Is 33psi a optimal pressure? I really want to figure tuning out!
My study shows 31~34 is good range. Outside of that zone the tire grip/response suffers.
In RL, there are things you can do to reduce the tire temperature through tuning but I have low confidence that these are coded into FM5. In my testing, tire pressure changes and suspension stiffness do not affect the tire temperatures . . . AT ALL.
The temperature is hot because you are putting in a lot of energy into them (a lot of power as well as sliding). I have not found a proven method of reducing the tire temperature through tuning.
There are few things you can do about it, however, through the build changes:
- Reduce the vehicle weight (thereby making the tire work less hard)
- Increase the tire width (thereby making the tire work less hard)
- Add race chassis thereby distributing the car weight more evenly front/rear
I have seen many of my cars at 230 but no hotter (unless I’m deliberately spinning the tires or locking them up). It seems like 230 is the hard wired ceiling for these tires . . .
I am running stock compound and tire width. Grip of the the car seems great. Biggest issue I am having is the turn in to the corner. Seems to understeer there but holds the corner well. Again could just be my lack of skill on the track. I am currently in the 2000th place range. Would really like to break top 500!
You’ll get there, keep practicing! What class & track?
B class Mercedes 190e on Alps.
Thanks GRD! I was starting to go a little crazy. 1 part of the tune done! Now to figure out the rest.
Sounds to me your front bump damper setting is too low. If you do change the front bump damper, remember the rear must also be considered so the car is balanced as a whole!
Thanks, I will try this tonight when I get home!
Is that 33Psi a hot pressure or cold? and more importantly are the temperatures equal across the inside-middle-outside, I’ve found that to be more important than the overall temperature, as said above I’ve never really seen them go above 230 unless going mad with wheelspin. If you want better turn-in to the corner try some toe-out at the front but use it sparingly, even a 0.1 change has a noticeable effect on handling, I never go above 0.5.
33 psi hot. Temperatures are pretty close. I did notice at certain times along the track that the LR outside of the tire was anywhere between 6-10 degrees cooler. All other tires were very close. I adjusted the pressure up and I’m pretty sure the temps are good now. All in the 230’s.
33 hot should be fine. You say the outside edge of the left rear is colder on alps? in normal config that seems to be expected, might be running slightly too much negative camber on the rear if that’s the case. Is there anything else about the car that’s not quite there?
EDIT: Just ran a race at Bathurst in the #91 Viper, all tyres were at 33.9Psi and at 230, the inside shoulders were slightly higher but that just confirms my suspicions that I’m running slightly too much camber.
I thought it was strange that is was only the outer edge of one tire that was cooler. Could this be from the tire lifting off the ground a little bit? Other than the corner entry understeer the car handles very well. Doesn’t slide around, seems to hold the corners well. Overall happy with the tune. Maybe I’m missing something with the build. I am about 6-7 seconds off the number 1 car. Could my driving be that bad?
I think the outer edge on one side is cooler because of the nature of alps, as in, there’s more highly loaded corners turning one way than the other so the tyre heating is asymmetric. Try the toe-out and see if that helps the turn in, it should do.
I think mainly it’s practice, the way I usually assess how far away I am from top pace is to do one of the rivals events where the car is fixed, the one on Bathurst against ‘stigs digi cuz’ I found was a good one since it’s a moderately difficult car to drive and there was a lot of people entered. Last time I checked I was 3.5 seconds off the top spot which to me says that if I nail a perfect lap in a race yet someone is more than 2-3 seconds a lap quicker than me then it’s likely the car that’s the problem either because: it doesn’t suit my style/the build sucks/the tune is just wrong/the car is poor in general.
Though I am “new” to tunning myself, I try to shoot for really close to 33.5 when hot, at Alps I might go closer to 34. The outer or inside being colder will be probably be related to your camber settings. Less negative (or more negative camber, depending on inside/outer edge) should get your outer edges closer to mid-temps. I shoot for my temps to be within 5 (or so) degrees Outer/Inner.
When comparing times/standings you should do so over a range of tracks because what mainly splits drivers are their cornering ability. Times on shorter tracks will be closer together in terms of LB times than those of large complex tracks simply because there are more corners to take thus more opportunities to improve a lap time. Just what I believe that’s all.
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Agreed, I think comparing on the stock car events is better though as it removes the variation of tune and build, although there’s a chance the car could favour your style in stock setup i suppose.
Are these events in Rivals?
Oh yeah thats a grear way of comparing drivers on a given track but it’s gauging how much those 2-3 seconds are really worth. They’re worth a hell of a lot more on spa than they are on SS national if you get what I mean. But yeah, same car same track is great for a showdown but not the best for determining a true skill comparison.
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To add to the point I’m making. Highly skilled drivers will adapt their driving style successfully to obtain the time the car is capable of. If the time is in the car it’s there to be taken. 
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Yeah that makes sense, similarly, in racing situations I’ve found myself to be capable of going a lot faster, for example, last night I was racing the GT’s at Road Atlanta, for the first 4 laps I was catching the guys in 1st and 2nd until they both went off on consecutive laps, after that I couldn’t get within 0.5 of my fastest time.
With regards to the time differences, if you convert them to percentages they become relevant regardless of track length, of course there’s still some error but it brings it a lot closer.