Front tire pressure/Reaction time

[Myron Piatek]

Originally Posted by Willyracer

Does the front tire pressure effect your reaction times?
(stock) foot brake racing

If so how much?
Looking for ways to slow the car reaction
to have more constant reaction time
I have to delay my reaction to the last bulb
some i can tell when i am late
Takes me several passes to get where i need
to be. Then the next week i am lost again
and start over

thanks
david

* Get consistent on the tree through practice to establish a baseline that's "comfortable". A practice tree will help and you can usually adjust the "rollout" to be similar to the track. Then you can start making "mechanical" changes with the vehicle, which are "set". Trying to vary your reactions with any consistently is obviously difficult.

* Stage as shallow as possible.

* Go to a taller tire, but watch for fender interference. Then experiment with lower tire pressures, but not below a safe minimum.

* You'll likely slow RT's with bias ply slicks over radials and traction will be more consistent on marginal tracks. Radials tend to be faster with RT's & ET's, but more sensitive to track conditions.

Then there is varying launch RPM and the other suggestions, like staggered front suspension.

As a bonus, more rollout also helps ET!

Some tracks can have slightly different rollouts, but how you see the tree at different tracks (distance, background, etc.) as well as your mood from day to day can also affect overall reaction times.

[djm670]

We used to have three sets of front tires and wheels, three different size and would run the size that gave the right reaction times at a particular track. Never played the fron tire pressure game.

[Willyracer]

I am thankful for all the info and
insight on things to try.
There nothing like the racing community
helping out a competitor
Where else would you find this

Thank You

[GTX JOHN]

The tire height makes a significant difference in reaction time.

5 or 10 Lbs pressure in the tire = very little that I can find.

Maybe if I took the front runners from 40 to 10 it might make a observable
difference. Someone can tell me = I am not going to try it!

My Blood Sugar level makes a lot more difference = Of Course - I am old!

[Jim Caughlin]

I'm not sure of the exact height of the stage beam but as an experiment, I put a 3" tall block in front and behind my 26" tall tire, the measurement at 40 PSI and 10 PSI was exactly the same. Based on that, I think the change in reaction time is a mental thing and not real.

Jim Caughlin
SS 6019

[jamie2370]

[QUOTE=GTX JOHN

My Blood Sugar level makes a lot more difference = Of Course - I am old![/QUOTE]

From a fellow diabetic..... yes it does. I keep good check on mine because it makes a HUGE difference in react and driving the stripe.

I check my tires in the morning and thats about it lol. 38frt & 19rear is my bracket tune
Rpms will change react the most, mine is 200 for .010 up to a certain point