Tire Pressure w/Pilot Sport Cups?

[nsxfast]

Hey guys,

I was just wondering what the ideal tire pressure was for a 91' NSX running pilot sport cups? I just had some put on (used to have Kumho R compounds) and went to the track and couldn;t seem to find a happy medium between very high pressure and too low pressure. I believe the fronts are 225 x 17" and the rears are 275 x 17", but not positive. Is there anywhere to do a search for this, b/c i tried and came up pretty empty. Thanks for your help.

P.S. I usually run our M3 track car at about 32-34 psi hot (just for reference)

Jack

 

[nsxtasy]

The Tire Rack has a complete web page describing the "Care and Feeding of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup". It says:

Tire Pressure Recommendations

Pilot Sport Cup tires generally provide their best performance when running somewhat lower tire pressures than other brands of DOT-legal competition tires. The guidelines presented below are for relatively light vehicles; heavier vehicles will require additional inflation pressure.

General Guidelines for inflation pressure are as follows:

Road Use: Vehicle's placard pressures.

Road Racing/Drivers Schools/Track Events: Typically 25-28 psi cold rising to a target of 32-36 psi hot.

Autocross/Solo II/Solo I: Typically target of 32-36 psi hot. Autocross applications will need to start at higher cold inflation pressures due to the decreased tire pressure gain experienced during autocross events (compared to road racing).

Damp/Wet Track/Course Conditions: For both autocross and track use in heavy wet conditions (lots of water down on the course), increasing tire pressures as much as 6-10 psi hot above what would normally be run in dry conditions may be necessary for best efficiency. For "damp" conditions (course is wet, but no standing water), pressures at or slightly higher than the high end of dry-track recommendations will likely be most efficient. Car setup and driving style in the wet is very important, so some experimentation may be in order.

 

[nsxfast]

Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for, now I just feel like I am a little "slow" for not looking there in the first place. Thanks again


Jack

 

[nsxfast]

By the way, NSXtasy--Where do you do most of your driving? Have you ever been down to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet? I have a black '91 hardtop, and even with all the different cars down there, I have never seen another NSX....and i kinda like it like that.:biggrin:

Jack

 

[nsxtasy]

I have not been to Autobahn yet, although I'm always interested in trying new tracks and I've driven on 25 different tracks, including most of the tracks in the Midwest. I do a lot of my track events with BMW CCA, which doesn't go there, and with CGI, which only goes to GingerMan. I'm sure I'll get the opportunity at some point.

My next track event is the last weekend in August at Putnam Park with Windy City Chapter BMW CCA.

I'm using the Toyo RA-1 on my NSX (except for some Yokohama A032R rears that I'm trying to use up before swapping over to the Toyos).

 

[VBNSX]

...The guidelines presented below are for relatively light vehicles; heavier vehicles will require additional inflation pressure...

Good stuff... just to classify though, the nsx @ ~3000 lbs. is considered a heavier vehicle.

x

 

[nsxnut]

Hey guys,

I was just wondering what the ideal tire pressure was for a 91' NSX running pilot sport cups? I just had some put on (used to have Kumho R compounds) and went to the track and couldn;t seem to find a happy medium between very high pressure and too low pressure. I believe the fronts are 225 x 17" and the rears are 275 x 17", but not positive. Is there anywhere to do a search for this, b/c i tried and came up pretty empty. Thanks for your help.

P.S. I usually run our M3 track car at about 32-34 psi hot (just for reference)

Jack

The last time I was at the track I used a probe type pyrometer and this is what I came up with.

Track Thunder Hill
Air temp ~100-104
Front 225/45/17 28 psi
Back 285/30/18 33 psi

I run a fair amount of camber 3.1 ft Ft 2.6 Back 1/16 total toe front and back. 10 Deg caster

The outside and center were same temp. Inside edge warmer due to camber.
Car seem to have alot of grip.
Hope this helps..



Later,
Don