Drag Strip Tire Pressure - ELI5
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Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 203
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From: United States
04 E55
Drag Strip Tire Pressure - ELI5
So here in the north east it is getting to be that time of year again. Last year was our first with the wagon and we struggled to launch it a bit. This year we are making some more HP and surely more torque and it has me asking a few questions about tires.
With the AWD in these cars, I have never got but a mild chirp with traction control off on a well prepped track. So I have a few questions....
1. In the early season when the air is dense and the temps are relatively cool does running your snow tire have an advantage of grip? Of course once the temps are much above 60* this is not really an option.
2. What type of air pressure adjustment do people make? DO you over inflate the fronts to try and skinny them up a bit and deflate the rears to give them more surface area?
3. Lastly...do you avoid the water box or is there any sense in trying to get the tires to spin at all?
Sorry for the 101 type questions but we have not been to the track since the hooligan pedal got a little more lively.
With the AWD in these cars, I have never got but a mild chirp with traction control off on a well prepped track. So I have a few questions....
1. In the early season when the air is dense and the temps are relatively cool does running your snow tire have an advantage of grip? Of course once the temps are much above 60* this is not really an option.
2. What type of air pressure adjustment do people make? DO you over inflate the fronts to try and skinny them up a bit and deflate the rears to give them more surface area?
3. Lastly...do you avoid the water box or is there any sense in trying to get the tires to spin at all?
Sorry for the 101 type questions but we have not been to the track since the hooligan pedal got a little more lively.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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'03 E55, Range Rover Sport Supercharged, Ducati 748R
Since you can't really do a burnout with awd and you're running street tires, imho, avoiding the water box is all you need to worry about at this level.
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Joined: Mar 2017
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2014 e63
Exactly. Going through the box is just going to make you slower by getting the tires wet. If you're not spinning at all, no reason to mess with your tire pressure either. Just make sure the tires aren't completely cold.
