Cold weather tire pressure

[Mopar-man]

On a 2006 SRT with factory run-flats what is the best tire pressure for cold weather storage?

 

[Racer Robbie]

FACTORY CALLS FOR 29 PSI ALL AROUND.

THIS IS WHAT I FOUND TO WORK BEST

PSI = STREET TRACK
ZP = 30 PSI 32 PSI
ZP = 30 PSI 32 PSI

 

[Leslie]

what about when it's -10 degrees?

hehe

it's kinda cold here in Northern IN right now

 

[Yellow32]

FACTORY CALLS FOR 29 PSI ALL AROUND.

THIS IS WHAT I FOUND TO WORK BEST

PSI = STREET TRACK
ZP = 30 PSI 32 PSI
ZP = 30 PSI 32 PSI

In my experience and opinion:

29 is DANGEROUS in ANY application, don't do it with ZeroPressure(RunFlats) (speaking of Vipers only here)

min for ZP is 32psi cold, any application. The "29" recommended by the factory is at best misguided and at worst criminal. There is not enough flex in the ZP sidewalls to prevent 'driving on rails' that 29psi encourages.

For the track in the dry and below 50F I would go for 36psi cold.

For the track in the dry and above 50F I would go for 34psi cold.

For the track in the wet (any temp) I would start at 36psi (theory: tire does not heat up as well with the evaporative cooling wet provides) and check at the end of the session, if the tires are not at 41psi I would crank up the cold pressure so the tires are at 41psi at end of a session. Note: We are talking about ZP tires at the track, if you are really racing (VRL) you most likely will not be using ZPs. The tire pressure settings I am referring to are from actual experience with my SRT-10.

Of course the question at hand is for storage, put the car on jack stands and it doesn't matter what the tire pressure is or put them at 34psi to help prevent deformation of the tire while it sits up for a long time.

-J

 

[Mopar-man]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Racer Robbie]

Yellow is quite correct that the best way to store any car is with all 4 wheels off the ground as this does not cause a set in the suspension. At the track we do this between events. The tire pressures I posted above were provided to me by Luke, Tire Rack. They worked good for me when I was running ZP tires up here in New England. Outside temperature and road temperature makes a big difference too.

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Pretty complex question - Tire temperature is critical to max grip. In cold weather grip drops as the tire compound gets harder. On the street as the temperature drops so will grip so adjust the gas and brake application to the temperature. Road surface is another critical element to consider. Our big tires start to act like a flat bottom boat as the compound gets colder.

On the track the tire pressure will change depending on how hard the tires work, ambient temperature, etc.

Bottom line take it very easy when the tires or weather is cold.

 

[MikeR]

I disagree with Yellow's statemenets. First off, the runflats ****. But with that being said, they work better in my opinion with around 29-32lbs. They grip well around the racetrack with less pressure. They launch better at the drag strip with less pressure.

On the street, if you run 32lbs and up, the car seesm to track better over grooves, but I still would rather have grip. I run 29-30lbs year round but will be switching out to PS2's soon and will then have to re-test. Just my .02

 

[Yellow32]

I disagree with Yellow's statemenets. First off, the runflats ****. But with that being said, they work better in my opinion with around 29-32lbs. They grip well around the racetrack with less pressure. They launch better at the drag strip with less pressure.

On the street, if you run 32lbs and up, the car seesm to track better over grooves, but I still would rather have grip. I run 29-30lbs year round but will be switching out to PS2's soon and will then have to re-test. Just my .02

Quarter mile (aka drag strip) driving is a completely different sort of driving...so, that's sort of irrelevant to what I was speaking of.

Here's my full post on tire pressures and why less than 32lbs does not work with ZP tires:

Yellow32's track tire pressure discussion

I'm a 'red group' driver. If you don't drive as aggressively then I can see how you could get away with lower tire pressure.

On the street on a mild day (55F-60F) with agressive driving 29lbs got me squirrely in 3rd at 50mph more than once, just flat out surprising when it first happened.

Unless you are a really skilled driver I would air up your tires to be safe.

-J