The only info I could find was for miatas... Let me know what hot pressures you're targeting for your track civic/integra.

Also, with those target hot pressures, what are you starting off at cold? Thx!

 

I ended up starting cold around 27 and ending up around 36 front 33 rear. I have no idea how optimal this is but car did well enough. Still really interested in hearing what people have had success on, but I guess no one is really running these tires.

 

We used to shoot for 35 hot on our Chumpcar Civic hatchbacks. They would creep up to 40 sometimes depending on the driver and the conditions but we would always set them back down to 35 on pit stops. I think you should be good where you are at with them.

 

Every tire is different.
TP's depend on the track, and weather conditions. hotter i put in less.
i look at how many rights vs lefts. go lower on the TP on the greater number of each turns by a few lbs of max press.
The other side i drop a few lbs less than max.
After the session i measure all immediately. ... should be close to max on each.
You have to play with it.
Make sense?

 

Here's another question, are tire pressures just a mechanism to get to the right tire temperature range? If so, i can just keep the pyrometer in the car and test right after I get off the track and adjust pressures per the tire temps. I presume higher pressures result in hotter tire temps - is that correct?

 

No, higher pressures will result in a net cooler running tire but usually with a higher center temp vs the edges. Pressure is just one component in what temp the tire's going to be, with alignment, driving style, and size all being huge factors. Most radial tires are pretty forgiving with their pressure ranges you can run them at. With a radial, think of air pressure as spring rate- more air being more spring rate.

We were running roughly 32# front and mid 40's rear with our ChumpCar prelude on RS4s. We started the day around 36-38 hot in the front and as we let air out front grip improved. Eventually we got to where we were rolling onto the sidewall too much and stopped there.

 

Is that a good rule of thumb? Aim to get a little sidewall-rollover?

 

I don't think that's necessarily a "rule of thumb," it's just what worked for us in that particular instance. Ideal is a nice even temp spread across the tread of the tire.

 

^This but without going too far and rolling on the sidewall.
You have to carefully monitor the wear on your tires.
You'll be able to noticeably feel the tire roll if you let too much air out.
My method is for me to have equal or close to equal tp's after the session on all 4

 

How are the RS4s holding up with your target pressure? I'm close to exhaustion on tread life with my R888Rs , about 16, 20min sessions, 45 auto X runs. 29-30psi cold on certain days, 32-36psi hot pending on track conditions. Really looking into the RS4s as my next tire or federal 595RR.

 

Holding up great so far. I should mention that I"m at the point in my track education where the tires really aren't the thing holding me back so even though the tires are wearing down, I'm going faster. Point being, maybe ask someone who consistently drives at the limit of the tires, if that makes sense.

 

I'm very confident we can get at least 36 hours of track time out of our RS4s (rotating them of course). They're a fantastic tire.

 

Yes, what these guys said. Every car is different etc.... But what size tire and width wheel are you running? Can get a rough idea on starting point. I've found that larger tires want lower pressures and smaller want higher for the best grip. Of course, tire compound, build, sidewall stiffness, all play a part in optimum pressure.