OK, forgive me on my ignorance, but I keep hearing people talk about using a pyrometer to check the temp of their tires during Autocrosses. From my understanding they are doing this to determine if the pressure is correct and to make decisions on whether to increase or decrease pressure. Can someone please explain this process please?

Thanks,

Racing Newbie

 

When you use a pyrometer you measure the temperature of the tire across the tread. Under perfect conditions (correct pressure and camber) the temperature will be even across the tire. Under imperfect camber conditions you will see the outer edge temps higher than the inner edge temps so you want the middle of the tire temperature to be an average of the other two temps; too high and you have too much air, too low/too little air. Temps need to be measured ASAP after coming off the track, they start to even out the longer you wait.

 

Thank you very much for the reply. I will file that away for use next season.