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Old 08-05-2008, 04:51 PM   #24 (permalink)
MazdaMatt
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: London, Ontario
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2k2Prot5 - '02 Mazda Protege5
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Testing not required. Find an article about tuning your tire pressures for autocross and you will see that there is definately a "peak grip" pressure and a fall-off on both sides of that pressure. Every car/tire combo is different.

As for higher pressure makes for better grip... nah... higher pressure gives you better road feel and more responsive handling. Ultimate grip is not the same as responsive handling. You will again find that for a car/tire combo, there is a "peak cornering grip pressure". The peak cornering grip and peak braking grip are typically not the same. Usually braking is lower from my experiences in autocross and on race tracks in both my street vehicle and my race car.

Although the methodology may be sound, the test is only good for that pavement with those tires, with that tread life remaining, at that PSI while attached to that vehicle for those road and air temperatures while carrying a driver of that weight... etc etc etc. The effects of everything form your cargo to the age of your shocks is being tested here.
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