tire management

  • Thread starter Thread starter saimike
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saimike

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i didn't quite find info on tire management, which i feel is an important aspect of racing. so i thought i'd ask.

what are some of the tire management strategies/tactics employed by folks? in terms of:

- endurance races and multi-lap races where tire condition is factored in
- choice of tires
- how you drive on the course (driving line, braking point, accel, etc)
- pitting strategy
- equipment/tuning (suspension, aerodynamics, NOS, brake balance, etc)
- FR, FF, 4WD, RR, MR

thanks!
 
basicly because there isnt much strategy needed with tires or pitting in gt4. The Tire wear system is very very basic and simple.

You dont have to worry about tires overheating and blowing
you dont have to worry about tires blowing period. :P
 
on the contrary, i think there's definitely some strategy here. perhaps not tires blowing but mainly in terms of tire wear and traction. here's some of my thoughts:

- choice of tires
if i know its a x-lap race, should i get a tire that lasts all x-laps or should i get 1 that lasts half as long and pit in the middle?

- how you drive on the course (driving line, braking point, accel, etc)
given the choice of tires, should i go all out immediately? all the time? or should i try to preserve my traction for instances where i can overtake the competition in corners (late braking etc)?

- pitting strategy
should i pit when my tires are red? yellow? when i'm ahead? when i'm just behind the leader?

- equipment/tuning (suspension, aerodynamics, NOS, brake balance, etc)
amongst other things ... harder rear springs, for instance, wears out the rear tires more. should i soften them?

- FR, FF, 4WD, RR, MR
FR/RR/MR wears out rear tires faster, should i get grippier tires in front to counter uneven wear?
 
un_peacekeeper
go easy on the gas and brakes, don't slam and lock
don't jerk with wheel?
Click to expand...

i did try that, but it seems that you really need to be extremely easy on the gas/brakes to see any effects. then again perhaps i'm just a bad driver ...
 
Obviously avoid wheelspin and sliding. Make sure you aren't turning the wheel too far, causing the tires to slide instead of guide the car.
 
Depends on the car and the track.

Group C cars seem to work best on most tracks when they have a softer front than the rear. (Example: medium front, hard rear). But on La Sarthe, I'd use a much harder rear than the front.

4wd cars work best with harder fronts than rears.

I don't use FF cars, but I'd say a rather tough front tire is very important.

FR race cars seem to work well for me with the same tires on front and rear.

You also have to take into account how the car's handling changes with different combinations.

Sure my 900+ horsepower Jaguar XJR-9 race car lasts a long time with that super hard rear tire, but if it's paired with a soft front, you'll get super-oversteer.

Don't forget that tire setup depents a lot on the track and your driving style. Find what suits you best.
 
I don't think there is enough advantage from taking softer tyres and pitting over taking harder tyres and finishing. If a set of tyres can stretch too the end of the race, I'll take them. The pitstops are just to long for the softer tyres to be faster.

For tyre wear, I'l usually go fairly hard for the first couple of laps, then take it easy once a gap has opened up. Brake earlier so I don't have to brake as hard, on the throttle later so there's no loss of traction, a slower mid-corner speed so there's no over or understeer. I can usually make my tyres last for an extra lap or two.

From there, pit depending on the lap - this means a pit stop every 5-6 laps in some races. Consistent driving results in consitent tyre wear, so you'll need to pit after a certain amount of laps anyway.

Always choose the hardest tyre practical, and a 30sec lead is just as useful as a 2min lead - don't feel the need to drive at 100% all the time.

Also, if you can make the next pitstop without fuel, don't get it. The lighter car will help reduced tyre wear. :)
 
Fuel is the most misunderstood of all factors in GT4. f_chris is right, try not to load any if you don't need it, as it'll slow you down a fraction and cost you in terms of tire wear.

FF cars are difficult to manage in terms of tire wear, because whatever you do, the fronts will wear out long before the rears. I tend to mix fronts with rears one or two sets harder, to give sharper cornering, and I often change fronts WITHOUT changing rears, just to keep that balance. Don't go with a softer rear, as it'll have you understeering everywhere.

On FR cars, strangely, the same type of tire combination is often desirable, harder rears than fronts... as the rears will go red faster, unless you have the TCS set high or you're using B-Spec Bob.
 
I think the pit stops take too long too, to use a softer compound. I have no idea why there is such a big amount of delay in taking out the tire and putting one in. It gets worse when you know you're in a Formula GT car, knowing that they should have 3 guys on each tire (they don't show you the pit stops on the car tho). It takes just as long with a FGT as if it's a closed wheel car, or street car. Pathetic.
 
My tip with the FGT cars is to change up early, 16,000rpm instead of 18,000rpm. You can get a good half lap extra like that (which can be critical).

Being neat and precise helps too. At one of the Le Mans races my first stint was RUBBISH , sliding off left right and centre, spinning, bumping into the AI cars, the works. Next stint I started to get into the groove, put together a bunch of tidy laps and, hey presto, the tyres lasted an extra lap.

I also noticed that Bob was getting more laps from his tyres the further into the race we went, presumably as the power degraded.
 

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