What Do I Need to Know About Tyre Pressures in iRacing?
Published on May 11, 2025
What Do I Need to Know About Tyre Pressures in iRacing?
Tyres are your only contact with the track — here’s how pressure changes affect them in iRacing.
Tyre pressure is a simple but powerful tuning tool — and iRacing treats it differently than many other sims.
Why Tyre Pressure Matters
Tyre pressure affects:
- Grip
- Tyre wear
- Suspension balance
- Straight-line speed
Even 0.1 psi can change your lap time.
How Tyre Pressures Work in iRacing
- You set cold pressures in the garage
- Heat builds as you drive → hot pressures rise
- Pressure affects grip, ride height, and tyre flex
- The goal is ideal hot pressures, not cold
Effects of Pressure Changes
Higher Pressure:
- Slightly less grip
- Quicker in a straight line
- More reactive handling
Lower Pressure:
- More grip, more flex
- Can overheat or feel squirmy
- More stable and predictable (to a point)
Target Pressure Range
- Hot pressures between 27.5–28.5 psi suit most cars
- Tune cold pressures to hit that after a few laps
How to Tune Pressures
- Drive 3–5 laps
- Check hot pressures in Garage → Summary
- Adjust cold pressures:
- Add psi if hot is too low
- Drop psi if hot is too high
- Repeat!
Tip: Change one axle or one side at a time
Use AiDE for Smarter Setup Tuning
Let AiDE — your AI race engineer — do the hard work.
Tell it what the car feels like, and it handles the rest.
“Too much oversteer mid-corner”
“Takes too long to heat up tyres”
AiDE adjusts tyre pressures (and more).
Summary
Tyre pressures in iRacing are essential to performance. Understanding how cold vs. hot pressures work gives you an edge — or just let AiDE tune it for you.