Tyre modelling 101
When it comes to tyre models, most people are convinced it’s either impossible, hocus pocus or you need 50 degrees in rocket science to complete the job. None of these preconceptions are true.
After nearly 25 years of doing this professionally, it still blows me away on a daily basis the sheer number of misconceptions out there about what a tyre model is, and what you do with it. While the subject is no trivial matter, there are some key points that race and data / performance engineers can use quite readily. I discuss these at length in the ChassisSim bootcamps and it’s time these insights where shared on a larger scale. This will be the focus of this article.
The central thing to generating the tyre model is nailing the traction circle radius, or D term
Firstly, to set the scene, do not think of tyre models as dictated on high from a supernatural deity. Tyre models are tools to help you understand what is going on with the tyre. As I said in the tyre chapter of, anyone who thinks they have the perfect tyre model needs to be locked up for their own safety. That said, there are some key take aways that can be employed in order to make sense of what the car is doing.
