Tire Pressure?

[ClaySlayer]

On my 10k trailer the tires say max pressure 80psi but I'm rarely over 7k so I run 60psi which still gives me 10k worth of capacity according to the load index vs pressure chart I have and the ride is a lot smoother. If I know I'm going to be running around pretty light like just making some trips to the lumber yard I'll run them at 40psi which still gives 8k worth of capacity but you don't need to see a chiropractor after a trip like you would running 80psi and unloaded. It's not a balance issue in my case it's called stiff suspension plus stiff tires plus unloaded trailer that's more prone to flexing means you're gonna feel every crevice in the road. Now granted the vast majority of my trips are 10mi or less and if I was going longer distances I might be more vigilant about running higher pressures like I do on my maxed out single axle (**** you Triton!) boat trailer.

As far as the truck tires go I run 42f/45r (275/55/20) on my 2016 F150 regardless of load unless I'm maxing out my trailer then I might bump it up a little.

 

[N80]

It's not a balance issue in my case it's called stiff suspension plus stiff tires plus unloaded trailer that's more prone to flexing means you're gonna feel every crevice in the road.

Agreed. I'll recheck mine to see if they have been balanced. But, on a smooth road I feel nothing. But, if they have not been balanced I'll probably do it anyway. Can't hurt.

 

[TractorGuy]

Not trying to give advise or claiming to be an expert on the subject but:

I have towed a 3500lb car on my 18', 7500lb capacity trailer for thousands of miles with a 2003 F150. I leave my truck tires at 32 and set my trailer tires at 50. I ran the original set of tires for 9 years without any failures and replaced them with same load range and size tires that came on it. The last haul I did with the old tires I noticed one tire looking bad when I set the pressures so I put the spare on for that trip. Ordered 5 new tires as soon as I got home. None of my trailer tires have been balanced. They bounce a little when cold on an empty trailer but seem to smooth out on the highway.

 

[N80]

Who do you run with? I instruct with NASA SE. Haven't done TT yet. Probably won't ever race WTW.

 

[TractorGuy]

Who do you run with? I instruct with NASA SE. Haven't done TT yet. Probably won't ever race WTW.

Haven't done much of anything in a while but I have run some HPDE with NASA SE at Road Atlanta and Roebling Road. Ran Sebring one time with NASA FL. I have just stuck with HPDE3. I am comfortable there and not in the way. Done a few Advanced PDX events with SCCA.

Here's a few videos.

 

[N80]

Its an addicting (and expensive) hobby. I run 4-5 times a year. I like the auto-x videos. I've never done it but would like to try it sometime. In NASA-SE DE-3 and DE-4 are almost the same since 3 and 4 run together most of the time.

 

[TractorGuy]

I have run autocross since the mid 70s. It's fun but not a particularly good value. Cost of events has gone up to 40-50 bucks for 5 minutes of seat time. Spending $1500 per year on tires and working in the hot sun all day for that little seat time doesn't make a lot of sense to me any more. I still make a few events for the comradery and they usually let me work as starter so I can sit and do that.

I just retired so future events may not be in the budget. Have been debating on selling off all those wheels and tires in my shed.

I built up an old late model to get cost down and only did two track days with it in a years time so I sold it but tires for the Mustang are out of sight.

 

[N80]

I've gotten a lot of wear out of Hankook RS-3s even on my home track (Carolina Motorsports Park) which is really hard on tires. VIR is pretty easy on tires. My biggest expense is brake pads.

I'll put in a plug for instructing: it saves you a lot of money. It also takes the pressure off the weekend since you haven't paid an entry fee. Now, if I feel like going out, I do. If I don't feel like going out, I don't. When I was paying $400 a weekend I felt pressure to be on track every second I could. I went from DE-3 to DE-4. Ran maybe one DE-4 event then took the instructor clinic and haven't paid for a track weekend since then. It has allowed me to continue to do it because like you say, it can be cost prohibitive.

But, you can't do it just for the cost savings. You do have to enjoy instructing and you have to commit to making the weekend worthwhile for your student. I wasn't sure I'd like it but I do. And so far, I have had good students. One of them was a bit irritating (big talker) but no problems in the car.

 

[TractorGuy]

My last autocross I just drove up on my Nitto street tires and street setup and had a good time. Would never do a track day like that but might consider some less expensive tires than I usually run and get up for an outing.

I came across some street performance brake pads that have held up on track without fade and cost $75 for both axles. They are a Kevlar/Metallic compound made by Lomandi, a Canadian company. They require cooling ducts to hold up on track but perform very well on my Mustang. I even put them all the way around on the stock car and they did pretty good but I never drove it above 7/10ths. I had an issue with my cooling ducts coming loose at Sebring one time which is very hard on brakes to begin with. I ripped the ducts off and kept running to find out the pads were wearing much faster even though they didn't exhibit any fade. Wore a set out in 7 sessions and over heated the calipers. Not sure how they would do on a 150+ MPH car but I was touching 145 coming off the back straight at RA and they worked fine for me.

I considered the instructor route early on but didn't think I would feel safe with a total beginner in and unprepared car. Having done so few events lately and reaching medicare age they probably would not allow me in the instructor class now.

My first instructor was a PITA Porsche owner that kept his finger in front of my face pointing out the line all weekend. I learned a lot from him but he didn't do any evaluation at the event and got some points totally wrong when he was pressured to fill out my evaluation at home.

My second event I requested a Corvette or Mustang driver if they had one. Got a great instructor that drove a vette. He signed me off to solo and move to 3 after day 1. Have thoroughly enjoyed all the track days I've done after that.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread but thought you might like to hear my towing experience since it's near your setup.

 

[ClaySlayer]

Agreed. I'll recheck mine to see if they have been balanced. But, on a smooth road I feel nothing. But, if they have not been balanced I'll probably do it anyway. Can't hurt.

Oh yeah, I balance my trailer tires too...and man I've gotten some strange looks from folks over the years when I walked into their tire shop and asked for trailer tires to be balanced. Was more just debunking a lot of the posts that were quick to jump to a balancing issue versus taking all factors into account (high pressure in tires and lightly loaded stiff springs). I didn't feel like cleaning out my truck so I pulled my trailer about 250mi round trip this past Monday to go pickup 1 1/2 cows worth of meat. I used my FEL and sat my 5' bush hog over the axles and chained it down just to load the springs a little and make the ride smoother. LOL!