JOINDrivers often focus on air temperature when setting tyre pressures, but far fewer consider how track temperature really affects kart tyres. While analysing how tyres behave across different conditions, it became clear that track temperature is one of the most influential — and most misunderstood — factors in karting.
That’s because track temperature drives nearly every part of tyre behaviour: heat build-up, carcass pressure rise, chemical grip, hysteresis, rim heat transfer, even rubber layer greasiness. And the way track temperature behaves is far from obvious.
Here’s what every driver should know.
1. Track Temperature Is Not Air Temperature
Pavement is almost always hotter than ambient temperatures. Track temperature is driven by:
- solar load
- asphalt colour
- binder composition
- amount of rubber on the surface
Your tyre doesn’t care about the air. It cares about the surface it is in contact with all the time.
This is why track temperature affects kart tyres more than air temperature — and why drivers often misjudge pressures by a wide margin.
But it is important to remember that while a working tyre responds to pavement temperature, ambient temperature still influences how the air inside the tyre expands. This is especially important when amplified by dark-coloured tyres metallic rims that absorb additional heat. All of this is carefully studied and accounted for in Tyre Pressure Tool 2.0.
2. Why Some Tracks Heat Up Faster Than Others
Different circuits heat in radically different ways, and this alone will change grip and pressure rise.
Asphalt Colour & Rubbering
Dark mixes absorb more heat. Grey mixes heat slower. Coarse aggregates retain heat longer. Heavy rubbering also traps heat, raising pavement temperature even by 10–20°C and accelerating pressure rise.
Moisture Levels
Humid or oily surfaces heat slowly but cool slowly too, shifting the operating window.
This is why modelling track-temperature evolution was essential for Tyre Pressure Tool 2.0.
3. How Track Temperature Changes Tyre Behaviour
Rim Heating & Pressure Rise
Hot asphalt heats the rim, which heats the tyre’s internal air. Pressure rises faster on hotter pavement.
Hysteresis & Mechanical Grip
Heat increases carcass flex and hysteresis. The compound softens and sticks more to the line.
Chemical Grip & Compound Degradation
Heat accelerates how rubber smears onto the track, improving bite until the rubber layer overheats and becomes greasy. High pavement temperatures also increase wear, tearing and late-race drop-off.
Conclusion
Track temperature shapes everything your tyres do: how fast they switch on, how quickly pressures rise, and how the rubber layer behaves. Air temperature is only one input — the real story is in the asphalt.
These principles guided the development of Tyre Pressure Tool 2.0, where pavement temperature, surface behaviour and tyre physics merge into a model that predicts how your kart will feel on any circuit.
