Compound wear models for racing slicks, trackside engineering, qualifying preparation, and IR sensor rental — all built on a tyre-first approach that gives teams a genuinely different lens on performance.
Understanding tyre grip
The friction circle — your grip budget
The friction circle represents the total grip available from a tyre at any moment. Braking, cornering and acceleration all draw from the same budget — any combination of forces must stay within this circle or the tyre loses grip. The TPT001 compound wear model tells you exactly how large that budget is at any combination of temperature, wear, and stint duration.
Concept — how compound wear shrinks the grip budget
Friction Circle: New Tyre vs. Worn & Overheated Tyre
Each circle shows the total grip available. The outer circle is a new tyre at optimal temperature. The inner circles show how the grip budget shrinks as the tyre wears and overheats during a long stint.
Each circle shows how much grip is available — larger = more. A new tyre at optimal temperature gives 100% of the grip budget. As the compound wears and overheats, the circle shrinks. At 130°C with 100% tread loss after a long stint, only 67% of the original grip is available — the car brakes later, corners slower, and the driver can feel it. The TPT001 model quantifies exactly where you are on this progression at every moment in the session.
Application — how setup changes affect tyre temperature AND wear
Setup Changes: Temperature & Abrasion Effects
Every setup change moves the tyre operating temperature — and through that, it also changes how much the tyre slides, which directly affects mechanical wear (abrasion). A tyre running too hot not only loses grip faster — it also loses rubber faster.
Raises temperature & abrasion ↑
↑ More negative camber → outer edge overloaded, slides more
↓ Lower tyre pressure → more flexing, heat build-up
↑ Stiffer suspension → more impact loading
↑ Later apex / aggressive line → higher cornering slip angle
↑ More brake bias to that axle → more longitudinal slip
↑ Pushing harder than the compound window allows
Lowers temperature & abrasion ↓
↓ Less negative camber → load spread across more of contact patch
↑ Higher tyre pressure → less flexing, lower heat generation
↓ Softer suspension → smaller impact loads
↑ Earlier apex / wider entry → lower cornering slip angle
↓ Less brake bias to that axle → less longitudinal slip
↓ Pacing to stay within compound performance window
Temperature and tyre condition are closely linked. A tyre running too hot can cause accelerated thermal degradation of the compound. A tyre running too cold can cause graining — a surface damage pattern that ruins grip permanently. Both extremes affect mechanical wear and available grip. By placing the tyre in the peak temperature window through setup, you get the best grip and the most predictable, consistent wear behaviour throughout the stint.
TPT001 use case — stint strategy · Real compound model calculation
Full Push vs. 95% Pace — What the Compound Model Predicts
A simplified race scenario: 1-hour stint, 78 laps. Full push runs at 120°C tyre temperature and 1% tread loss per minute. The 95% push runs cooler at 110°C and 0.8% loss per minute. The compound wear model calculates the expected grip — and therefore lap time — at every lap for both strategies.
The full-push car is 0.7 seconds per lap faster at the start — but after lap 31, the compound has degraded so much that it is slower than the 95% car. As the race progresses, the gap grows. By the end of the 1-hour race, the 95% strategy is 10.6 seconds ahead in total race time — without changing the car, without an extra pit stop. The compound wear model calculated this crossover point before the race started, allowing the engineer to set the correct pace target with confidence.
TPT001 use case — qualifying preparation
How to Prepare a Tyre for Maximum Qualifying Performance
The compound wear model reveals something counterintuitive: a tyre that has been run for a short time at a specific temperature actually outperforms a brand-new tyre. This is the "peak window" — and reaching it deliberately is what qualifying preparation is about.
Without preparation
New tyre goes straight onto the circuit. Tyre is cold, compound not yet activated. Grip = 100% of baseline — the best you can do without preparation.
With TPT001 preparation
Run the tyre for ~12 minutes at controlled pace, targeting 100–110°C. Compound enters the peak zone. Grip = 102–104% of baseline — more than a new tyre.
The TPT001 model reveals that certain compounds have a brief window — around 100–110°C and 25–50% abrasion — where they actually outperform their new-tyre value. This happens because tyre manufacturing leaves the compound just below its performance peak to ensure longevity. A preparation run of approximately 12 minutes at controlled pace, targeting 100–110°C, moves the compound into this zone so that when the qualifying flying lap begins, the tyre is already above its baseline performance — something a cold or uncontrolled warm-up run will not achieve.
TPT001 data — tyre at 50% tread loss · 50% of full stint
How Tyre Temperature Affects Grip
This chart shows the friction coefficient (grip) of a racing tyre at the midpoint of its life — 50% tread lost, halfway through a stint — across six different operating temperatures. It illustrates why finding and staying in the right temperature window is so important.
This is the same tyre at different temperatures — the only variable is how hot it is running. At 80°C it has 96% of new-tyre grip: the compound is not yet warm enough. At 110°C it peaks at 102% — the compound is in its optimal state. At 120°C it drops to 93%, and at 130°C it is down to 88%. A tyre that consistently runs 10°C too hot loses approximately 9% of its grip — the equivalent of a significant mechanical setup change — simply because of temperature. This is what IR sensors and setup adjustments are used to control.
The full model
Friction coefficient matrix
The complete three-parameter matrix — temperature, stint duration, and abrasion — combined into a single tool your engineers can use before, during, and after every session.
Rows show temperature bands, each with five stint duration sub-rows (0%–100% of a full stint). Columns show abrasion — how much tread has been lost. Each cell is the expected grip as a percentage of a brand-new tyre.
Models are built specifically for the compound your car runs — not a generic approximation. Delivered in matrix format or as equations ready for your simulation software.
TPT001 output — racing slick compound wear model (illustrative)
Friction Coefficient Matrix
Rows: Temperature × Stint length (% of full stint) · Columns: Abrasion (% tread lost) · Values: % of new-tyre µ
— Abrasion (tread loss) —
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
80°C
0%
100%
97%
96%
92%
83%
25%
99%
96%
95%
91%
82%
50%
99%
96%
95%
91%
82%
75%
97%
94%
93%
90%
81%
100%
95%
92%
92%
88%
79%
90°C
0%
100%
97%
96%
92%
83%
25%
102%
98%
97%
93%
84%
50%
101%
97%
96%
92%
83%
75%
98%
95%
93%
89%
80%
100%
95%
92%
91%
87%
78%
100°C
0%
100%
97%
96%
92%
83%
25%
104%
102%
101%
94%
82%
50%
101%
100%
98%
91%
80%
75%
97%
95%
94%
87%
76%
100%
93%
92%
91%
84%
74%
110°C
0%
100%
97%
96%
92%
83%
25%
103%
104%
102%
96%
81%
50%
101%
102%
100%
94%
79%
75%
96%
97%
95%
89%
75%
100%
92%
93%
91%
86%
72%
120°C
0%
100%
97%
96%
92%
83%
25%
99%
96%
95%
89%
78%
50%
97%
94%
93%
88%
74%
75%
95%
92%
92%
86%
72%
100%
91%
89%
88%
82%
69%
130°C
0%
100%
97%
96%
92%
83%
25%
99%
94%
92%
84%
72%
50%
96%
91%
88%
82%
67%
75%
93%
89%
86%
79%
65%
100%
88%
84%
81%
75%
62%
Above 100% — peak performance window
90–100% of new-tyre baseline
80–90% — degradation zone
Below 80% — critical degradation
How to read: find temperature row, find stint % sub-row, read across to abrasion column. That cell is expected grip. The green cells above 100% at 100–110°C and 25–50% stint are the qualifying preparation target.
What you can do with it
Six ways the model changes decisions
01
Stint strategy
Compare full-push and managed-pace strategies before the race — with lap-by-lap grip predictions from the model, not instinct.
10.6 seconds found over a 1-hour race by managing degradation — no car changes
02
Driving style & raceline
Combined with IR temperature data, the model identifies which corner and raceline causes thermal overload — and quantifies the grip penalty it creates later in the stint.
7°C difference in one corner explained front-right tyre failure late in session
03
Qualifying prep
Identify the preparation run parameters — temperature target, duration, pace — that place the tyre in the above-100% peak window for the flying lap.
Above-baseline grip achievable with correct ~12-minute prep at 100–110°C
04
Endurance strategy
Quantify available grip at every combination of wear state and stint time — making stint extension and pitstop decisions a calculation, not a gamble.
Stint extension viability quantified before the pit window opens
05
Track & event prep
Different track layouts produce different temperature and abrasion profiles. The model shows which region of the matrix your tyre operates in at each event.
High-abrasion vs. high-temperature tracks use different regions of the same model
06
Setup direction
Evaluate setup changes not just by lap time delta, but by their impact on tyre temperature and where the compound sits on the performance curve.
Setup evaluated against compound performance window, not just lap time
Trackside engineering
At the track, tyre-first
TPT works trackside across all engineering roles. The common thread is always the tyre — giving your team a different and complementary lens on vehicle performance. Effective even where large sensor budgets or datasets are not available.
Data Engineer
Processing and interpreting session data with a focus on tyre behaviour. Temperature correlation from IR data, wear rate tracking through the stint, and compound model overlay on lap data to explain what the driver felt.
Performance Engineer
Vehicle setup direction based on tyre feedback and compound model data. Balance, load distribution, and setup development — evaluated through what the tyre compound is actually experiencing.
Race Engineer
Real-time strategy and driver communication. Pit window decisions, tyre management instructions, and pace target management — informed by the compound wear model rather than estimated by feel.
Driver Coach
Feedback and technique development focused on tyre interaction. Raceline optimisation for temperature management — explained with tyre data so the driver understands the why, not just the what.
Get in touch
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