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So I asked ChatGPT to recommend tire pressures for my 255/50-17 tires and...
...I must say I'm impressed.
Me: Assume a 255/50-17 tire on said corvette. Please speculate on the optimum tire pressure for road use as well as a separate pressure to use for track use. Feel free to specify different pressures front and rear if needed.
ChatGPT: The optimum tire pressure for a 255/50-17 tire on a 1971 Corvette will depend on a number of factors, including the specific tire model, driving conditions, and vehicle setup. That being said, I can provide some general guidelines.
For road use, a good starting point for tire pressure would be around 30-32 psi for the front tires and 32-34 psi for the rear tires. This would provide a balance between handling and ride comfort. However, it's important to note that the specific tire manufacturer's recommended tire pressure should always be followed.
For track use, higher tire pressures would generally be used to improve handling and reduce the risk of tire overheating. A good starting point for track use would be around 36-38 psi for the front tires and 38-40 psi for the rear tires. Again, the specific tire manufacturer's recommended tire pressure should always be followed.
It's also worth noting that tire pressure should be adjusted based on factors such as ambient temperature and the weight distribution of the vehicle. For example, if the vehicle is carrying a heavy load or has more weight in the front, slightly higher tire pressures may be needed. Conversely, if the vehicle is lightly loaded or has more weight in the rear, slightly lower tire pressures may be appropriate.
Me:That is a good answer. Why do you recommend a higher rear pressure for this case?
ChatGPT:I recommended a higher rear tire pressure for track use in this case because the Corvette is a rear-wheel drive vehicle with a rear weight bias. This means that under hard acceleration, the weight of the car shifts to the rear, which can cause the rear tires to lose grip and start to spin. By increasing the rear tire pressure, the contact patch of the tire is reduced slightly, which can help to reduce the amount of wheel spin and improve traction. Additionally, a higher rear tire pressure can also help to improve the responsiveness of the car and make it more predictable at the limit of adhesion.
But his last comment makes no sense to me......
How does reducing tire contact patch reduce wheelspin? Impossible. And a Corvette under acceleration makes the tires bite harder.......ask the F.A.S.T. drag guys......the hardest hooking car out there is a Vette, because you are basically planting the tire.....
Yep. I think the reasoning in the last answer is wrong but still impressive. Keep in mind this is ChatGPT-3. Version 4 is supposed to be much better. After that I asked it to size fuel injectors for a specific engine and it went completely off the rails.
But his last comment makes no sense to me......
How does reducing tire contact patch reduce wheelspin? Impossible. And a Corvette under acceleration makes the tires bite harder.......ask the F.A.S.T. drag guys......the hardest hooking car out there is a Vette, because you are basically planting the tire.....
I think the public at large is putting too much credence into the 'intelligence' part of AI. It isn't intelligent, it is simply a compendium of many things that have been posted on line and maybe other sources, i.e. the public domain. It's not a 'he' or 'his reasoning' or anything like that. It chained together information that it found somewhere that seemed verbally connected to the topic asked about. The tech at creating a coherent sentence is quite marvelous but expertise in the subject domain is not part of what ChatGPT does.
For instance on higher rear tire pressure, I did find this:
BMW recommend higher rear tire pressure to reduce oversteer. Oversteer occurs when a car wheel is turned, but the car steers more than intended, increasing the car’s angle as the rear tires skid out. With higher pressure in rear tires, traction is shifted from the front tires to the rear, allowing better overall grip and control of the BMW vehicle.
There's no good way for us to tell how it put its response together but it wasn't through reasoning but instead the result of online searches. We do it all the time for stuff we don't know directly and it isn't hard to come up with contradictory information. It will become deadly simply through misinformation someday, I am surprised it hasn't happened yet. People already drive their cars into lakes and rivers at the behest of some navigation program.
And hey 'zwede', long ago I got thoughtful info from you, thanks for that and this experiment.
________________
postscript: I am literally putting 32 front and 38 rear into my wife's BMW right now for a road trip and this isn't helping.
I have been using Ultra Performance summer tires for many years. Max pressure is generally listed as 51 psi on the side walls. Your door sticker for 32 PSI is 50 years old thinking.
I get the most even ware across the tread at 42-44 psi and I use nitrogen to fill them. So I don't see much change.
You need to test is the only true answer. Start with 42 and just watch where the tire wares. It's the same way with alignment settings. Camber can cause uneven ware from side to center. Toe causes scubbing effect on the tread blocks
Example of one of many things we have today that is progress we don't need. At some point.....progress has gone far enough. I think in many ways,....we are already there. But then again.....people call me, and others like me,.....boomers. And its not meant as a compliment.....its meant to say....hey....the world has passed you by.. My response......be careful what you wish for.....you might not be as wise as you think you are.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Oh the robot is right. Come on guys. Smaller contact patch means more pounds per square inch so it has to have more bite. All the drag racers run their wrinkle walls at 50 psi now a days. Havent you been paying attention. Its all about the ball bearings. You guys must need a refresher. Get me some 30 weight ball bearings and some pliers and we will fix the fetzer valve!!!!
Last edited by Rescue Rogers; 05-17-2023 at 06:00 AM.
05-08-2023, 01:35 PM
So I asked ChatGPT to recommend tire pressures for my 255/50-17 tires and...
