Tire Degradation Calculator
Model lap time degradation over a tire stint. Compare compound choices and find the optimal stint length that balances tire wear against pit stop time loss.
Inputs
Results
Average Lap Time
90.96 sec
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Fresh Tire Lap Time, Degradation per Lap, and Stint Length.
- Set Tire Compound.
- Review the Average Lap Time (sec) result.
- Use Last Lap Time (sec) and Total Time Lost (sec) to inform your decision.
- Use the chart to visualize the results and explore different scenarios by adjusting inputs.
How the result changes with Fresh Tire Lap Time
| Fresh Tire Lap Time | Average Lap Time |
|---|---|
| 69 | 69.96 sec |
| 217 | 217.96 sec |
| 394 | 394.96 sec |
| 541 | 541.96 sec |
What each input means
- Fresh Tire Lap Time
- Lap time on new tires at the start of a stint. Use your best out-lap after a pit stop.
- Degradation per Lap
- Base time lost per lap due to tire wear. Measured from practice stint data (before compound adjustment).
- Stint Length
- Number of laps planned for this stint. Compare against the calculated optimal length.
- Tire Compound
- 0 = Hard (0.7x degradation), 1 = Medium (1.0x), 2 = Soft (1.5x degradation rate).
What each result means
- Average Lap Time
- Mean lap time over the entire stint accounting for degradation.
- Last Lap Time
- Projected lap time on the final lap of the stint.
- Total Time Lost
- Cumulative time lost versus running every lap on fresh tires.
- Optimal Stint Length
- Recommended stint length that minimizes total race time (assumes ~25s pit delta).
- Crossover Lap
- Lap number where cumulative tire loss exceeds a pit stop time penalty.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersFresh Tire Lap Time = 90, Degradation per Lap = 0.08, Stint Length = 25, Tire Compound = 1 = 4 input(s) provided
- Calculate Average Lap TimeAverage Lap Time90.96 = 90.96
- Calculate Last Lap TimeLast Lap Time91.92 = 91.92
- Calculate Total Time LostTotal Time Lost24 = 24
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.
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