MATLAB

TYRE FITTING

Pacejka Magic Formula fitting from TTC/FSAE data. Automated coefficient optimisation with thermal and pressure sensitivity.

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VERTICAL LOAD
Fz (nominal)1140 N

Shows Fy vs. slip angle at 0.5×, 1×, and 1.5× nominal Fz

The Pacejka Magic Formula (MF 5.2/6.1) parameterises tyre force generation as a function of slip ratio κ, slip angle α, vertical load Fz, camber γ, and inflation pressure.

F = D · sin(C · arctan(B·x − E·(B·x − arctan(B·x)))) + Sv(1)

Where B (stiffness), C (shape), D (peak), E (curvature) are each load-dependent polynomials. The fitting process minimises the sum of squared residuals between measured and predicted forces across all load/slip/camber conditions.

D = (pDy1 + pDy2·dfz) · Fz · λμy(2)
Kyα = pKy1 · Fz₀ · sin(pKy4 · arctan(Fz / (pKy2 · Fz₀))) · λKyα(3)

Combined slip uses weighting functions Gxa(α) and Gyk(κ) to couple lateral and longitudinal force generation under simultaneous braking/cornering.

fitting_pipeline.m — Full optimisation loop
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Included with purchase
Setup Guide — How to prepare your TTC data
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Included with purchase
Coefficient extraction walkthrough
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Included with purchase
REF Pacejka, “Tire and Vehicle Dynamics” (3rd ed.) · Calspan TTC Round 9 data format · SAE J2452
MATLABfit_pacejka.m
LOCKED
function [coeffs, rmse] = fit_pacejka(data, tyre_params)
% Automated Pacejka MF5.2 coefficient fitting
% Uses Levenberg-Marquardt with analytical Jacobian
%
% Inputs:  data       - struct: SA, SR, FZ, FY, FX, MZ
%          tyre_params - initial guess struct
%
% Outputs: coeffs - optimised coefficient vector
%          rmse   - fit quality metrics

% Extract test conditions
alpha = data.SA;  % slip angle (deg)
kappa = data.SR;  % slip ratio (-)
Fz    = data.FZ;  % vertical load (N)
Fy_meas = data.FY;

% Initial coefficient vector
x0 = pack_coeffs(tyre_params);

% Levenberg-Marquardt (no toolbox)
lambda = 1e-3;
for iter = 1:200
    [F, J] = pacejka_residual(x0, alpha, kappa, Fz, Fy_meas);
    H = J'*J + lambda*eye(length(x0));
    dx = -H \ (J'*F);
    x_new = x0 + dx;
    % ... convergence check
end

Full source code

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fit_pacejka.mMain fitting engine
MATLAB
pacejka_residual.mResidual + Jacobian function
MATLAB
parse_ttc_csv.mTTC data loader & cleaner
MATLAB
thermal_correction.mTemperature normalisation
MATLAB
pressure_sensitivity.mInflation pressure scaling
MATLAB
export_tir.m.tir file writer
MATLAB
plot_fit_quality.mFit vs. measured overlay plots
MATLAB
example_ttc_fit.mWorked example with sample data
MATLAB
1
Prepare raw data
Export your TTC/FSAE tyre test data as .csv. The parser handles Calspan Round 8/9 formats and MTS Flat-Trac output.
2
Configure tyre model
Set initial guesses in TyreParam.m — nominal load, tyre radius, and which coefficients to fit (pure lat, pure long, combined, aligning).
3
Run the fitter
Execute example_ttc_fit.m. The Levenberg-Marquardt loop converges in ~50-100 iterations. No Optimization Toolbox required.
4
Validate & export
Check fit quality plots, then export to .tir format for use with the GGV, Vehicle Model, and Lap Simulator modules.
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No toolboxes required. All optimisation uses custom solvers — no Optimization Toolbox, no Curve Fitting Toolbox. Works on base MATLAB R2020a+ / Python 3.8+.