what temps does rf2 like. The color chart in the monitor? What is optimum? Been struggling to find a guide. Thanks in advance.
color is a bit subjective, but I would call Magenta as the ideal temp. Once you are in the red it is a short drive to yellow and orange. Realize also, especially with 3rd party mods, the ideal temp may not match what S397 is projecting for it's official tire. If you are looking for an exact temp window like ACC, you won't find it.
I generally just ignore the temps , just look at tyre wear after 7 or so laps. see the pattern , are fronts are wearing faster or rear. left side or right side. try to get front and rear wear as equally. some track will have uneven wear left to right, that you will just have to deal with. afaik S397 didn't share any temp window like ACC (kunos) , but as suggested above, you can use motec and figure out this stuff....will take some efforts though.
Tire temps graph is a little bit of a hack similar to delta timer. If with delta timer you can rely a bit to adjust your braking points, then with tire temps you can understand better how/if you overdrive the car real time. As for what temps physics "likes" they all are good depending on which phase of the turn you are at, the best is if you can enter the turn with relatively cool tire surface, and exit turns before overheating them. Also different mods/tires may have different sensitivities to heat and sliding speed for both grip and wear.