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Inflation pressure affects every aspect of tire performance. Most tire models, including the Radt/Milliken Nondimensional Tire Model, are restricted to modeling a single inflation pressure at a time. This is a reasonable limitation, in that the Nondimensional model forms an input/output relationship between tire operating conditions and force & moment outputs. Traditional operating conditions are normal load, slip angle, inclination angle, slip ratio and road surface friction coefficient. Tire pressure is more like a tire parameter than a tire operating condition. Since the Nondimensional Tire Model is semi-empirical it does not specifically deal with tire parameters like sidewall height or tread compound. Still, tire pressure is the easiest tire parameter to change, and as the air temperature within the tire varies during use so does the inflation pressure. Thus, it is desirable to incorporate inflation pressure into the Nondimensional Tire Model as an input.

Milliken Research Associates has developed a new simulation tool, named Vehicle Dynamics Simulation-Matlab/Simulink (VD-M/S). Produced for the government's Variable Dynamic Testbed Vehicle (VDTV), VD-M/S is an 18 degree-of-freedom simulation programmed in the Matlab/Simulink environment. It contains a detailed non-linear tire model, kinematic and compliance effects, aerodynamic loadings, etc. as do MRA's other simulation programs. Unique to VD-M/S is its development from Day One as a simulation catered to the inclusion and exploration of active systems within the vehicle.