I just got some new tires on my car and love them. 205/50/15's on the front and 225/50/15's on the rear. My question is they are rated at 44psi instead of the usuall 32psi. I have been running them at 40psi. Is that OK or should I move up or down. I am sure there are other people out there that have similar tires.

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David hotrodfiero@shaw.ca
85GT 2.9 4spd

Boy they must be like your riding with stone wheels with that much preasure. I have 295/50/16 and I keep 31 psi in them,40 or 44 psi seems like that is way over inflated.

you do not need to run the max tire pressure. I run 25 psi in the frt and 32 for the rear.

Pete

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That 44 psi is a maximum you can run the tires. It will wear down the center of the thread quicker than the outside, not to mention the rock hard ride as mentioned above. You also run the risk of a blow out if the car is fully loaded. I run mine at 32 psi front and back.

Running at or near the max. pressure helps a little with gas mileage and will help resist sidewall damage when you hit curbs or big chuck holes. Running too low of pressure can cause damage too. Running at 40 psi should be ok. If you want a little softer ride, dropping down to 35 psi would probably be ok too.

44psi hot max but not required to be at max
if your tyres are 40 cold they may get over 44 HOT way over!!!!

I allways run the fronts softer then the back

play with the tyre pressure untill the car feels right to you, DONOT JUST GO BY a # on the tyre sidewall, try different psi # ,thats THE CHEAPEST WAY TO CHANGE THE CARS FEEL

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Question wonder and be wierd

yep, 28 psi on the front and 33 on the rear... makes the car push (understeer) a lot less...

BTW: if you have lower profile tyres than stock isn't the pressure supposed to be slightly higher to prevent rim damage?

i recall reading a formula to tell how much more pressure you need for lower profiles in 05 aspect ratio increments but old age is setting in an i have forgotten? Anyone know what i'm talking about?

My wifes sidekick has 44 max psi tires and the door sticker says 26 psi. I run 26 psi in them with no problems

I used to run Pirelli tires on my Formula, in stock size. The max rating was 48psi, and I always ran 44-46psi. Anything below 44psi and the tire would wear underinflated. I decided to try Yokohama this spring, and they max at 35psi. Pieces of $hit. I run them at 40psi cold, and they are still too soft in the sidewall. But they aren't showing any signs of overinflation in the tread-wear.

You need to find a tire pressure that is a good compromise for your style of driving and tire-wear. I would try 40psi for a while and see what you think.

I run 32 psi in my rear Dunlop Sport 8000's P245/50ZR-15 (the recommend max is 44 psi)
these tires only have a wear rating of 200. First set I ran them with 44 psi and like someone mentioned they wore quickly in the centers !! My last set wore evenly all the way across, which you want with these tires because they sure don't last long !! Just got a new set couple weeks ago. I run Dunlop SP Sport A2 on the front stock size P205/60R-15 90H . (wear rating 420AA)

WOW thanks for all the replies to this. As for tire wear. I do drive my tires a little ragged. My last set were rated for 32psi and I ran them even the fronts at 35-40psi. I still always managed to wear the outside of the tire first. I have a tendancy to corner hard all the time and when U-Turns are needed, I just crank the wheel and dump the clutch. The car is lowered almost 2" all the way around so the ride is hard to begin with and I can tolerate that. I will however try dropping the presure a bit and see how it does. I was worried about it rolling on the rims if I ran it too low.

found this on a F-1 site

Temperature changes affect air filled tyres by 1 psi for every 10 f change in temperature. That is that a tyre filled to 30 psi on a 70 F day will be 28 psi on a 50 F day or 41 psi if the tyre temperature was operating at 180 F.

remember to check them HOT to see real working temps/pressure reading

btw F56 if your runing 40psi cold on 35 max rated tyre your up near 50psi hot or way tooooo HIGH

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Question wonder and be wierd

[This message has been edited by ray b (edited 10-02-2002).]

I'll have to check the tires after I've heated them up one of these days and see what reading I get.

I've been running them this way since this past spring. I was worried about a blow-out for the first week or two, but a trip to FL and back in July at constant speeds of 90+ mph on the highway didn't reveal any problems. Now I just set 'em and forget 'em. I plan to dump them over the winter and either go back to Pirelli or get different wheel/tire setup. BTW: they are Yokohama H4 tires(205/215, 60 series).

I though that and have read that tire pressure should always be checked and set COLD. And that is what all rating systems are based on.

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David hotrodfiero@shaw.ca
85GT 2.9 4spd

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/tech/0208scc_tires/

This article is from Sport Compact Car.

I personally run my tires at 38psi, which have a max rating of 44psi

quote Originally posted by Phantom Rage: http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/tech/0208scc_tires/ This article is from Sport Compact Car. I personally run my tires at 38psi, which have a max rating of 44psi

Depending on your driving style. If you do mostly freeway driving and stop and go driving. I would run 40 in the back and 35 in the front. I autocross when I can and normally I pump my tires up the night before to around 44 psi on all four corners. This prevents the tire from roll over in severe cornering manuevers. I have rolled the fronts over autocrossing (tire pressure was to low). You hear this thump when the sidewalls hit. There is no more fun than during a flat spin in a corner on dry pavement at 50mph. So if you are an agressive driver and corner hard you may want to increase your tire pressure to accomadate an agressive style. Coure you go thru tires quicker.

You should always check you tire pressures when your tires are cold. I would run your tires at 40 psi as this gives you a even tread wear and a helps reduce the occurance of side wall flex in corners. If you have anymore questions call me