Tyre pressures-again.

[HopeImRight]

After I recently got slagged off by some on here about tyre pressures I read everything I can find.

For an upcoming fast loaded trip across france and Spain I have 33 pounds square inch in the front and 36 in the rear. Seems a bit hard to me

According to the label inside my filler flap for my car and tyre size I should have 48 in the rear. That seems a hell of a pressure to me. Is it right? It clearly says 3.3 bar. Would ride a bit harsh wouldn't it? Even at max permitted weight.

Octy 1.9 TDI on 195/65 R15 91H What do you think?

[KenONeill]

48PSI does seem too high to me. If you look at the data on the tyre wall, that will give you the tyre manufacturer's recommendation for maximum cold operating pressure, and IME it's usually somewhere between 36 and 40.

[HopeImRight]

God's truth.

My tyre sidewall says for max load it should be 350 Kpa (whatever that is) or 51 psi.

Hells bells. That would have to be 5 people of 18 stone and luggage full of bullion. Or the thing would bounce all over the road.

This whole pressure business gets sillier. They seem to think you have nothing better to do or anything further to the front of your mind than your blasted tyre pressures. Some sort of compromise clearly needed here. 33/36 seems to fill the bill.

[KenONeill]

I'm honestly surprised by that too. You're right; go too hard on the tyres and you lose control because they bounce instead of deforming over minor irregularities (the ones that are too small to even see properly from the driving seat).

[cjb]

I think my A3 had ridiculously high 'full load' rear pressures specified too. I tried it once and it felt wrong.

[gadgetman]

Works Mondy says 48 on the rears fully laiden (with all my parts etc), and 36 front.

A drop of 1psi on any tyre, and the car feels wrong. Doubled checked with Ford, and they confirm that's right! :eek:

[HopeImRight]

The problem with all this is simply the logistics. So I load up to the gunnels and with 51 in the rears belt off. Perfectly legal when the police check my pressures after a prang. Insurance company happy-ish. Arrive at destination and use car to run around for a week so I have to lower my pressures to be legal. Then with medium load (raise pressures again) set off for home and collect shed load of wine and beer ( visit airline to increase pressure again) and on and on.

My damn tyres will be the most important thing in my life. This is just pie in the sky. Most normal people will aim for a pressure that seems OK for all seasons because they have a normal life to lead.

How many are this obsessed with their tyres?

[GreenMachine1.6]

My old 406 was 35 front and 45 rear fully laden

[brad1.8T]

After I recently got slagged off by some on here about tyre pressures I read everything I can find.

For an upcoming fast loaded trip across france and Spain I have 33 pounds square inch in the front and 36 in the rear. Seems a bit hard to me

According to the label inside my filler flap for my car and tyre size I should have 48 in the rear. That seems a hell of a pressure to me. Is it right? It clearly says 3.3 bar. Would ride a bit harsh wouldn't it? Even at max permitted weight.

Octy 1.9 TDI on 195/65 R15 91H What do you think?

I think the 33psi in the front is too low.

I run 36F/34R for day-to-day driving around town. Have done for the last 10 years (similar size/weight cars) without any adverse tyre wear or problems.

If I was going on holidays with the tin-lids and a shed load of gear I might bump the back up to 36psi or even go 38psi all round but only if the tyres are cold when I fuel up.

Slightly different conditions down here though - we have a lousy 110kmh speed limit (so you might sit on 115kmh) but it's quite hot in summer (30c-40c) so you need the pressure to keep the tyre temps stable.

32/33psi just feels mushy.

[brad1.8T]

The problem with all this is simply the logistics. So I load up to the gunnels and with 51 in the rears belt off. Perfectly legal when the police check my pressures after a prang. Insurance company happy-ish.

How many are this obsessed with their tyres?

Is low tyre pressure or pressures different from the tyre placard a traffic offense or insurance-voiding condition over there?:confused:

Over here, as long as they aren't flat, you're good to go.

[ednmra]

I'm sure mine says 2.2 BAR all round for normal load and just put the rears up to 2.3 or 2.4 for full load (5 people plus full boot). So it's only a case of occasionally putting another 3 or 4 lbs in the rears.

[HopeImRight]

I think 2.2 all round and up to 2.3 or2.4 for a load may be best.

But what a good point from Brad. With that dirty big lump at the front I have often wondered why the rears get more pressure. Is it to do with overhang, leverage or summat.

Very interesting point to have the front higher than the rears.

I'm going to lie down in a dark corner till my head clears and I decide what is best.

Ridiculous.:confused::confused::confused:

Many thanks.

[sms]

i do 2.24 to 2.4 depending really usually sat around 2.35 all round.

[brad1.8T]

But what a good point from Brad. With that dirty big lump at the front I have often wondered why the rears get more pressure. Is it to do with overhang, leverage or summat.

Very interesting point to have the front higher than the rears.

It comes from having owned a Subaru Liberty (Legacy over your way I think).

The extra pressure in the front helps turn-in & reduces understeer.

The "normal" pressure in the rear stops the kids in the back whinging about a harsh ride.

I've experimented with previous cars a fair bit & up to 4 psi greater in the front was worthwhile.

Have only done 4600km in the Skoda since delivery 7 weeks back and am still experimenting to find the best handling/ride/wear compromise. If I ran the recommended 32psi all round the tyres would be full of impact fractures in the sidewalls - it's too low for the goat tracks they call roads in NSW.

[ednmra]

Its interesting to me that for normal or small loads, a front (heavy) engined car does have same pressure advised all round and feels much better balanced like that than other similar layouts I've had before. Even the old Mk1 vRS felt much more front-heavy and understeering than the Mk2 2.0FSI. Perhaps Mk 2 has a good suspension set up?

[iann]

I carry a lot of heavish equipment both in the boot and in the car. My first two sets of rear tyres wore out at around 12,000 miles. I had only inflated them to 35ish. I now run them at 48 and rear tyres seem to be lasting very much longer. Fronts have gone 30,000 miles each time.

[Toneboy]

I use 2.2 bar all round for just me and wife, plus a couple of cases and it seems to ride and handle alright.

[rsbspt]

It is strange. Three VAG body styles on essentially the same chassis, but according to info on various forums, the maker's recommended tyre pressures (normal load) vary considerably:

Octy vRS - 29F 31R

Leon FR - 32F 29R

Golf GTI - 36F 36R

I'm currently running the GTI pressures and liking it...

[sms]

what is 36 in bars?

[KenONeill]

Within the limits of accuracy of pressure guages, bar = PSI / 15, so 2.4 (at car pressures, use 14.7 for wagon tyres).

[mr_awol]

Octy vRS - 29F 31R

Leon FR - 32F 29R

Golf GTI - 36F 36R

Thought my naff fuel economy might be tyre pressure related, and the front left looked a bit squiffy, so i checked them last night. Didnt have the manual and no sticker giving tyre pressures behind the door like it is on most cars, so thought i'd see what the others were, and make sure front left was the same, as surely the dealer would have put them at the right pressure and they cant have dropped that much.

Was distraught to find them all at 29PSI so unsure of what to do just stuck 34 in them all. Looked in manual this mornign to see that the sticker is in the fuel flap for some unknown reason and see that they recommend 2.1 bar - which presumably IS around 29PSI!!!!!!! That seems exceptionally low to me so i think i'll just leave it as is - in any case the manual says about 0.2 bar higher in winter so i'm probably right by Skoda's insanely low recommended pressures anyway.

[bahnstormer vrs]

2.1 bar will be around 30/31psi. 'bar' = atmospheric pressure, which IIRC is 14.5 psi.

Have a look at this thread about vRS tyre pressures;- http://briskoda.net/octavia-ii/tyre-pressures-what-yours/107060/

The consensus of opinion is that 2.35bar (34psi) feels best for ride/handling combination on a vRS with either 225/45 17s or 225/40 18s