I got a bit of a shock when I checked the tyre pressures last night. I hadn't thought to check them since taking delivery of the car 3 months ago as I had assumed they would have been set to what I considered to be the normal mode of driving (i.e without 5 people in the car and a full load) when I picked the car up but when I tested the pressures they nearly jumped of the scale of my tyre pressure checker! - they appear to have set to full load. Is this the norm?

Anyway I have now reduced the tyres all round for 2 people and a light load. Will I get better mpg with reduced pressure? I expect the ride to be a bit less hard.

In my experience new cars are always delivered with over-inflated tyres. Maybe it's because the manufacturers would be liable if the tyres were originally at the right settings but had lost pressure since, leading to an accident.

The first thing I do on taking possession of a new car is to check the pressures - our Octy 2 was at 2.6 bar all round....

Same as mine - you would think they would check it out on the day the customer picks up the car.

I still use 2.2 bar - rarely have full load but if I do and am going any distance I stick another 2 or 3 lbs in the rears.

Just to add to the "same thing" I just checked mine on new car... (should always check the tyre pressures when they are "cold" ie not at a garage after a long journey ) - On my new car the pressures were at the maximum for a fully laden car which is how the dealer had left them at delivery. I will reset them to the light load setting (as per the label inside the fuel filler door) but it's easy enough to "experiment" until you find compromise which gives you the best ride and handling for the type of motoring you do. Glad I'm not the only person who thought the dealer was expecting me to set of with a fully laden car from new :-)

My tyre pressures were stupidly high on my car when I got it, even though the dealer knew I'd be the only one in the car most of the time.

I should have checked them the day after collection, but waited for 3 weeks and they were still sky high.....so that was that sorted.

Still can't figure out why I've had one wheel bearing replaced after 700 miles and another one is on its way out after 3000....:confused:

This tyre pressure checking thing is very important - my friends think I'm a nerd because I do it every week, first thing in morning when tyres cold. Yesterday, one rear down to 1.8 bar. Whenever that happens I can almost guarantee there is a lump of ironmongery stuck in it somewhere. Found two!! Off to Kwikfit today - luckily both seem repairable.

BTW when putting my spare on [also an alloy thankfully] I noticed my book only gives wheelbolt torque in NM. Of course. S-d's Law, my torque wrench only reads in ft. lbs. Internet gives a good conversion table. For Octy 2 Steel and Alloy Wheels, bolts need 120 NM, which apparently is just about 88 to 89 ft lbs.

I run my Elegance Estate some 2 PSI lower all round than that reccomended on the filler cap as it seems to give a quieter and less jarring ride even if it does cost a little extra fuel to do so.