ok i did a search and didn't come up anything, so i'd like to see what you guys think. what's the best tire pressure for stock tires and rim under different occaions, like normal driving, best accel, track, etc??? i was at the gas station adding air to my tires and i figured i dont have a good reference at all......

 

I personally inflate the tires as much as 10-15% off the max pressure. Soo.....our max pressure is 41, therefore I keep the tires between 35-37 PSI. Once you change tires the recommended psi wont be 32 anymore, but I'll still use the 10-15% rule on the new treads.

 

I tried running my tires at 35psi and found the car rode too hard for my liking. Then I tried 34psi and thought that was a good compromise and found the ride too harsh still. So, I went to the 32psi OEM recommendation and found it to my liking for ride purposes. If I was to drag race someone I would go up a few psi maybe.

 

thanks for the reply, that brings up another question. if you wanna race someone, should you put in more psi or less psi?

if you put in more psi, the car can probably accelerate better when it's in motion coz' the less contact between tires and the road.

but less psi is probably a good option when you start from rest, coz' it has better grip on the road?

so which is better? i was at the gas station and i decided to put in 36psi (just a wild guess), seems at least i am still within range.

 

Took my ride in for its first 3000 mile oil change (put in Mobile 1 5W30). They checked the air pressure and told me all tires were 40 psi (must've come that way from the factory). I had them drop all four to 35 psi. It's been less than a week and I'm thinking about going back to 40.

 

34 psi for me. To each his own.

BTW - for racing purposes, I'd suggest a few pounds less than normal operating pressure. Just my .02

Jim

 

At the track I lower the front tire pressure (traction) and add some air to the rears (rolling resistance). Don't know if the rears do anything, but lowering the fronts helps a lot.

 

I really do not think that reducing pressure in a radial would give you more traction. I think you should use opitmum pressure to get the largest contact patch. IMO

 

Actually it can. The contact patch of a given tire size is affected by the suspension geometry, and by the tire pressure. In a stock street car, you don't have any adjustability at the track in the suspension, so tire pressure is your main tool.

If the tire pressure starts out too high, the increased pressure from heat buildup will make the tire shape somewhat convex. The contact patch will be narrower with the outer edges of the tire not able to touch the road because the rounded middle has lifted the edges. This tire is said to be too "hard."

If the starting pressure is too low, even after heating up, the tire shape will tend towards being concave. The outer edges under the wheel rims will have firm contact with the road, but the middle will deflect inwards. This minimizes the contact patch in the middle. This tire is said to be too "soft."

The perfect tire will have a contact patch the full width of the tire with an even pressure across the width. This is the condition we're striving for.