Tyres At 34psi Handle Way Better Than At 30/32psi...

[ytareh]

I know this mightnt seem like a massive revelation seeing as 34 is the recommended pressure but if you are like me maybe you thought 30-32 was a 'good enough' all round value for many small cars ,in fact 30 might have seemed the MOST youd put in a small hatchback.And the tyres are quite small and its a light car and high pressures are more likely to skid in the rain ,snow etc etc .In fact if you put 34psi in a few months ago cold weather will probably mean you have 30psi now anyway ....

Well I upped the psi to 34 to see if it had any measurable effect on mpg and was very pleasantly surprised at how much better the car handled -and got an extra mpg or two!

The sidewalls feel quite a lot more rigid,there is a lot less 'squirm' under hard cornering and there is hardly any noticeable extra sliding /skidding worth mentioning.

I remember on an (unaccompanied!) test drive of the car a couple of years ago being horrified at how the car was an absolute squeal fest around tight roundabouts with the 155s screeching like banshees even if the general handling was fine, the grip was pathetic .

The Bridgestones are far better than the 'eco' Continentals and are not more than 1-2 mpg heavier on fuel -if even .

(In advance of replies from a certain irritating class of internet forum member :

1 Of course all the driving mentioned above was done on a private road

and

2 tests show that the very vast majority of motorists have their tyres at the incorrect pressure)

oh , and God help us ...!

3 I know the Bridgestones will produce more CO2 per km ...

A certain 'supersaint' chastised me the last time I posted here commenting on the over eagerness of the ABS by replying that I shouldnt be activating the ABS on the public highway ...

[adilmon]

I agree with you. I routinely over inflate by 2 or 3 psi because;

- it's less likely to be below recommended pressure on a cold morning

- You loose 1 psi when removing the air hose from the tyre valve

- improves handling response when loaded with passengers

- buffeting effect of cross winds is reduced

Over inflating by more than 3 psi and the steering will become too sensitive to small inputs (a safety issue at motor speeds) and the ride will be jittery.

[zakelwe]

Depends on the tyres and width, with 35psi on my Yokohama's the front end washes out to easily compared to 30-31.

Even on the standard tyres you are always going to trade off traction against handling by varying the pressures. Having said that it's not as if the Aygo has 300bhp.

I once pumped up the front tyres on my Maestro 1.3LX on a faulty garage airpump and when I drove the car felt like it had powersteering it was so light. Checking them later at a good pump I had 55 in one and 57 in the other. Oh the joys of being young and clueless..... :D

Regards

Old and almost clueless Andy

[Leeky]

Interesting, i'll go and pump up my tyres today and see what difference it makes :)

[Unklian]

Mornin'

I noticed my first set of front tyres rubbed off more on the shoulders than the centre.

(Only slightly, 1 - 1.5mm)

I too decided to run my tyres at 34 Front / 32 Rear because of this.

I did this to improve the wear pattern but the handling / traction seemed fine with both pressures.

Ian.

[gordonh]

The biggest problem is the accuracy of the tyre pressure guages, there is no way to confirm that whatever you are measuring the pressure with as actually correct. You often find that they will all vary by about 2-3 psi at least.

Also you don't 'loose 1 psi when removing the hose' most of that escaping air is whats in the line rather than whats in the tyre, and it all varies depending on what sort of pump you are using.

[Wild west Drifter]

I always keep one of the Keychain type pressure Gauges in the car and regardless of where they are pumped up I check using this one gauge so at least it is consistant.

34 F 33 R I have found this covers my driving style well, but will be changing back to the wider tyres in a couple of weeks.

[zakelwe]

Just as an aside I don't use garages anymore, I use one of these

http://www.carbibles.com/productreviews_mi...ininflator.html

found it very good indeed. Not sure about his experiences with it over heating after doing 4 tyres, I have never found that. Maybe he lives in the Arizona desert and pumped them up from 0 ? Just adding 3 or 4 lb per tyre causes no problems in the UK. It's a lot less hassle than using a foot pump but does take longer.

Regards

Andy

[Unklian]

Just as an aside I don't use garages anymore, I use one of these

http://www.carbibles.com/productreviews_mi...ininflator.html

found it very good indeed. Not sure about his experiences with it over heating after doing 4 tyres, I have never found that. Maybe he lives in the Arizona desert and pumped them up from 0 ? Just adding 3 or 4 lb per tyre causes no problems in the UK. It's a lot less hassle than using a foot pump but does take longer.

Regards

Andy

Hi Everybody.

I bought one of

THESE

Seems to do the job well, good accuracy according to reviewers.

Ian.