correct AIR PRESSURE
 

Just wanted to ask all pr5-ers what air pressure you keep in your stock 16s?

35

says 32 but you get better MPG with 35
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SILVERSURFER VAPORIZER

exactly what it says in the door jam of the car.

I also use 35 psi at each corner. The 32 Mazda recommends felt a little soft to me when cornering, and 35 tightens it up just enough.

Originally I tried 51 (max) and it felt awesome. But I was afraid over-inflating that much higher than recommended would comprimise the cars abilty to grip the road (especially in the rain) so I lowered it to 42. The ride at 42psi is better than at a lower psi. 35 psi felt a little mushy for me.

51?!?!?! That's insane, man. That's the max pressure of the tire, with NO WEIGHT on it. You're lucky that didn't blow on you.

42 is still too high. You run a serious risk of a blowout, and your tire wear will probably be extreme.

Watch for the center of the tread to be down to balogna skin in a short period of time. 32 is recommended, 35 is fine for a little stiffer feel. But 42? You are seriously compromising everything about the tire - tread life, safety, and GRIP - no matter what your butt-o-meter tells you.

Be careful.

~HH

Oh! I totally didn't think of that! Thanks man, I'm going to bring it down after this. I knew there was a good reason to not go too high in the back of my head... I guess 35 is a good pressure. I had it at that for a few weeks and was pretty comfortable with it.

Thanks again.

what about 195/50 15" tires??? I currently run 35...

Just my opinion and experience, but extra pressure might increase your chances of blowing a bead if you hit something hard. I personally use the recommended pressure in the door jam, 32 psi. Extra pressure might increase mpg, but also increases centreline wear. I think saying the handling is better is a little subjective. I bet it would feel lighter, but I doubt you would find many autox'ers and or track racers (including myself) that would raise their tire pressures. Keep'em low for traction. All the handling in the world don't help if your in the weeds.
:)
Stocker

Good point, in reference to the P5 specifically (low profile 16's) however I believe anywhere from 32 to 35 would be adaquate. As a point of information, on motorcycle tires anyways hot psi is usually 4-5 psi higher than cold. Anyone have a rule of thumb for car tires?

Stocker.

40 psi up front is about enough to keep the dunlop 5000's on the tred while autocrossing. although some people around here (toronto) are finding that running something like 50 for autocross gives a little more 'drift' control ability.

i also just tried the usual 40/36 setup a couple weeks ago with my A520's and i think i will have to up the pressures a bit on the next outing.

please note that these are not street pressures. :) it's probably not great to be driving around at max psi for extended periods. although max psi is not always given with zero weight on the tires, it is usually accompanied by a max load as well. check your mfg specs.

stocker, maybe you were thinking of drag racers who leave their tires all squishy ;)

Thanks for all of the input guys. I am running 35 now and i definatley notce a difference. I think i am sticking with 35 for a while.

Unfortunately my experience here is limited in terms of cars. On the track I run motorcycles. We drop our tire pressures from around 36-40 down to 28-30 because we need to increase the contact patch of the tire. On the street low pressures like that will cause the tire to overheat if run for extended periods. I was assuming it would be the same for cars.

Stocker.

i run 35psi all around too.
whats the -point of having higher pressure in front and lower in back?