Best tyre pressures you have found

[m1tch]

Hi all,

Just wondering what others have found with regards to tyre pressures, initially I ran the car a 32psi all round for a bit, I then changed to the OEM specs which were 29psi at the front and 26psi on the rear - the car feels much more planted.

Just wondering if anyone on here had tried out a few different tyre pressure combos on track or in general, I was quite amazed at how much better the handling was with the small drop in pressure.

[Bobr]

I always go with the pressures recommended by the manufacturer.   They will have worked it out properly.

[TomsFocus]

They will have worked it out on a set of tyres that are probably now obsolete using a set weight of people and a set weight of luggage.  They're more guidelines really, if its just one skinny person and no luggage on a different set of tyres the pressures are likely to need adjustment.  

 

What's the standard pressure?  32psi seems a bit high for a small car, I really should mine on the Fez lol.

On track you'd have to let even more air out, but don't go too low on the road, after track this weekend one of my mates forgot to pump his up...popped a sidewall on the road lol!

[m1tch]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

They will have worked it out on a set of tyres that are probably now obsolete using a set weight of people and a set weight of luggage.  They're more guidelines really, if its just one skinny person and no luggage on a different set of tyres the pressures are likely to need adjustment.  

 

What's the standard pressure?  32psi seems a bit high for a small car, I really should mine on the Fez lol.

On track you'd have to let even more air out, but don't go too low on the road, after track this weekend one of my mates forgot to pump his up...popped a sidewall on the road lol!

It states its 29 for the front and 26 for the rear with 1 person in the car, with the car fully loaded I think its something like 31 on the fronts and 42 on the rear!

I know that tyre pressures do make quite a marked difference in performance in terms of grip levels, will just keep with the OEM settings - you can get some little tyre pressure indicators you screw into the valve caps to give you a quick check you are running the correct pressures.

[TomsFocus]

42psi rear?  How bigger passengers can you fit in the back of a Fiesta?  

Yeah that seems a better pressure for it thoughthough, I run 32 all round in the Focus!

[m1tch]

3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

42psi rear?  How bigger passengers can you fit in the back of a Fiesta?  

Yeah that seems a better pressure for it thoughthough, I run 32 all round in the Focus!

Yes - I also got very scared and I think I only pumped it to something like 38 before stopping lol - I am running the 195/50/15s

[shabbagaz]

Just after a bit of advice (I'm still a bit of a numb-nuts!) 

I usually inflate my tyres (195/50 R15) on my 2011 Fiesta to 31 psi on the front and 26 psi on the rear tyres as recommended by Ford. Sometimes I have one passenger with me (no difference) but recently I've had 2/3 passengers on a couple of occasions and the difference in the driving/handling has been noticeable.

Now, for a full 'load' Ford recommend 36 psi for the front and 41 psi for the rear. But some people I know tend to have all the tyres the same PSI.

Just wondering what to do - should I inflate the tyres to what Ford recommend for a full load? Do I go for 'somewhere inbetween'? Or should I do what others do and inflate all 4 tyres to the same psi?

[ayrshiredude]

I have mine 1 PSI above the recommended and I find it doesn't smash over potholes the same.  Also feels more secure as well when driving.

[m1tch]

I know when I got the car I filled it up to 32PSI all the way round, I found that when the rears were dropped to the recommended amount it handled better - might try a few other combos.

[cjay1]

mine set to 34 all round works well for me

[ThaiFiesta]

I run 195/50R16s at 34 front and 32 rear. Seems to be a good compomise.

Much softer rears as per the Ford sticker would add to understeer I think. 

[MPX309]

I have 32 on the fronts and 29 on the rear. . . I dunno, I like it. I don't like them too deflated.

[David73]

7 hours ago, ThaiFiesta said:

I run 195/50R16s at 34 front and 32 rear. Seems to be a good compomise.

Much softer rears as per the Ford sticker would add to understeer I think. 

The opposite. The reason manufacturers suggest raising the rear pressure when loaded is not to guard against the tyres heating up and popping but to control roll oversteer. Good handling fwd cars tend to have higher front than rear. The effect is not intuitive.

Similarly, front/rear anti-roll bar stiffness produces opposite to the expected effect (ie, stiffer front increases understeer). For instance, the classic technique of controlling the waywardness of rear engine cars was very low front/very high rear pressures to try and compensate for a lack of front anti-roll bar the manufacturers didn't fit to keep costs down.

[m1tch]

2 hours ago, David73 said:

The opposite. The reason manufacturers suggest raising the rear pressure when loaded is not to guard against the tyres heating up and popping but to control roll oversteer. Good handling fwd cars tend to have higher front than rear. The effect is not intuitive.

Similarly, front/rear anti-roll bar stiffness produces opposite to the expected effect (ie, stiffer front increases understeer). For instance, the classic technique of controlling the waywardness of rear engine cars was very low front/very high rear pressures to try and compensate for a lack of front anti-roll bar the manufacturers didn't fit to keep costs down.

Agreed, one of the best upgrades on a FWD car is an uprated rear ARB.

[jtalep]

It depends on the size of the tyre in all instances.

I assume Ford and Continental agree on the best pressures for ride, handling,durability and safety so I'd never go more than 1 psi above or below the recommended.  Some people just seem to guess what they think is best, not sure why.