Your Tyre Pressure

[OMG.JAI xD]

I use 36 - At a drive safe course they told me that manufacturers tell u to use 32 in order to optimise noise and traction and therfore safety. 36 is for maximum traction, but not as great comfort.

edit: this is for my 16x6.5 inch wheels running 205/55/R16 tyres

You actually get less traction with high pressures.

Higher pressures doesnt mean the tyre sits on the road with more force.
It basically raises the tyre.
You have less contact with higher pressures.

And my proof of this, is. When you have a 4wd or atv on sand. You dont pump your tyres to max pressure. It will just dig down into the sand.
You run low pressures, so you have more contact width, hence more traction.

Its not very safe pumping tyres to that high, unless stated by manufacturer.
Put into consideration that the air we pump into the tyres arent 100% oxygen.
And that air mixture in the tyre heats up. Anything that is heated expands.
If you have 36psi cold. Youll end up with at least 38-40 psi at Normal Operating Temperature.
Last thing you want is your tyres popping when youre on the highway overtaking somone at 110kmh+.

[curtis265]

You actually get less traction with high pressures.

Higher pressures doesnt mean the tyre sits on the road with more force.
It basically raises the tyre.
You have less contact with higher pressures.

And my proof of this, is. When you have a 4wd or atv on sand. You dont pump your tyres to max pressure. It will just dig down into the sand.
You run low pressures, so you have more contact width, hence more traction.

Its not very safe pumping tyres to that high, unless stated by manufacturer.
Put into consideration that the air we pump into the tyres arent 100% oxygen.
And that air mixture in the tyre heats up. Anything that is heated expands.
If you have 36psi cold. Youll end up with at least 38-40 psi at Normal Operating Temperature.
Last thing you want is your tyres popping when youre on the highway overtaking somone at 110kmh+.

A lower pressure makes the cross section of the tyre 'w' shaped, whereas the 36 makes it a squarish U shape... supposively.

I need to try this myself i guess.

your tyre will not ever pop at 40 psi (heated)

[FallenAngel]

A lower pressure makes the cross section of the tyre 'w' shaped, whereas the 36 makes it a squarish U shape... supposively.

I need to try this myself i guess.

your tyre will not ever pop at 40 psi (heated)

Sorry have to go against taht lol. Had my stocks on 40 hot with 5 people in the car on a road trip and the rear left popped.

[sirdistik]

lol.. probably cos you had 5 ppl in it. i guess having 5 ppl in the car would put more pressure on the tyres itself, so it'd be >40PSI .. we'll that's my logic.. correct me if i'm wrong

[FallenAngel]

lol.. probably cos you had 5 ppl in it. i guess having 5 ppl in the car would put more pressure on the tyres itself, so it'd be >40PSI .. we'll that's my logic.. correct me if i'm wrong

Yes although technically he said 40psi heated he did mention weight. English is a bitch and can be argued but anyways its not a big fuss -_-

[curtis265]

Sorry have to go against taht lol. Had my stocks on 40 hot with 5 people in the car on a road trip and the rear left popped.

how old were your tyres? were they slightly damaged? of course, any sort of scratch or something with a thinning effect will weaken the tyre significantly

[FallenAngel]

how old were your tyres? were they slightly damaged? of course, any sort of scratch or something with a thinning effect will weaken the tyre significantly

10000kms approx.

It just literally split to the thread.

[OMG.JAI xD]

A lower pressure makes the cross section of the tyre 'w' shaped, whereas the 36 makes it a squarish U shape... supposively.

I need to try this myself i guess.

your tyre will not ever pop at 40 psi (heated)

Put into consideration every car is placed with negative camber.
A "U" shaped tire will have more contact on which ever side is being leaned towards the camber.

With a "W" type. You have room for wheel contact point as the wheel turns.

And a "W" cross section is only valid to a certain degree where youre under inflating the tyre.

Also put into consideration of centrifugal force.
If a wheel is spinning. The air pressure in the tyre will be diverted away from the rim or in other words, more biased towards the tread of the wheel.
Eventually. Going on a fast enough speed (60kmh lets say) that W turns into a U cross section with a better width contact.
You inflate a tyre with a high pressure, that U cross section will only get sharper.

If you want to test which is better.
Go on a wet track. Test with 40 psi and test with 20 psi.
Test it with the same car. In this case. A front wheel drive. And evaluate at what speeds the car understeers and how fast it can recover.