Yes, the good ole question. I did a search, and all I found was people argueing over it with no clear advise.


My tires say 44 Psi max. I have the fronts at 40 and the back at 35. Is this a good setup to get traction, esp at the track?

 

NO, to much in my opinion. I run 30 all around. If I go out hunting, I lower the rears to about 20.

On my old race car we only ran 12 in the rears, it had slicks though, not radials.

THe max pressure on the tire is there so you don't overload the tire. I doubt anyone with a 3rd Gen would ever come close to overloading a quality tire.

 

44 PSI is the Max pressure for the tire and not the driving one.
If I was you, try 32 PSI all around. But not what you have now.

 

 

For eveday driving I run 35psi all around.

For the track I run between 19 and 24 in the rear (depending on track conditions) and 38-42 in the front. With the stock suspension and my Kumho's I pull about a 1.78 60' with this setup.


As a side note, the max tire pressures written on the tires is usually for max load. This is most useful in trucks when you're hauling a heavy load, and should not be mistaken for the tire pressure that should be run daily.

 

everyday driving i would say 25-30 maybe a smidge higher if you want, at the track i run my backs at 12 psi on drags, i use to have the backs around 15-18 when i had my radial tires.

 

44 max pressure...consider the effect of heat. Air the tire up to 44psig cold, then drive it (especially on hot pavement during Summer) and you'll exceed 44psig.

 

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as "Max PSI".

There's a Max weight load AT a certain PSI. Like you'll see
2200#@ 35 PSI, or something like that. It's based on the weight of the car, as well as it's contents.

Keep in mind that you can go too low. If there isn't enough air in the tire, the bead won't seal against the rim of the wheel, and if you take a turn too strong, the bead can come loose, and there goes the air.

Tire wear is the only true way to tell. The center of the tire tends to get bigger as speed increases. If you drive on the highway a lot (like me), and if there's too much air in the tire compared to the weight on it, then the center will wear faster. If most of your driving is in the city, and there isn't enough air in the tire, the outside edges will wear faster.

There is no rule of thumb. It all depends on how the car/tire is used. Everyone's PSI requirments are different. Check the wear pattern and maintain the tires at regular intervals (rotate, air pressure, etc.) and they'll last a long time.

 

For best traction all around on a street tire I would run 30 psi. Street tires don't like lowered pressures like drag slicks do. What you want to achieve is to have as much of the rubber as you can contacting the pavement. By lowering the pressure in a street tire the outer edges of the tire will contact the pavement more than the center will causing the center to slightly bow inward. If you drive the car like that for long periods of time you will notice more wear on the outsides than on the inside. If you run too much pressure the center of the tire will grip more that the outers casing the center to bow out and you will notice more wear on the center than on the outside after a while. The best pressure I have found is 30 psi to achieve even wear and grip. The lowest I would go is 25 psi.

 

just EXPERIMENT to see what's best for you


but i'd lower the front ones if i were you; that seems pretty high

 

Thanks guys



40 Psi up front and 30 psi in the back did great for me today

 

i run 40 all around on 225/50z/r16 tires

 

Look on the driver side door (jamb) at the factory stickers, they tell you what the tire pressure should be.

 

40 PSI cold and over inflated once the tires get hot. Another one who can't understand Tire pressure. I can not belive the replies