New tyres - pressure?

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rayonline

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#114030 5-Feb-2013 16:50

Inside the car's petrol door it says front 28 and rear 26. Got some new tyres, GT Radial 228 and the windscreen sticker says 38 for both. What do you guys think?

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Vocus

#756181 5-Feb-2013 16:54

Are they low profile?

rayonline

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#756183 5-Feb-2013 16:57

Nope, same as the ones came with the car (auction) so dunno what they originally had. 205/60R/15. The one we got from the auction was an import but the tyres were pretty newish, we got 2.5yrs out of them, all 4 approx even wear less a bit ... (fronts). But replaced all 4's. Within a 1mm front/rear.

urban

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#756184 5-Feb-2013 16:57

38 is way too hard for a passenger car.

You'd be fine running it at 28psi, you could even run it a tad higher around 30-32 if you prefer a firmer ride.

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

#756188 5-Feb-2013 17:03

Agreed... some low profile tyres need high pressure but no way is that right for normal tyres.

I normally run 32 psi as I find it tightens things up a bit.

Paulthagerous

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#756192 5-Feb-2013 17:15

I run 36 in my low profiles, no way you would want 38 in a standard passenger car. 28 sounds more realistic. Where did you buy them from?

rayonline

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#756194 5-Feb-2013 17:18

Paulhagerous - emailed ya the place.

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Paulthagerous

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#756198 5-Feb-2013 17:28

rayonline: Paulhagerous - emailed ya the place.

Reply sent.

Dairyxox

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#756204 5-Feb-2013 18:03

You should ask the people that sold/fitted the tyres? Im sure they wont mind, and would hardly have to think about it.

rayonline

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#756260 5-Feb-2013 19:58

Cheers all, will call them after Waitangi Day :)
Does feel a bit firmer, dunno how much thou.

A bit off topic, I've seen some cars (maybe euro) that specify a pressure of up to 42 when it's full load ....

qwerty7

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#756294 5-Feb-2013 20:49

Interesting, my car recommends 32 at full load. When I last got new tires they put in 36 psi all round. They also put nitrogen in them though (without me asking). I wonder if nitrogen needs higher pressure? I left mine at 36 because I don't have nitrogen to adjust them.

Edit, nitrogen is indicated by green dust cover caps. (they also threw out my black valve caps and replaced them with these bright green ones indicating nitrogen without my asking)

Bung

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#756308 5-Feb-2013 21:08

The manufacturer's recommended tyre pressure will be a compromise between noise, comfort. handling etc.

Many tyre fitters will go up a couple of pounds ignoring anything not tyre life or handling related.

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alasta

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#756318 5-Feb-2013 21:26

When I bought my car nearly a year ago the tyres had been inflated to 36 psi and the window sticker confirmed that was the correct pressure. However Kia's specification says 32 psi.

At one point I deflated them to 32 psi but noticed a deterioration in fuel economy which improved again when I put them back up to 36 psi.

It's possible that the perceived change in fuel economy was just a placebo effect, but this vehicle is supplied with low rolling resistance tyres in the NZ market so I suspect it's a case of those particular tyres needing to be run at higher pressure in order to get optimum benefit from them. I'll ask the dealer for clarification when I take it in for a service in a couple of months.

Jaxson

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#756334 5-Feb-2013 21:53

alasta: When I bought my car nearly a year ago the tyres had been inflated to 36 psi

This happened to me after we changed tyres recently too.

Ragnor

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#756354 5-Feb-2013 22:21

I got a couple of cheap Supercat 185/65R14 to replace my really badly worn out fronts from Firestone recently, they were pumped up to and they recommended 35psi

They pointed out the wear on my old types (which were some random brand) were mostly on the outer edges and was likely due running too low pressure over time.

trig42

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#756468 6-Feb-2013 10:22

I just got 2 new Bridgestone 215/55/R17 and they pumped them up to 36. He said that was recommended for best economy and wear

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