Been wondering about tyre pressure, most cars come witha sticker giving the recomended tyre pressure for the particular car , hot, cold, loaded etc, but how would you decide on the tyre pressure for a modified car, buggy in my case, it's a heluva lot lighter than a beetle so does that mean less pressure, years ago I had a 404 Peugeot but always ran higher than recomended pressur (I was a bit of a rev head, read that as dick head in retrospect) and the extra pressure just made it hang on that bit better and I prefered overstear than hogging into corners with understear. So is there a formula for this sorta thing, vehicle mass, tire size / width etc.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
Hi
Start off with 20 psi in front and 28 in the rear and see how it feels.
I run these pressures in all my bugs with 17 inch wheels and low profile tyres.
Steve
20 and 28 is what i have been running successfully in VW's ever since we started putting radials in place of the cross plies. Les
wow... I must be a high pressure fan. I run at least 30 all round. usually about 36 is what i go for...
We found anything above 20 & 28 made them too light in the steering and unpredictable.Some may not agree but this is what we found to be successful. les
so you would even run Dion's 225's with 20lbs in the front??
Futue te ipsum!!!
grumble wrote:We found anything above 20 & 28 made them too light in the steering and unpredictable.Some may not agree but this is what we found to be successful. les
I find all cars unpredictable at the best of times... hahahah.
Nah, at the dealership where i was training to become a tech, all the techs put in high-ishh number pressures (maz 2 32psi all round, mazda 6 38/36psi) So... I guess i have just run with that.
Bizarre wrote:so you would even run Dion's 225's with 20lbs in the front??
they are 195s now but with the 205s i had before i was running 24 up front with 28 at the back. no idea whats in them atm?
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
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grumble wrote:We found anything above 20 & 28 made them too light in the steering and unpredictable.Some may not agree but this is what we found to be successful. les
I've noticed that with cross winds on the highway, the steering is so light anyway, you need only 18-20psi in the front, otherwise you loose what little feeling there is in the steering and wheels.
have not felt any difference in the steering with 20 or 30 in the back.
This is off topic but I find it helps to keep the tank full of petrol, don't let it go under half a tank.
--------------------------
Kind Regards
Des
donn wrote:Been wondering about tyre pressure, most cars come witha sticker giving the recomended tyre pressure for the particular car , hot, cold, loaded etc, but how would you decide on the tyre pressure for a modified car, buggy in my case, it's a heluva lot lighter than a beetle so does that mean less pressure, years ago I had a 404 Peugeot but always ran higher than recomended pressur (I was a bit of a rev head, read that as dick head in retrospect) and the extra pressure just made it hang on that bit better and I prefered overstear than hogging into corners with understear. So is there a formula for this sorta thing, vehicle mass, tire size / width etc.
I run 20 PSI front and 30 PSI Rear
regardless of tyre sizes...
VW recommends 18 PSI Front and 27 PSI Rear...
with 1 person - 2 or 5 people... same
I have heard of people putting heaps in the front..
but I can lock up My front wheels very easily with 20 PSI
so, with 30.. it would be dangerous...
Many people carry heaps of tools and spares and trolley jacks all in the front...
and probably a tank of fuel helps..
or a bag of cement.... lol
LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
grumble wrote:We found anything above 20 & 28 made them too light in the steering and unpredictable.Some may not agree but this is what we found to be successful. les
Hmmm. that probably explains the skipping I get up front when I push it a bit hard into a corner.
🤪I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
I mainly find 32ish works well, as i said above. however, In the rain is a bit different. Especailly If im transporting food..... er.... not good. Darn fun, but not safe.
colonel mustard wrote:wow... I must be a high pressure fan. I run at least 30 all round. usually about 36 is what i go for...
Fark me jason u still got any teeth left???
im with Steve i always run 20 front and 30 in the back
even with my big 18s it still gripped in all conditions like a 14y/o boy with a stick mag
I do. all of them... appart from the Wisdoms that came out a month ago.... maybe thats the issue.
Iv never had my fronts lock up thugh.... Dunno what the Go is with that. Just got Squealy L brakes.... ewwww.
probably missing the anti squeel shims
mine were ear pearcing for a while as last time i put new pads in i left them out
wont be doing that agian
We run 32 all round on our 68 and 72. No handling problems or locking up issues. Standard suspension/wheels etc and ride is still comfortable. I run 36 in my daily drive car that has 50/55 profiles on and 32 in the new beetle.
Yogie
donn.
You say in your case you have a buggy, so I suggest the following pressures.
15 psi front and 20 psi rear, or thereabouts, if you have 195 fronts and 225 or thereabouts rear passenger type tyres.
I ran 10 psi front on my buggy which had fairly stiff sidewall tyres, until I got a softer sidewall set of tyres and then ran 15 psi.
If your rear tyres are Light Truck big fat 4WD tyres get rid of them as no matter what the tyre pressures it will feel as if you are driving on bricks. They are much too strong and inflexible for such a light vehicle as a buggy. One of them could probably legally and safely support the whole buggy. Read the specification on the sidewall.
Radial tyres must have a small bulge at the bottom to operate correctly and safely.
Let your tyres down until the bulge is the same size as you will find on other cars.
The Manx SR has 195 fronts and 205 rears, weighs 850 kg and I am running 15 psi front and 20 psi rear at the moment. Experience may change that, but not by much.
wow, I used to run at least 35psi all round... maybe that's why it would lockup the fronts when the road was damp....
Is it ok to run the tyres at 20-25psi even though the tyre manufacturers say you should run them at higher pressures?
...and Robert's ya father's brother...
oval TOFU wrote:wow, I used to run at least 35psi all round... maybe that's why it would lockup the fronts when the road was damp....
Is it ok to run the tyres at 20-25psi even though the tyre manufacturers say you should run them at higher pressures?
YES
My sticker says Half : Front: 16 Rear: 24
FULL: Front:17 Rear: 26
Full means fully loaded...
these would have been for NON Radial ply tyres..
so 18 and 28 for radials. approx..
or 20 and 30 for highway running...
LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
Thanks for the advice fellas, shaihulud I'm running Kellys 195 65 14s' on the front (no real reason for these just got them cheap off a bloke who was changing all 4 tyres on his car and these 2 were like new) on the rear I'm running 235 60 14s' (Hancook by choice) although they havn't realy been on the road yet, hopefully this weekend. My buggy is not your typical buggy, dumped and other than for that basicaly standard, I jest likes it that way, probably the real reason I bought it as that is the way the bloke I bought it off built it, looks like I'd better buy a preasure gauge and start experimenting.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
oval TOFU wrote:Is it ok to run the tyres at 20-25psi even though the tyre manufacturers say you should run them at higher pressures?
Hi
The tyre manufacturers recommend a maximum pressure, you should put in what you need below that figure
Steve
Hi
David and I are running a track/training day at Marulen tomorrow with Rudi, Boris and Dave.
In Davids car we usually run 20 in the front and 28 in the rear, in preparation for the track day I put the pressures up to 32 front and 36 rear, it now rides like a skateboard, cant wait to let them down again.
Davids out partying again, he said he will sleep all the way down, gone to see the Porkers at Annadale pub.
Steve
I still run the same pressures for track use as I did in early '60s. As the Beetle was also my daily - driver back then, the pressures were the same for the road. These are ;- F 18psi, R 22psi. Always set the pressures COLD.
This may seem a bit low to some, but don't forget this is a very light car! Trial and error - ideally without serious error - is the way to find what suits you best
Perhaps I should have a re-think, with all this 'global warming' stuff around, eh!
Cheers, Greg
I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!
Hi Greg
I wonder if air still has the same specific gravity that it used to have, your talking about 1960s air there, perhaps theirs a market for getting original air from old tyres and recycling it? LOL
Had a great day at Marulen, Club Vee Dub are going to organise a day down there, were going to sort out dates etc.
Steve
Geez Steve, can I go? Promise not to use 'old air' in the tyres! I suppose that I should join Club Vee Dub.
Cheers, Greg
I'd rather wear a Beetle out by racing it than by polishing it!
Hi Greg
When we sort the date I will let you know, your more than welcome.
Steve
Cani come too, i wanna join but cant drive to meetings etc, is there some sort of membership for that.
