Tire psi for comfort?
 

okay so I have Pirelli PZERO NERO M&S 245/40/18 on my rims....and America's tire Co. set them at 40psi all around back in Feb when I got them....

it rode fine for months....I would take corners real fast and they handled great too....then a few weeks ago I filled them up at max 51 PSI (heard handling is increased and so is comfort)....and WOW let me tell u...my cornering has increased DRAMATICally...and so has ride comfort...in short, it rides like a dream at 51psi....and when I would go back to the stock 35-40psi that most owners with low pro tires use....my handling is just plain sloppy...and ride comfort is hella sacrificed...

is there a compromise between the two? I know running max psi will increase tire wear...but I know decreasing tire psi will sacrifice handling and comfort....

I've never ran my tires w/ 50+ psi

You should try it...the results are amazing...

anyway, anyone have any bad experiences with tire life at 47-48psi? I'm thinking thats a good compromise between ride comfort/handling and thread life...

What is the maximum PSI on the sidewall? Running a high PSI, benefits fuel economy and tread life if not filled to the maximum, but I question how high PSI improves comfort levels. That may just be the case with low profile tires but is certainly not the case with OEM 60 series tires.

the maximum it says on my sidewall is 51psi....I thought running a high psi promotes less thread life BoBo? At least this is what I heard....ride comfort has significantly increased I know thats for sure...I know cuz i'm on coilovers...anything to slightly improve the ride on my car is noticeable...these things are stiff

When I had my 4th gen with stock sawblades....I would never go above 35psi...there was no point....it rode completely fine at that psi....I'm guessing cuz it has a real thick sidewall already for comfort (60 series)...

My bad, you said before that maximum PSI was 51. I would definitely not run those tires at maximum PSI or tread wear will be adversely affected and perhaps you run a greater chance of a blowout, particularly at higher speeds.

Try running them at 46 PSI, which is 90% of maximum. A tire shop suggested awhile back that I run my OEM Goodyear Eagle RSAs (on sawblades) at 40 PSI as I would experience improved tread wear and fuel economy, at the expense of comfort/ride. The maximum PSI is 44.

I typically ran them at 33 front and 32 back as recommended on the plate in the console. I am presently running them at 35 front and 34 back.

I don't think any tire should be run at that high pressure. As you drive the pressure will go higher from due to the heat of the tires causing a possible blowout. Anyway, I thought more pressure meant a harsher ride. I aired up my tires a few psi this weekend and it felt way stiffer over the usual bumps.
As for better performance with a higher pressure yes it's true, but for comfort...I"m not so sure.

Hmmm...is this the case with all tires? or just high profile tires? I realize maxing out the psi on lets say, a 60 series would be overkill....since it already comes with enuff sidewall for a soft ride as it is....but I do have 40 series tires remember that guys....just wondering what I can do to keep it comfy besides lowering it back down to the typical 35-40psi that I see other low pro users do

I go with 32 all around.

Wouldn't overinflating the tires cause the middle of the tire to wear out faster than the crown? I ran my old 17" Falkens inflated to 40psi and had the tire centres wear down to the wear bars.

50psi is way too much. Your thinking is a bit backwards too. Tires are part of your suspension system (duh) and if you fill them with more air you make the entire tire stiffer so it won't flex as much, therefore giving it less give so it won't absorb the impact of bumps as well. However, you're correct on that you will have better handling. The reason your handling improves is because while making hard turns the sidewalls of your tires flex, and if you have more air in your tires they will be stiffer and not flex as much, thereby giving you more predictable cornering. On the other hand, having less air in your tires will allow the tire to have more give so it will absorb bumps better, but the sidewalls will flex more due to the decreased amount of air in the tire so your handling will suffer. Having less psi increases traction though since the weight of the car compresses the tire more so more of the tire contacts the road. So as you can see, in order to have the best of all worlds you have to make a compromise so I wouldn't recommend running at a relatively low or high pressure but a happy medium between the two. I work for Goodyear as a technician and tire junky and always put between 32-35psi in passenger car tires (most tires for our cars are rated at 44psi, so your tires are a little unique in that they're rated at 51psi and I would be wary of that claim). My BFGoodrich G-force Sports are also rated at 44psi and they seem a little overfilled to me (got them already mounted on my rims in the mail 2 weeks ago) and I'll actually be checking the air pressure tomorrow and decreasing it if necessary

hey thanks for the response...i see you fill them up at 32-35psi...are these low profile tires? meaning 18 or 19 inch rims with 40 or 35 series tires? cuz i already know tall tires (50-60 series) will ride great at low psi such as 32-35....but I definitely give a no no for 32-35 on low pros....

Even with low profiles, I don't think you should be putting in 50 psi's.

I've went through two sets of low pros....my current pirellis and my previous yokohama avs es100...both were horrible at 35psi...i was sliding all over the place when taking corners...I had both tires set to a minimum of 40psi....sometimes 45...

You are running a risk of a blow-out with that much pressure in your tires. Remember, the tires state max pressure. You have to compinsate for heating of the air in the tire, causing the tire pressure to rise. So if you put 51psi in when they are cold. The tire pressure can go up to anywhere between 55 and 60 psi when they heat up.

I have low profiles (235/40/18s). You have to remember that with a low profile tire you'll always be sacrificing comfort for performance. You still always have to go by the max psi rating of the tire plus the standard pressure for the vehicle you will be using them on. For a maxima you'd generally put 32-35psi, and you state your tires are rated at 51psi max, but you never want to fill at the max rating because like others have said you have to take into consideration changes in temperature and driving conditions. You'd be fine with 40psi in your tires but I wouldn't go above that or you will risk a nasty blowout

i didnt read the whole thread but you guys are crazy for running your tires at 51.
pressure that high is for like humongous trucks with alot of weight.

okay just read this ^ correct.

With my tires being 245/35/19, I typically run a pressure of 38 lbs. Seems to be about the perfect balance of comfort and performance out of the 555's.