Tyre pressure and Servos

[StevepGT3]

Steve ????

Was trying to agree with  Vas  that I too carry a gauge around and that yes he is in fact a Plonker

[withers]

So sounds like I need to use a reliable tool to check my pressure and compare with my local servo to see how accurate the electronic gizmo is!

And I will drop the 40PSI as its just too firm for me. Roads around here are too bumpy!

[StevepGT3]

So sounds like I need to use a reliable tool to check my pressure and compare with my local servo to see how accurate the electronic gizmo is!

And I will drop the 40PSI as its just too firm for me. Roads around here are too bumpy!

I have found that the Digital gauges seem more  resistant to damage and retain their accuracy better 

[Ben C3.o]

Dare I ask whats the PFA recomended PSI for day to day city / SMT driving is?

 

I would be checking with your tyre manufacturer on their recommendations for your car. Give them a call or email and tell them the size tyre you have and the tare weight of the car (listed on your reregistration papers), ask for an everyday pressure and spirited driving pressure.

 

Porsche recommends 29psi in the front and 34psi in the rear of my 911 but that will vary from car to car depending on the tare weight of the car or the GVM (gross vehicle mass), the total weight of the car and all the stuff you carry around with you.

 

Personally I run with 30psi in the front and 34 in the rear but the previous owner ran it with 26psi all round. Sure it was a softer ride but didn't handle as well as it does in corners with the increased PSI.

[Chris-p]

Tyre pressures are a bit like oil. Everyone has a differing opinion. I just reckon it comes down to trial and seeing how the car handles and behaves at different settings. I have done this starting off with the factory specs which for my car were very high and have worked my way down to 32 front and 36 rear. Just try a few different settings and see what you are most comfortable with....

Gauges are an interesting subject. Sounds like your instructor was reading from the same script that mine did 15 or more years ago at the same venue. The modus operandi was to belittle all the paying clients about their lack of knowledge. Found it rather disturbing. They were recommending the pencil gauges back then but really technology has moved well passed that point now. I find the digital on the post machines at servos are pretty accurate but I have a compressor and my trusty Kartech gauge from my kart racing days which has a nice big dial and small increments so I can get the pressure very accurate.

Good thread and found nothing wrong in your description of said instructor

Oh and all this is just my opinion which is probably rubbish anyway :)

[withers]

Thanks Chris.  I was running 32 in the front and 36 rears prior to the course, I'm going to return the car to those pressures this weekend. Was a little kinder on the car.  I don't want a firm ride that then starts making everything in the car rattle! Convertibles rattle enough as it is.

[Niko]

 

I think you have had good and varied advice from everyone there A, just to add my two bits worth.   I have had this gauge for about ten years now and it is great.   I wouldn't go for a pencil gauge at all.   They tend to get crap stuck in them and possibly bent in the blade when it comes out and could stick a bit.   Plus the pesky little markings on them are hard to read for O.F.'s like myself.

 

Also re tyre pressures,  IMHO it all depends on the car your in, your driving style, your comfort/or lack of comfort Vs Better performance (ie 40 LBS vs 32 LBS) No 100% correct answer there.

 

Keeping in mind most car manufactures just want the purchasers of their cars to have a nice comfortable ride, so the recommended pressures from those companies may not correspond with the recommended pressures from the tyre manufacturers for the same vehicle.   It becomes a bit of what Chris says, experiment, experiment experiment,  keeping in mind what your trying to achieve in the drive you are about to undertake at the time.

[Guest Harold]

Pressure does not necessarily remain constant through a given line. Having said that, fair dinkum, the difference in a line that is like 20 meters long versus one that is 17 meters is not measurable.

[withers]

 

I think you have had good and varied advice from everyone there A, just to add my two bits worth.   I have had this gauge for about ten years now and it is great.   I wouldn't go for a pencil gauge at all.   They tend to get crap stuck in them and possibly bent in the blade when it comes out and could stick a bit.   Plus the pesky little markings on them are hard to read for O.F.'s like myself.

 

Also re tyre pressures,  IMHO it all depends on the car your in, your driving style, your comfort/or lack of comfort Vs Better performance (ie 40 LBS vs 32 LBS) No 100% correct answer there.

 

Keeping in mind most car manufactures just want the purchasers of their cars to have a nice comfortable ride, so the recommended pressures from those companies may not correspond with the recommended pressures from the tyre manufacturers for the same vehicle.   It becomes a bit of what Chris says, experiment, experiment experiment,  keeping in mind what your trying to achieve in the drive you are about to undertake at the time.

Thanks Niko. That VDO gauge looks cool!

Since I got the P I've tried a few different tyre pressures. I could really feel the difference with the 40PSI but at the end of the day i don't think I'm experienced enough to really 'feel' the difference in handling.

Hopefully with more training and experience that will come.

I'd never heard of the servos being inaccurate, hence why I asked. And it didn't help that I did not like the instructor terribly explaining these things. I trust PFA'ers far more so.

Oh and nobody here is a plonker - you are all ace