View single post by Mark Rosenbaum
 Posted: 06-13-2005 03:17 pm
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Mark Rosenbaum



Joined: 03-12-2005
Location: Kingman, Arizona USA
Posts: 532
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 A tire pressure of 24 psi sounds about right for the bias-ply tires earlier cars might have used, but too low for the radials specified on the JH.  Perhaps this is another case where the shop manual was less than perfectly accurate?  I suspect that the proper pressure would depend on the type and brand of tires, the rubber used and its condition, whether one wanted a soft or sporty ride, the condition of the suspension, and likely several other factors that escape me at the moment.

With the old stiff-sidewall Falken tires my car used to have, I had a somewhat harsh ride with sub-optimum traction at 26 psi.  Things felt 'mushy' with pressures much below 24 psi, and those particular tires were so old that they wouldn't hold anything above 28 psi for more than a few days at a time, so I never really experimented with tire pressure.

The new Sumitomos I recently installed give the car a smoother ride and much better traction than the Falkens.  With these, the steering starts feeling less than perfectly precise below 26 psi, while at 30 psi I get a bit more of a reaction to minor road imperfections than I care for.  There's a reasonable balance at 28 psi, so that's where I'm keeping things, for now.  I expect this may change as I replace worn suspension bits and learn more about the car's various quirks.