Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I have 235/40ZR18s on front and 265/35ZR18s on back... ...now one friend is telling me they should be 28psi front and 30psi back... ...where another is saying 38psi and 40psi... ... The last few time I've checked them I've kept all four at 34psi... ...(the new auto air pumps are great for that)...

I'm sick of hearing these two go on and on about what is right... ...so does anyone else know what the should be???...

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/276009-quick-pressure-question/
Share on other sites

Yes the eternal mystery! I know on the track you should set the presures quite high (around 40psi) but on the street (and in the wet) thats a bit much I believe. Especially if you have super hard suspension. Remember the tyres do need to move a bit to absorb bumps etc.

nooo. on the track generally you will be lowering from your street pressure as they will rise with the added loads of track driving.

it's really down to the type of tyre, type of use, manufactures recommendation and personal preference as to what is best on the street.

as a general rule the more pressure you put in the 'sharper' it will feel handling wise. it will feel like it turns better and it will transmit more bumps etc to the cabin. over a certain point though traction will be reduced as the reduced compliance in the tyre means it will loose traction more easily.

less pressure will give you a little more roll and give a nicer ride with less bumps etc transmitted to the cabin. too low though and it will damage tyres sidewalls and will give poor handling and traction,

the trick is to find the sweet spot. I would start at around 30-35psi all round for street driving for most regular radial street tyres. adjust a little up or down within that range and see what you prefer. keep and eye on the wear too.

As you increase the pressure, you will increase the overall stiffness of the tyre, which will contribute to the ability of the tyre to get you around a corner. But, you will also decrease the contact patch area of the tyre. There comes a point where the added stiffness is overcome by the reduced contact patch, and the car no longer likes to go around corners.

If anything, you need higher pressures in the front tyres - this will have the effect of reducing any understeer. For your setup, I would recommend 38 front, 36 rear for general road use. But maybe check what the manufacturer recommends, and then basically ignore it. Add at least 2psi to what the manufacturer recommends, making sure you still have more pressure in the fronts.

In the wet, ADD pressure (about 2psi or so) - what this does is hold the tread in a more open configuration, allowing the tyre to more easily pump the water from beneath the tread.

Thanks guys...

I guess I'll stick with what I've been doing and leave it at 34psi all round... ...Maybe pump the front up a little... ...Both mates agreed that the rear should have a little more in them because they are a wider tyre... ...But you all recommend less in the rear...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Get an inspection camera up there. 
    • Yeah, but look at the margin in viscosity between the 40 and the 60 at 125°C. It is not very large. It is the difference between 7 and 11 cP. Compare that to the viscosity at only 90°C. The viscosity axis is logarithmic. The numbers at 90 are ~15 and ~35. That is about half for the 40 wt oil and <half for the 60. You give up viscosity EXPONENTIALLY as temperature rises. Literally. That is why I declare thicker oil to be a bandaid, and a brittle one at that. Keep the oil temperature under about 110°C and you should be better off.   Having said all of that, which remains true as a general principle, if you have indeed lost enough oil from the sump that the pump was seeing slightly aerated oil, then all bets are off. That would of course cause oil pressure to collapse. And 35 psi is a collapse given what you were doing to the engine. Especially if the oil was that hot and viscosity had also collapsed. And I would put money on rod or main bearings being the source of the any noise that registered as knock. Hydraulic lifters should be able to cope with the hotter oil and lower pressure enough to prvent too much high frequency noise, although I am willing to admit it could be the source.
    • Thanks for the reply mate. Well I really hope its a hose then not engine out job
    • But.... the reason I want to run a 60 weight is so at 125C it has the same viscosity as a 40 weight at 100C. That's the whole reason. If the viscosity changes that much to drop oil pressure from 73psi to 36psi then that's another reason I should be running an oil that mimics the 40 weight at 100C. I have datalogs from the dyno with the oil pressure hitting 73psi at full throttle/high RPM. At the dyno the oil temp was around 100-105C. The pump has a 70psi internal relief spring. It will never go/can't go above 70psi. The GM recommendation of 6psi per 1000rpm is well under that... The oil sensor for logging in LS's is at the valley plate at the back of  the block/rear of where the heads are near the firewall. It's also where the knock sensors are which are notable for 'false knock'. I'm hoping I just didn't have enough oil up top causing some chatter instead of rods being sad (big hopium/copium I know) LS's definitely heat up the oil more than RB's do, the stock vettes for example will hit 300F(150C) in a lap or two and happily track for years and years. This is the same oil cooler that I had when I was in RB land, being the Setrab 25 row oil cooler HEL thing. I did think about putting a fan in there to pull air out more, though I don't know if that will actually help in huge load situations with lots of speed. I think when I had the auto cooler. The leak is where the block runs to the oil cooler lines, the OEM/Dash oil pressure sender is connected at that junction and is what broke. I'm actually quite curious to see how much oil in total capacity is actually left in the engine. As it currently stands I'm waiting on that bush to adapt the sender to it. The sump is still full (?) of oil and the lines and accusump have been drained, but the filter and block are off. I suspect there's maybe less than 1/2 the total capacity there should be in there. I have noticed in the past that topping up oil has improved oil pressure, as reported by the dash sensor. This is all extremely sketchy hence wanting to get it sorted out lol.
×
×
  • Create New...