I'm trying to find the correct PSI my tires should be but the link in the FAQ doesn't seem to work:

http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...&postid=2361231

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

I put 34 in the front and 36 in the rear but kinda depend on the type of setup you prefer. I use to run a more aggressive setup but it would wear the center a lot. The stock psi is 32 all around.

 

Although this information is in your car's owner's manual and also printed on a plate in your door jam, a few people think that the OEM 32 psi is too little. Personally, I'm at 35 psi all around. This seems to give me a better tire wear pattern.

 

I have the Fuzion ZRI tires... I had them at 32, raised them to 35... I raised them for increased fuel economy and tire life.

I will however reduce them to 32psi again for autocross... it just felt better at 32.

 

Sorry about that. I will consult the manual next time.

Thanks for the input. I think I'll go with 35psi all around as it appears to give good fuel economy. I do a lot of city driving and I'd like to save on a bit of gas. Thanks again.

T

 

xviper,
Does a lower psi make the tires grip better?

 

[QUOTE=itryan,Sep 1 2004, 03:47 PM] xviper,

 

I put it between 32 and 35 pending what kind of driving I'm doing

 

Actually, the idea is to find the perfect psi where lowering the pressure to enlarge the contact patch will not be overcome by the temperature change. Honestly, 35 to 32 will probably give you better traction at the tire. However, dropping 32 to 28 probably will reduce traction.

 

The response that "freq" gave is correct, but I'd like to add:

Tire pressures as it relates to grip is not a simple formula. Honda deemed that 32 psi was a good compromise between grip, wear, tire stability, tire noise, etc.
If you reduce pressure too much, you begin to increase the load on the outer edges of the tread (and decrease the load in the middle), thus promoting faster wear on the edges. This will also weaken the sidewall to some degree (lateral strength) and cause it to flex more, thus creating more heat. Too little pressure and you will begin to feel the car "wallow" in turns - that spongie feel. Lateral "grip" might improve (to a point) but it won't "feel" as firm once the tire starts to climb up its sidewall in a hard turn.
If you raise pressure too much, you begin to put more of the car's weight on the middle portion of the tread (and less on the edges), thus promoting faster wear in the middle. However, there will be less sidewall flex, less heat buildup. But if the pressure go too high, you begin to make the contact patch "round" as the car rides mostly on the middle and less on the edges. Maximal lateral grip begin to lessen but might "feel" more predictable.
I've found that with 35 psi, the front tires on my car have been wearing very evenly. Since the rears on this car tend to wear on the inside edges anyway, bumping it up to 35 psi helps my tires to wear a bit more evenly toward the center. I still "flip" the rears at the opportune time to try and get a bit more life out of them, but that's 'cause I'm a bit of a cheapskate.