What do you guys find is the ideal psi for your tires for cornering? Frount Vs. Back.

 

i like 32/32

and add 1psi per inch over oem size.

i run 34/34 on 18x8 18x10.

lower pressure=more grip... to extent

higher pressure will never give you more grip

for a track low #'s are good..

 

Cool, so the factory sugested PSI is the best then?

 

Cornering when?

I usually run 31-32 (for both front and rear) on the street, and air-up to 36-37 for autocrossing.

 

I just run straight 32 because adjusting them to anything else is a pain in the butt (unless you track the car).

FYI - Honda dealer in Memphis recently inflated my four tires to 36 psi!?

 

I'm basicaly doing some runs on back roads, they are a combinations of some twisys, and strait stretches. I just checked my psi and I was at 36, so I just lowered it to 32 and I'll see how they run later.

 

no for a track low #'s are NOT good.. its the opposite.

heat makes your rubber softer so you will need higher pressure to fill that extra room. You want to minimize tyre roll.

Maybe yoru talkin about a 1/4 mile run where you need the most amount of rubber touching the floor to get the most grip regardless of wether the tyre walls flex or not.

when cornering, you need the most amount of rubber touching the floor without the rubber moving for predictability.

 

You probably won't be able to tell the difference much between the tire pressures if you're not racing. The most aggressive back road driving generally doesn't come close.

Make sure you set your pressures when your tires are at atmospheric temperature. If you drive for a while and check you're pressure while the tires are hot, they'll read higher. Check an hour later, and they'll be lower. Always adjust when the car has been still for an hour minimum.

32 if fine. 36 is fine. You'll get longer life with 32 because the contact patch is larger and you get lower peak localized stresses.

 

There is no magic psi as different climates, driving styles, tire sizes, and suspension setups will all have a major impact. I think alot of people are posting some good info in this thread, but maybe not the full story, so it might be a little misleading:

Rule #1 - you need enough air in the tire to maximize the contact patch on the pavement.
If you have less than optimal psi, your tire will cup under giving less contact under acceleration and braking; and the sidewalls will roll over while cornering.
If you have more than optimal psi, your tire will protrude in the middle (think of it like a sportbike tire) giving a smaller contact patch under accelration and braking and the edges of your tire wont bite under cornering.

Rule #2 - Find a base line for this "maximum contact patch." A good way to do this in an auto-x type situation is to over-inflate the tires slightly and put white shoe polish on the sidewalls (from the wheel up onto the treadblock). Go out, corner hard, and see how much polish you have scuffed off. Keep lowering the pressure until the car uses ALL of the treadblock in cornering but not a mm more.

Rule #3 - Once you have a base line psi figure, then you can fine tune handling by making minor alterations. Car pushing? add some pressure to the rear to make it looser. Car Oversteering? take psi out of the rear for more rear bite or add some psi to the front to open it up. Dont go crazy here, if 1 psi is good, it doesnt mean 5 psi will be.

Rule #4 - Heat - its makes things expand, like air molecules. When your tire heats up, the psi will rise. Keep this in mind

If you want to be really scientific, get an infrared temp guage. Heat should be distributed evenly across the tire. If you are hot on the outside, add pressure. Hot in the center, take pressure out.