I've done a search of the BBS on this subject and found nothing conclusive, so I'd thought I'd pose the question myself.

I'm in my first week of ownership of a MY99 (haven't stopped grinning yet http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/smile.gif ) and yesterday I thought I'd check the tyre pressures, not because I'd noticed any problems but just to make sure that the already excellent roadholding couldn't be made even better.

On checking the pressures, the fronts were at the 33psi recommended in the handbook, but the rears were at 33psi also (the handbook recommends 28) ! I reduced them to 28psi and went for a little spin. As I'm still running the car in I wasn't able to really extend it so I'm still not sure whether there's any noticable dfference, apart for a slight improvement ride comfort (I think !).

What's the general opinion on the best tyre pressures for the OEM Bridgstone Potenza RE010's on the standard 16in wheels. A lot of my driving is the 10 minute commute to and from work with the occasional blast on motorways and nicer roads http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/wink.gif All opinions gratefully received.

I tend to run all my tyres at the same pressure (I use 35 though) as it dials out some understeer. Admittedly this isn't the best way of doing this, as you are effectively lowering the grip of the rear end (lower pressure = more grip).

Andy

[This message has been edited by AndyG (edited 07-05-99).]

Thanks for the response Andy...I've got a trip up to Leeds tonight so I'll reset the rear pressure to 33 I think and leave it there. I haven't pushed it hard enough to get any over or understeer yet, but I have pushed it harder than my old Celica and it's hung on like a limpet http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/smile.gif Maybe I'll do some experimenting at a quiet roundabout when I get back from Leeds http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/wink.gif

Is there any particular reason why you upped the rear pressure rather than lower the front (or set them both to, say, 31psi) ?

Rasing the tyre pressure can improve the feel and/or handling, but does reduce the overall grip, particularly in wet conditions.

I personally run 35psi on the front and 32/33psi on the rears. I tend to keep the rears a little lower than the fronts (although not as much lower as the recommended pressures) to ensure the back-end doesn't come unstuck before the fronts when "making progress" on public roads.

On this subject can anybody tell me the correct pressures for 205/45/17's. My dealer told me 28 on the front and 30 on the rear, this seems to go against the FAQ advice.

My MY99 arrived from dealer with 40 front and 42 rear !! I only found this out cos grip was non-existent.

I'd always raised pressures slightly on my other cars to get a firmer ride/handling and better fuel consumption. So I set the Scoob to 35/32.

But, changing it back to 33/28 IMO makes the steering lighter (?!!) and the car better.

Incidentally, does anyone know how to get the car to behave like a RWD (like the dealer told me)..I've tried setting the rears high, but nope..can't get the back end out..understeer rules the roost in my camp http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/frown.gif

Easy to get it to handle like a RWD car - just leave the torque split all the way back...oh shucks you don't have a Type R do you http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/smile.gif http://bbs.sidc.co.uk/smile.gif

Hi Lee,

I didn't know how to get the car to oversteer
until Dave at Leda told me to boot the throttle when the car started to understeer on corners/roundabouts.This works very well when you're in second,bit harder in third !!.
I also found it works better on BIG roundabouts,but thats my driving.It goes very quickly from under to over.It took me some time before I had the bottle to try it properly,I couldn't help thinking it would just keep understeering !!!.The guys at Leda really know what they're doing.
Have fun,

Mark.A.

To Lee:
the cars usually come with pressures ~40 because when the car stays still for a long time it is quite bad for the sidewalls and by increasing the pressure the problem is cured as more weight is carried by the middle section of the contacting surface of the tyre. Mine was also overinflated when I got it although I didn't notice it promplty as I was breaking-in the car and wasn't running it much.

Just to answer ColmanC's question, the reason I run 35 all round rather than, say, 31, is that I prefer the "firmer feel", and reduced body roll, that higher pressures bring. It also seems to me that turn in is slightly "sharper".

However, there's no doubt (in my mind) that ultimate grip levels *are* lower with higher pressures, but I don't push it enough on the road to find this a problem.

Andy