Tire pressure?

Takes a little experimenting to find optimum psi for your set-up. I'm on 185x60x15 - 5.5" Fuch re-pop running 22 front, 26 rear.

I am with Jim on this one.  I think I am running the same as he is.  Works really well to have a little less in front for cornering.  As I have wrote before, I also have 2 bags for 25lbs shot on each side of the battery for added weight up there.

Stephen 

I do 25psi  all around

The original VW suspension was designed long before there were low profile, radial tires. The design assumed there would be a lot of flex in the tall sidewalls of the skinny tires fitted.

Getting that flex in the tires most of us run means lower pressures than we'd use in our modern cars. I think VS recommends 22/28 front/rear for 185/60's on 5.5" rims. That's what I've been running lately.

I've tried higher pressures all around, and the ride was much harsher with no noticeable handling benefits.

I run the same as Jim - sometimes a coupla pounds lower bit usually 22 front 24-26 rear

DOH!

Gordon, I got this set-up from you! Sooooo, actually I run the same as Gordon! 

I was running 24F- 31R with the torsion bar suspension it seemed to work well 5.5 front and 7 inch rear rim size Yoko's 15inch .(  185-65 205-60 rear, ) 

The front on these cars are not very heavy and any washboard type of road makes it difficult to not lock the wheels on braking not to mention getting the front to bounce. 

Thank you, I'll try the 22F and 24-26R for a start

Gary

That's OK, Jim.....If Chris is driving the car I have to bump them up to 24F-28 rear just so he won't moan about tire squeal in the corners.....

This is around what I run too.

I find that if I bump up the front tire pressure the car rides on the harsh side.  Higher tire pressure in the rear doesn't seem to affect the quality of the ride, but it does give the rear end a more 'planted' feel.

24-28 here. We load pretty heavy for trips.

Yeah, I used to run my F250 tires at 70 psi on trips, but that is what the label in my door said, anyway.

Interestingly, I have 18" rims on my Nissan Rogue.  I can't remember the tire size (what, you want me to know about new cars, too???) but the door label says to inflate them to 40 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sure, I get really good gas mileage, but now that ALL of the roads around here have God-Awful frost heaves, this thing rides worse than my Pickup!!

I usually run 22-25 in my Spyder. When I load up for Carlisle or any other long trip, I'll run 25-28. Seems to work.

Gordon, my Audi with 245-40-18s runs 39-42, so I hear you. Still rides fairly smooth though. Frost heaves and potholes suck, you really need to stay sharp to avoid them.

Stay sharp?.....Stay SHARP?

Most of the streets around here are now one, constant set of frost heaves.  Heaves so bad that Lane could drive up one side, go airborne at the top, lose a brass thingie and coast down the other side, only to drive a very short while before hitting the next one.

We have one road nearby that my middle grandson, Lucas (named by his Star Wars Dad for "Luke!  I am your Father!" Skywalker) calls the roller coaster road (Go faster, Grampa!)

Just hoping that these silly heaves settle out before bicycle season returns.  Hey!  We set the clocks back forward THIS WEEKEND!   That means that Bike season starts NEXT WEEK!!   Yippee!

Yeah, it starts next week, as long as "it's frackin' still cold out" is OVER!

Calm down Gordo, a fellow named Thor is on the way to visit.  The bike will need to rest a while longer.

When the kids were little and both fit in the back of the S90, there was a road near the house that they called  tickle-de-tummy. They loved to get in and take that ride.  It was on the way to the office, turns out, and I travelled it every day.  Fun little twisty also w/ a few humps and bumps as it descended down to the reservoir.  One day an the way to the office, while leading the way for (or was I following, can't recall) a 240Z I went over said fun bump at around 60, I guess.  The one and only time I went airborne, all wheels up.  Just like Ed's avatar.  Tickle the tummy indeed.

PS, I run about 24 F-26-28 R, as long as we're taking data.

Heh heh..."Lane goes airborne and loses a brass thingie..."

(sigh)

You realize, Lane, you're never going to live this one down...

Those running different tire sizes than stock should really experiment, as it's the total volume of air that supports a certain weight, not just the pressure; a bigger tire that holds a larger amount of air will require less pressure to support the car. When I went to a slightly taller and wider tire on my 4Runner I had to drop tire pressure by about 4 lbs. (from 32 to 28) to get the same ride and wear across the tread back. In my Cal Look bug days, going from a 165-15 to 185/70's on the back also necessitated dropping air pressure by a couple pounds to get the "ride" back, and running 135's on the front required 2 or so more pounds so the car would handle half decently (and I say "half" because those evil little pieces of rubber just weren't enough, even on a bug!).

And of course you realize that the air, per se,  does not support the weight -- that is what the sidewalls are for.  The air just keeps the sidewalls in the right position.  And of course whether or not the sidewalls are curved a bit, or are straighter will affect their vertical stiffness, and so your ride quality, and ultimately how that little patch of tread meets the road, which of course is the main thing.  Just sayin' . . ..

I'm running 18 f and 22 r with 165-15's, which according to what I'm seeing , is a little soft.  I'll experiment with different pressures if I ever get to drive the car again.  Won't be any time soon.

As an aside, about 2 years ago I was going to back out of my garage and before I do I always check the oil , fan belt, carb linkage , wires and obvious stuff. I also take a peek under the car for leaks etc.  I notice that the right rear tire looks a little soft so I checked the air pressure with my gauge which reads 6lbs.  I had picked up a nail and I had to get it fixed. This made me wonder why I bother with the donut spare in the trunk. A can of fix a flat, even if it doesn't give me 20+ lbs would probably give me enough to limp away.  I still carry the spare and a can of fix a flat but maybe when I buy new tires next year I'll use the room in there for other stuff . Maybe.

Check your tire pressure, fuel connections, oil etc before driving after they sit all winter...

And make sure your "brass thingies" are all in place!

You are right, Kelly, technically, the sidewalls support the weight of the car. The type of tires you're running are also a factor. I was simplifying it a little bit. The point is, if your car has bigger shoes you can drop the pressure a wee bit.

I did some rough calculations multiplying sidewall height and section width to get numbers to compare (not the most scientific, I know; if anyone has a better way, please let me know), and found that a 135-15 is almost 1/3 smaller in volume than a 155-15 (stock VW bug size), a 185/60 holds almost the same amount of air, a 185/65 is a little less than 15% larger and a 205/60 is almost 1/3 larger in volume. A 165-15 is about the same size as a 185/65. 

My point is that the numbers correlate what I've experienced.

Al- those numbers are what VW recommended for a "comfortable" around town ride. For best performance, yeah, they need to be a little bit harder.

But Al, they are perfect for Al. He tools around the Cape, barely reaching 55. I think mostly he is going 40-45 or less. So his pressures make sense to me.

So true, Danny. Al can try it or leave them the way they are. It's up to him.

I'm with Al.

When we lived in Rhode Island and toodling around the back roads (like Al on the Cape), I was running 16F and 20R on 205/225's and loved the ride.

Then Chris visited and we took the car out and with him driving it had tire squeal all over the place (accompanied by him giving me the "Hairy Eyeball" on every corner).

After that I bumped them up whenever he drove it and 26F/30R on the track.

Everyone was a happy driver...