Tyres, Pressures and stuff like that
Discussion
We covered this a bit a few days ago but outside the Saab forum, so I thought I would bring it "in house".
17" wheels on the Aero - Michelin Pilot Primacy shod. They actually seem to work rather well as far as grip and stuff are concerned. Comfort and noise hugely influenced by the road surface though.
Last week I paid attention to the pressures for the first time since picking it up. I have checked the pressures before but not compared to the manual, on the basis that the dealer may know a thing or two.
So they were running about 27ish psi F&R. The book says 36F and 35R (from memory. Whatever, a large difference.)
So I upped the pressures and ... well, very much faster and responsive handling and not much additional harshness of ride quality. In fact in some situations the suspension seems to be work better than it did in the comfort stakes.
What experiences have the rest of you had?
17" wheels on the Aero - Michelin Pilot Primacy shod. They actually seem to work rather well as far as grip and stuff are concerned. Comfort and noise hugely influenced by the road surface though.
Last week I paid attention to the pressures for the first time since picking it up. I have checked the pressures before but not compared to the manual, on the basis that the dealer may know a thing or two.
So they were running about 27ish psi F&R. The book says 36F and 35R (from memory. Whatever, a large difference.)
So I upped the pressures and ... well, very much faster and responsive handling and not much additional harshness of ride quality. In fact in some situations the suspension seems to be work better than it did in the comfort stakes.
What experiences have the rest of you had?
matt_t16 said:
I run 33psi front/back road and 38psi on the track. Increasing the tyre pressure will stiffen the sidewall and result in more steering feedback with less 'slop' however its a fine line so don't go too far!
Matt
Running on mostly local roads for the last couple of days does seem to have shown up some extra harshness in ride quality that I had not noticed when I first adjusted, so time to check the pressures again and maybe drop them a couple of pounds. Sounds like a job for Saturday!
I'll bear the track pressure in mind for next year!
I had half planned a track session last Sunday but things sort of didn't quite work out. It was a nice dry sunny afternoon for a change as well!
I run 225/45/17 at 36psi all round (Aero estate) seems fine. Handling does get a little woolier when the pressures are run lower.
I don't want to stir up a Hornet's Nest but ' what brand of tyres do you use and why? '
'Is there a cost efficient grippy tyre out there?'
The car does mainly dual carriageway and Motorway work but I do like a car of this weight and power to be gripping well in the lanes as well.
I don't want to stir up a Hornet's Nest but ' what brand of tyres do you use and why? '
'Is there a cost efficient grippy tyre out there?'
The car does mainly dual carriageway and Motorway work but I do like a car of this weight and power to be gripping well in the lanes as well.
Stu 9-5 said:
I run 225/45/17 at 36psi all round (Aero estate) seems fine. Handling does get a little woolier when the pressures are run lower.
I don't want to stir up a Hornet's Nest but ' what brand of tyres do you use and why? '
'Is there a cost efficient grippy tyre out there?'
The car does mainly dual carriageway and Motorway work but I do like a car of this weight and power to be gripping well in the lanes as well.
Seems to agree with my analysis. Though on colder days it does seem to feel a little more on tip toe withouth actually providing any unexpected excitement so far. Might try dropping a couple of pounds to get some more temp in the tyre. The previous lower settings were exactly as you describe - woolly - by comparison. That said they still felt OK at the time!
On the other hand I have been quite surprised by the Michelins. I usually only like them on French cars.
>> Edited by LongQ on Wednesday 5th January 17:05
nicecupoftea said:
My T16S has 195/60R15 tyres, and I tend to keep them around 32psi all round. Seems OK so far!
Currently my fronts are P6000s and the rears Dunlop SP Sports. When I get them replaced in the next 6 months or so I will probably go for GoodYear F1s.
Had some slightly larger size P6000's on my last car but that was a rear drive setup. I tried several makes before discovering the Pirelli's (but not Goodyear for some reason) and the 6000's were grippier than most and certainly the quietest on all road surfaces by some way, though the Dunlops were not bad either.
That said I seem to recall that the Goodyears were not getting the plaudits a few years back then that they seem to get now and I suspect I may be tempted to go them in the next month or so when I think my fronts will need to be changed.
nicecupoftea said:
I was very impressed with the F1 GSD2s I had on the front of my Rover 25, much better than the P6000s they replaced - could well be down to them just being new though!!
True, but also the tyre brand/model combination does not always provide consistent performance across all the sizes manufactured and certainly does not guarantee the same performance across all chassis.
In fact if one glances through the magazine 'tests'(when they print the information correctly) and then checks the 'control' tyre performance it can be interesting to see the variation possible even for the same tyre at approximately the same date of manufacture.
I have known serious handling and braking problems on new vehicles to be resolved, after much investigative work, simply by the need to change tyres. OK, that was many years ago and manufacturing technology has moved on but it would not surprise me if similar problems still occur.
Checked the pressures over the weekend and the Aero showed about 2lbs up all round while 2 other family cars seemed to be about 3 lbs down.
Now I can imagine that there might be a difference based on the ambient temp at the time of the check (a warmish day for January) compared to the last check (a cold day in the case of the Aero) but a 2 or 3 lb difference is more than I ever remember seeing before - and I am talking 30 odd years.
Anyway the 'new' 35 front, 33 rear settings seems to have put a tad more 'comfort factor' back into the ride without any noticeable loss of handling and steering response. So I will keep an eye on that in the next few weeks.
May buy a new pressure gauge as well and see if it differs from the existing one but I can't imagine that is the problem. It may not have absolute accuracy but I always check more than once and the results are consistent whether accurate or not.
Any thoughts anyone?
Now I can imagine that there might be a difference based on the ambient temp at the time of the check (a warmish day for January) compared to the last check (a cold day in the case of the Aero) but a 2 or 3 lb difference is more than I ever remember seeing before - and I am talking 30 odd years.
Anyway the 'new' 35 front, 33 rear settings seems to have put a tad more 'comfort factor' back into the ride without any noticeable loss of handling and steering response. So I will keep an eye on that in the next few weeks.
May buy a new pressure gauge as well and see if it differs from the existing one but I can't imagine that is the problem. It may not have absolute accuracy but I always check more than once and the results are consistent whether accurate or not.
Any thoughts anyone?
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