205/40/17 Tire pressures??

[JoshDank]

I know this was brought up a few times on the old forum, but obviously that info is gone now. I'm curious what psi you guys are running in your 205/40 17's. I just figured you guys could list tire brand, psi front/rear, lowered or not, and ride comfort. My current setup is pretty rough on potholes or "ledges" in the road. I wanna run a little less pressure, but I'm worried about rim damage.

What I'm running:

Tire: Fuzion ZR-i
PSI (front/rear): 36/38
Lowered: S/R struts, ZXTuner springs
Comfort: good on smooth roads, teeth jarring over potholes

[iceracer]

35 to 38 psi. would be good.

[JoshDank]

35 to 38 psi. would be good.

Ok, That's where I'm at. I was just hoping to lower the pressure a bit so the car doesn't feel like it's going to rip apart when I hit a pot hole, lol.

[JC'szx2]

32 front, 36 back. it still rides good but is real stiff on bumpy roads btw i tore apart one of 17's in a 9" pothole(yes i measured it) and it still holds air... bairly.

off brand Achilles bout $54 a piece 15,000 miles never got a pair(of yoko or toyo's) to last to 20k on the 17's

[JoshDank]

32 front, 36 back. it still rides good but is real stiff on bumpy roads btw i tore apart one of 17's in a 9" pothole(yes i measured it) and it still holds air... bairly.

off brand Achilles bout $54 a piece 15,000 miles never got a pair(of yoko or toyo's) to last to 20k on the 17's

Right on. Yea these "performance" tires for the 1's have shitty treadware. I can't get any real mileage out of a set either. Does your front end sound and feel like it's gonna rip out of the car when you hit a decent size hole too? lol

[ChillinZX]

Good choice on tires, its what I run and I have been enjoying all 4 years of them and still having 5/32's left. If you have full interior, only a spare tire in your trunk, I would recommend 30psi in front, and 28psi in rear. I run P205/50R16 and running full interior up front with 28psi and no rear seats, rear carpet, or anything in the trunk with 26psi in the rear and everything seems to grip fantastic. You need to inflate your tires according to the weight, so if you gut your trunk you need to reduce the psi otherwise it would technically be overinflated and will wear out the middle of your tires faster. Yes the manufactor specs are over 30psi but thats with the gvwr load ratings which includes ppl in front, rear, and 50lbs in trunk. My suggestion is play around with the air pressures and find a setting that allows your tires to grip good around corners and stick to that setting.

[JoshDank]

Good choice on tires, its what I run and I have been enjoying all 4 years of them and still having 5/32's left. If you have full interior, only a spare tire in your trunk, I would recommend 30psi in front, and 28psi in rear. I run P205/50R16 and running full interior up front with 28psi and no rear seats, rear carpet, or anything in the trunk with 26psi in the rear and everything seems to grip fantastic. You need to inflate your tires according to the weight, so if you gut your trunk you need to reduce the psi otherwise it would technically be overinflated and will wear out the middle of your tires faster. Yes the manufactor specs are over 30psi but thats with the gvwr load ratings which includes ppl in front, rear, and 50lbs in trunk. My suggestion is play around with the air pressures and find a setting that allows your tires to grip good around corners and stick to that setting.

I don't think I feel comfortable running them that low with all of the Florida potholes around here. Why do you run lower a lower psi in the rear? I assume because of the weight difference, but with a fwd car, most people run a lower pressure in front for traction and a higher psi in back for mpg's.

[iceracer]

A low profile tire is going to ride harsher. It has shorter sidewall,less flex. And it contains less air which is really what supports the car.
The reason high performance tires wear faster is that they have a softer tread compound so that they will stick to the road better.
When anyone is contemplating buying new tires,the should do their homework first. The internet tire sites ie: The Tire Rack and others have a world of information and will even suggest some options.

[JoshDank]

A low profile tire is going to ride harsher. It has shorter sidewall,less flex. And it contains less air which is really what supports the car.
The reason high performance tires wear faster is that they have a softer tread compound so that they will stick to the road better.
When anyone is contemplating buying new tires,the should do their homework first. The internet tire sites ie: The Tire Rack and others have a world of information and will even suggest some options.

I agree and I understand all of what you said iceracer. I've been running 17's for a couple years now. I just wanted to see where everyone else was at.

[ChillinZX]

Rear psi doesnt effect mpg on a fwd car. I've spent a whole year figuring out best results for traction and cornering on my P205/50ZR16 tires. You are just going to have to play around with them, but the higher psi you go the harsher the ride and the easier you will be able to burnout instead of grip.

[mechtech]

a 40 series tires is very low profile.
You will not get a good ride unless your pressures are too low.
Keep them high to protect the tire and rim.
Around 35 -38 cold.