Mk1 tire pressures

[ORCoaster]

Bad day in the salt mines I expect.  I run max pressure in my 13'' 155 80's and upwards of 38 in the 195 65 14's  I think they are the same Firestone tires listed prior.  They are my snow tires on snowflake rims.  That way I don't run the wrong tires out of season.   

Like the rim is going to matter?

I do notice a bit of a softer ride if I drop the 13" down to 26 or so.  That might be the OEM recommended pressure.  But it cuts into the mileage.

[8v-of-fury!]

I have my mk1's All-Seasons at 44-45psi all year round, the mk2 has Goodyear Nordic snows on it right now at 32psi and they feel mushy, I'll run that happily as they say 35psi max.

Have you noticed any odd behavior with your mk1 and its tires at max psi, Dale? Have you had any strut towers just rip out of the body?

[RabbitJockey]

snow tires i think just tend to feel very mushy on the road.

[wolf_walker]

32-35 all around on the 13's.  Maybe 700K miles worth on two trucks over the years.
Rides a little softer with less pressure but as ***ty as they ride anyway whats the point.
I padded the seats in the 82 with memory foam.  Tire brand and type matters too but
32 is a pretty safe bet.  In the Caddy, if anything the rear can come down some, no weight back there
and the tires last 2x as long as the front unless something is screwed up. 

Last time I looked at the strut towers on the 81 at about 500K there was some slight paint cracking that looked
like they were deforming in a regular pattern upward, extremely minor and it still aligned fine.  I figured it was entitled
and drive it another 150K I guess before I passed it on.  Nothing apparent on the 82@400K now. 
Non issue in my limited sample but high mileage experience with stock suspension. 

[air-cooled or diesel]

i run 30 front and 25 rear, but then again i have 205/60/13's, so 185's may be some different, i run mine low for braking/traction purposes, higher psi means less traction, also less friction.

[ORCoaster]

8V  No Issues with strut towers that I see.  Only have 140K on this 81 and I have only put 25K of those on with the higher pressure.  Since I have stopped my long haul commute I only do about 6 miles a day now. 

[homerj1]

Thanks for all the input, I'll run at 32psi for now and see how it goes. I also don't have any ps - so the 14s make the steering effort a bit harder - good thing I'm a former millwright apprentice 

Seemed to grip well during the last snowfall of 10 cm. 

[wolf_walker]

Alignment can make a lot of diff with steering effort.  I went from 13's to 14" bmw bottlecaps for awhile the other year and didn't really notice any ill effects, the
decreased wallowing from the shorter sidewall was nice.  I don't think I'd go any larger/heavier willingly though. 

[homerj1]

Alignment can make a lot of diff with steering effort.  I went from 13's to 14" bmw bottlecaps for awhile the other year and didn't really notice any ill effects, the
decreased wallowing from the shorter sidewall was nice.  I don't think I'd go any larger/heavier willingly though.  

The car was aligned Aug 2013 after,  new front end parts - bj's, tie rods, poly bushings, new top of front strut thingamadealizze.

I just assumed that the manual steer ( vs power) + increase in tire size =  harder effort steering

or

 maybe I'm losing my super powers..............  Damn turning 50ish..........  

[RabbitJockey]

I never noticed a difference in effort with different size wheels/tires, and ithink mk1s drive a hell of a lot nicer on 14s.  Mk1s are great in snow too

[wolf_walker]

Alignment to what spec is the thing, there is a range, one end of the spectrum in my experience feels a lot different than the other.
A reduced tendency to return to center can reduce previeved steering effort for instance, but it will effect straight line behavior as well.
Tires can matter as well.  Lot of variables.  Overall I was pleased with the 14's, just mind the unsprung weight when upsizing on the early
cars.  Some cheap alloy wheels are pretty heavy.

And they are awesome in the snow, in general. 

[ORCoaster]

One thing I did notice on the Rabbit when running the 14's is that the had a tad less clearance and when fully loaded it would rub them a bit on hard bumps or bridge abutements.

Solved the issue with the mod to add the pipe coupler and exhaust clamp. 

[mystery3]

Run near the indicated maximum for the best tire performance, wear etc. Run the vehicle manufacturer spec if you appreciate a "compliant ride" AKA vague handling, road feel, mushy turn in etc. If you care about a smooth ride I'd get rid of your MKI and get a vehicle built after 1995 or so.

[wolf_walker]

If you care about a smooth ride I'd get rid of your MKI and get a vehicle built after 1995 or so.

That's pretty damn accurate.  At least for VW's and the like.

[ORCoaster]

If you care about a smooth ride I'd get rid of your MKI and get a vehicle built after 1995 or so.

Moderator, Is this kind of heresy allowed here?  Surely this member needs to be banned for posting such an idea.  Probably drives a Buick LaSabre.