winter tyre pressure

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set69

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on saturday ive bought new winter tyres, 195/50 r15, and now car is horrible, much oversteer, under heavy breaking all is like soft, i dont know how to explain, like im on baloons, its all wobbly

on acceleration or on forward heavy breaking is all good

what is the tyre pressure for 195/50 15 2,1 2,2 2,3 bar
what else colud be

ok i understand that winter tyre is softer than summer tyre, but can it be so much difference?
 
Same here.

I got Maxxis 15' winter tyres and it makes the car jiggly like a pair of.. jelly puddings :D

It drives so differently compared to the 17' low profile Falken summer tyres.

Sometimes it is fun though, like yesterday the road was a little moisty going flat out it makes my ESP jump on in throughout first and second gear something that doesn't happen as easily with the 17' :twisted:
 
when you say "a set", is that all 4, or just two fronts? If you just did the fronts, the oversteer will probably be the rear all season/summer tyres lacking grip compared to the front.

winter tyres have a softer tread pattern, from using a different compound, but mainly from the extra cuts which break up the solid tread blocks of a summer tyre. Because of this, the tread will move about a bit under higher loads. That said, in cold or wet conditions, the amount of grip will probably be greater than having a summer tyre fitted, so you may now be traveling faster than you would have due to the summer tyre loosing grip.

Going from 17's or 16's down to 15's will also feel different as there will be slightly more roll in the side wall. Mainly noticeable on smooth roads, where you lean on the sidewall. However, bumpy roads are much more predictable on 15's as the sidewall can adjust and soak up some of the bumps.


For a 195/50/15 82 tyre:-
31.5psi (2.17 bar) front
29psi (2 bar) rear
 
set of 4

ok, i understand that winter tyre is softer, and i was driving on 15 for about 5 months on summer tyre, but now is a big difference

it is fun but is so much slower than summer tyre :D

ill try to adjust pressure and than i will see

and now outside is +10

is it possible that small temp difference and small difference in tyre pressure makes a huge difference on car behavior
 
Winters are only of real benefit below 5-7deg C... Or in lots of water. Slightly above 7deg, the summer/all season tyre would probably have more grip and also be more stable (comparing simillar brand summer/winter tyres).

Going from a premium summer tyre to a budget winter will probable be a greater difference than going from premium summer to budget summer as the winters are designed for cold/wet and some of the budget models just use very soft rubber to get the grip. My neighbour destroyed a pair of budget winters in a couple of weeks on the front of his Citroen Picasso, with chunks of tread comming away as they were extremely soft rubber... They were very cheap, but were obviously a false economy, as the winters I had on the Dini for last winter have now been on Karens motor for two months already doing 25+ miles each day and look fine.

Which winter tyres did you go for?
 
no no they are not the cheapest, but also they are not best, maybe sidewalls are not so strong
 
What is the load index, and what was it on your old tyres? My 15s are 86

I'm running Kumhos and currently have them set at 'Economy' pressures, according to the sticker in the door shut. If the weather gets bad, I'll lower the pressures.
 
Araf":2fckzm9g said:
What is the load index, and what was it on your old tyres? My 15s are 86
Click to expand...
Is that a 205/50/15?


the pressures I posted before were based on a load index of 82 and 195/50/15, converting the load limits from the placard pressures for a 195/45/16 80V. (I think theres only 82 load index for the 195/50/15, unless its a Pmetric P195/50/15)
 
Yes sorry mine are 205/50-15 with a load index of 86.

Bearing in mind that the Wind is only spec'd for 16 or 17" wheels, the pressures are the same for both sizes, so I use the same on 15s, without problems.

The label says 2.4/2.4 town and unloaded, 2.7/2.4 loaded or motorway use, and 3.0/2.4 for economy, and all are cold pressures.

I run 42psi in the fronts, 35psi in the rears.
 
Araf":f3dpvmhs said:
Yes sorry mine are 205/50-15 with a load index of 86.

Bearing in mind that the Wind is only spec'd for 16 or 17" wheels, the pressures are the same for both sizes, so I use the same on 15s, without problems.

The label says 2.4/2.4 town and unloaded, 2.7/2.4 loaded or motorway use, and 3.0/2.4 for economy, and all are cold pressures.

I run 42psi in the fronts, 35psi in the rears.
Click to expand...
Araf. Comming back to the load index which you mentioned, (if the wind is the same as the 133) the sizes of the 16's and 17's which have the placard pressures will either be 195/45/16 80V or 195/40/17 81XLV. Both of which have less load capacity compared to your 205/50/15 86V for pressures up to 35psi

With the XL being Extra load, this kind of skews the figures as the Extra load only comes into its own above 35psi and usualy offers less load rating below this. So, I'll use the 16" size for comparisson, on the assumption that the Wind pressures are the same as the 133.

195/45/16 80V - Pressure in psi / Tyre load limit (in Lb)
31psi (2.13Bar) / 871lb rear normal load
34psi (2.34Bar) / 937lb front normal load
37psi (2.55Bar)/ 996lb front and rear fully loaded (there is no load increase above 36psi)

to get comparable equal or higher load limits for your
205/50/15 86V - Pressure in psi / Tyre load limit (in Lb)
26psi / 904lb
28psi / 937lb
30psi / 1014lb

As you can see, your tyres can support the same or higher load at a much reduced pressure. 42psi must be a bit bouncy and may even exceede the max inflation pressure of some tyres. (figures from Bridgestone tyre replacement manual load index tables)
 
Sorry, I've made this thread stray a bit (so please tidy as you see fit). The wind uses 205/40-17 XL84V as standard. They were rock hard at 35psi all round, and the 15s are plush, even with 42psi.
 
OK then, going from the Wind tyre pressure / load capacity
205/40/17 84XL
35psi (2.4bar) / 948lb
39psi (2.7bar) / 1036lb
43.5psi (3bar) / 1102lb (there is no load increase above 42psi for XL rated tyres)


Like before, equivalent or greater load capacities to replace the above pressures for the different tyre
205/50/15 86
29psi / 981lb
32psi / 1058lb
34psi /1113lb
 
Blimey, I didn't realise that.

I'll have a look at dropping the pressures a bit, and see how it runs - thought I don't have a problem with uneven wear.

Thanks for that. :)
 
haha. I thought 42 was a bit on the high side

Thats the problem with XL tyres. They can take a high load, but that is at a higher pressure than would normaly be used.
Non XL tyres reach a load ceiling at 36ps,iwhere the load capacity won't be increased. But,they can be inflated more* for stability etc up to the maximum pressure rating embossed on the tyre. (Max pressure could be 32, 36, 42 or 51psi)

XL tyres have a load ceiling of 42psi but may be inflated more as above (may be 42psi max or 51psi as embossed)
 
set69 = pretty sure the difference comes from the sidewall height. The standard 195/40 seems hard as a brick and stretched a bit too on the Cup wheels, so hardly any room for sidewall roll.
 
Damn psi makes no sense to me :p so if I understand it right 42 psi which is 2.89 bar is too high or atleast the max pressure it should get?

Think mine is too high, this morning I had some major understeer, felt the car lift off in a corner, released the throttle and gave a nodge on my steering wheel and felt the grip returning.

Think I put my 15" winter tyres on 3 bar but I reckon it's too much :?

So I should try between 32 psi (2.20 bar) to 42 psi (2.89 bar)?
 
MovingShadow":3jex2mzm said:
Damn psi makes no sense to me :p so if I understand it right 42 psi which is 2.89 bar is too high or atleast the max pressure it should get?

Think mine is too high, this morning I had some major understeer, felt the car lift off in a corner, released the throttle and gave a nodge on my steering wheel and felt the grip returning.

Think I put my 15" winter tyres on 3 bar but I reckon it's too much :?

So I should try between 32 psi (2.20 bar) to 42 psi (2.89 bar)?
Click to expand...
what size and load index are they? XL rated or not?

I'll look up the comparative pressures.
 
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