TIRE PRESSURE

[Cabriolet]

Last April i purchased a set of rims and snow tires for a 2012 Audi 4 owner.
He moved from Denver to NYC in March and had no place to store the rims and tires over the summer. He was storing them in the living room of his apt and his wife wanted them gone. He only purchased them 6 months earlier from his Audi dealer but his company called him back to NYC. The Audi rims and tires were like new and for $300.00 i think i got a good deal. I put them on my 2011 GTI last week and all is good. The tires are 215 x 55 x 16" and i have the tire pressure set at 38 lbs.

My question is using a smaller tire should i use the same tire pressure?

Any ideas.

 

[dodecadynamo]

Look at the tire. It will say what you should inflate it to. It has nothing to do with what was on the car before...

 

[TRUboost]

Look at the tire. It will say what you should inflate it to. It has nothing to do with what was on the car before...

No tire will have the recommended tire pressure on the side. They have max pressure. A 2,000 lb car needs different pressure than a 4,000 lb car.

OP: I've been testing different pressures in my 205x50 winters and I think 36 is the best pressure. Not to squishy but still seems to grip well. Anything under 33 seems to have a dramatic effect on fuel economy.

 

[zrickety]

You basically want the same pressure posted on the sticker in the door. You will notice the spare is the same.

 

[Edmundo]

Tire pressure pressure specifications might be based on different goals such as performance or fuel economy. I am sure that many colleagues will adjust the values according to their driving style or preference, on occasion using a tire pyrometer as a tuning aid

 

[zrickety]

I've also found that 36 is the sweet spot. Higher and the car gets stiff and twitchy. 40 is as high as I go and that's at autox.

 

[Sonny@TireRack.com]

You basically want the same pressure posted on the sticker in the door. You will notice the spare is the same.

+1 start with the door placard pressure and tune to handling/ride from there.