depends on conditions really , i know you can let air out to give wider grip ,
but also hear people putting narrower tyres on for the snow , so contradictory really ??
but also hear people putting narrower tyres on for the snow , so contradictory really ??
There are some massive vehicles that are used in places like northern Canada and the like that have many wheels, and massive tyres at very low pressures that are used to move over the snow, and even swamps. The low pressure means that they actually put less load on the ground beneath them than a human foot, yet they weigh something daft like 16 ton. So, they don't sink through the snow to get to solid surfaces beneath them (bearing in mind that this could be feet below, not just a couple of inches), they spread their weight like snow shoes and drive on top of the snow.
Where they have an advantage though is the massive tread that they can use to dig in and push themselves forward, so you REALLY need good tread on your tyres in the snow. Also, the tread pattern has two primary purposes: 1) to disperse water and 2) to allow the rubber to move around and generate internal heat so that the tyre is up to operating temperature ASAP. This heat is the reason why race cars dump their wet tyres as soon as the track is dry, because otherwise the tyres overheat and fall apart. Lowering the pressure of the tyre allows the rubber to move around a lot more, and therefore gets up to heat quicker. It's normal practice, especially on bikes, to lower tyre pressures by 2 or 3psi at least during winter. More heat in your tyres when driving on snow or ice can't be a bad thing can it?
Antnee
Your comparing a purpose built snow going vehicle and a formula one cars tyres to a road going cars summer tyres with a different pressure in them????
There is no link between these three.
Your basically saying that summer tyres with a lower pressure are as good as winter tyres is not true.
The tyre pressure should be kept at the manufacturers stated pressure no matter what the driving conditions/temperatures.
This should only be changed when driving on a 1/4 mile strip or a race track.
All other times it should be at 33PSI
Your comparing a purpose built snow going vehicle and a formula one cars tyres to a road going cars summer tyres with a different pressure in them????
There is no link between these three.
Your basically saying that summer tyres with a lower pressure are as good as winter tyres is not true.
The tyre pressure should be kept at the manufacturers stated pressure no matter what the driving conditions/temperatures.
This should only be changed when driving on a 1/4 mile strip or a race track.
All other times it should be at 33PSI
What this I read about Kwik-Fit doing nitrogen which is supposedly less effected by temperature?
Gimmick perhaps?
Gimmick perhaps?
Massive Gimmick
The tyres need to be fitted in a nitrogen purged room then inflated with pure dry nitrogen to make any difference.
As said, gimmick
The tyres need to be fitted in a nitrogen purged room then inflated with pure dry nitrogen to make any difference.
As said, gimmick
Um, no, tyres may be designed for different tasks (race tyres for example being grippier but lasting for less time) but ultimately the basics are the same, it's called physics. if you lower the pressure in them they spread out more and apply less pressure to the ground below. They also warm up quicker, and move around more. You're much more aware of these things on a bike than in a car, granted, but it still affects a car just as much. The example of the big fook-off machines in Canada and a race car (I said F1 where?) were extreme examples to exaggerate the effect. I could have said "try highly pressurised slicks on ice or low pressure winter tyres on the track in summer" but I chose to exaggerate a bit more, my bad. The fact is still there, and the whole "the manufacturer says this so that's how it is" argument is rubbish. It's EXACTLY the same as best-before-dates; you can go over and probably be OK, but they're covering their own backs, just in case. You should only deviate from the recommended if you know what you're doing, sure, but to say that you only need change pressures if you're on a race track is not true.
Antnee, don't be a *****.
I know Physics and have studied it at University, I'm not a little kid so please don't reply making me look like one.
So your saying that the normal guy on the street is more able to decide which tyre pressure to run in which situations better than the car design engineers who hold all the cards
It is VERY unsafe to be messing about with different tyre pressures.
If your proven to be running a FAR lower pressure than the manufacturer dictates and you have a crash your leaving yourself liable.
Why bother???
Fit the correct tyres for the correct situations running the manufacturers recommended pressures and you'll have no problems.
I have had my car for 6 1/2 years trying different tyre pressures in different situations (all controlled) and can assure you.
For all summer driving use 33PSI
For winter use 33PSI
For Track use 35-36PSI (hot)
For 1/4 mile use 26PSI (hot) front and 42PSI (hot) rear
This is for 225-40-18's on a 2003 LCR
Tell you what, if you want to start throwing abuse and calling me a ***** then lets just drop it eh? It's not worth getting arsey over and I wasn't trying to cause an argument. I'm not recommending that anyone set FAR lower pressure and you are insistent on putting words in my mouth (like me saying the F1 tyres are like road tyres). I haven't even suggested that someone who doesn't know what they're doing should do this, just that there's sound reasoning behind it and in my personal experience, far more people recommend it than don't. That's all.
By the way, if the "car design engineers" have it so right, why do people change the performance of the car, the springs, or the brakes? Surely they got it right when it was designed?
I still don't agree with you but that's up to me to have a personal opinion and to not conform to what someone on the net says, so, unless you want to continue personal insults that's all I want to say on the matter.
By the way, if the "car design engineers" have it so right, why do people change the performance of the car, the springs, or the brakes? Surely they got it right when it was designed?
I still don't agree with you but that's up to me to have a personal opinion and to not conform to what someone on the net says, so, unless you want to continue personal insults that's all I want to say on the matter.
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Agreed. You should be impressed with me anyway, I think that's the first time I've ever backed down from any kind of argument at all. I must be getting old 
Me too, never back down under any situations especially when I'm stuck offshore for Christmas and New year and pissed off.Agreed. You should be impressed with me anyway, I think that's the first time I've ever backed down from any kind of argument at all. I must be getting old
I know I'm getting old, the mirror tells me that every morning
FWIW I run my tyres at at least 50psi in the snow to make them kinda oval & a tiny contact point to use the power of pressure to cut through the ice into the tarmac.
Works for me
Works for me
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