[Vwdiesel] Tire pressure

[David Cook]

That is a good point, and one I've heard a lot of
times.

However, my thought is this:

For most of us, our cars were built in the early 1980s
or thereabouts, anywhere from 20 to 30 years ago for
the majority of our old diesels.

Tire technology has changed quite a bit since then
(different types of tires, rubber compounds,
durability, designs, maximum pressure range, etc), so
tires you buy today are probably nothing like the
tires that VW put on the car originally, which is what
the specs in the doorpost come from.  Even back then
if you put a different type of tire on the car, the
doorpost specs may not apply anymore.  That number was
also a compromise between many factors, such as noise,
ride comfort, grip, wearability, fuel mileage, etc.

I don't know for sure with a Rabbit or my Cabriolet
but I had a conversation with a VW Bus owner, and we
figured that the fuel savings alone more than paid for
the *possiblility* of a tire wearing out a little
quicker.  So, you theoretically could be spending a
little more money buying new tires, but you are saving
more than that with decreased fuel usage.

Generally I don't care much about a little harsher
ride, so I run the tires at the top of their max PSI.

Just my .02 YMMV,

David

--- William J Toensing <toensing at theunion.net> wrote:

>  The maximum tire pressure on the tire is not what
> you want to run. It is the maximum pressure the tire
> can safely stand. The pressure you should run is
> posted somewhere on the car. Glove compartment or
> left front door post probably. My guess it is
> probably about 32 PSI. I usually run about 2 pounds
> psi above the manufacturers recommendation in the
> interest of better MPG.
> _________________________

David Cook
Red '86 Cabriolet Diesel Powered
Red '90 g60 Corrado 
Brown and White '78 Westy Campmobile "Bear"
and others in various states of disrepair
Pictures here: community.webshots.com/user/superdave5599

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