Tire wear and tire pressure
My rear tires got down to the tread bars and I noticed that the wear was most on the center of the tires. I thought that meant over-inflation, and since I ran on 33PSI front and 41 PSI rears (PAG recommends 36PSI front, 4 PSI rear for my 996 C4) I thought I should drop those further. Wrong! My tire installer told me today that it is precisely the opposite - the tires were worn in the center due to under-inflation. That has to do with the fact that these tires have short, very stiff, sides (18" wheels), which buckle out when the tire is under-inflated, pulling the patch up, and more so in motion, aided by centrifugal force. This means uneven wear AND a smaller patch, therefore less available gripping surface.
So, there you have it. This is the price to pay to run high performance tires. Want performance and even wear? use the recommended tire pressures. Want more comfort and accept diminished performance? lower the tire pressures (but not by much for safety sake).
So, there you have it. This is the price to pay to run high performance tires. Want performance and even wear? use the recommended tire pressures. Want more comfort and accept diminished performance? lower the tire pressures (but not by much for safety sake).
