Tire pressure help

[George Vye]

I just put a new set of Falken ZIEX ZE512s size 205/60/15 on my 2002 VW Golf tdi. The OEM tires were 195/65/15s but I replaced them @ 30k miles with some 205/60/15 Contis, which only lasted 20k miles. The factory recommended tire pressures are 28/28 for normal driving and 30/38 for heavily loaded or handling. I ran 32/32 in my last tires and the tread wear was even, but the car understeered. So noticing that the ZIEXs have a maximum recommended tire pressure of 51 psi I had the dealer inflate them to 40 psi all the way around. I only drive them a few miles but I really liked the way they felt compared to the Contis. Turn-in was much easier and steering seemed much more neutral, although I did not try any rapid cornering. So I e-mailed tech support at Falken asking them what they thought about running 40/40 in their tires and got a rather uninformative reply suggesting that I go with the mfgr's recommendations (28 psi? Ridiculous) but that it would be OK to go 3 to 5 psi over. What really puzzles me is why for handling VW would recommend a pressure differential of 8 psi with the higher pressure in the rear, even though the driving wheels are in front and the weight bias heavily favors the front. Seems to me that the fronts are going to take the brunt of the wear. I would like to strike a good balance between handling, gas milage, and tire longevity. I am wondering whether 40 psi might be a little too high and lead to the middle of the tire wearing more than the edges? And also whether I should have different pressures in the front and rear? I'm thinking of leaving 40 in the rear and dropping the front to 36, under the presumption that this might reduce the notorious understeer. Any recommendations from some knowledgeable folks would be appreciated, especially those with VW experience.

Thanks, George

[Michael Palero]

How do you know the understeer is from the tires?

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Higher pressure in the rear to help the car rotate/not understeer.

[George Vye]

Thanks, Bob, that's kind of what I figured. I believe I'll try running 32 front and 36 rear and see how that works. How've you been, still running the Miata? Doug still loves his even though he hasn't had the best of luck with it up in the Mendocino woods. First a drunk driver hit it while it was parked, and then he had an unfortunate encounter with a deer. Ah, the perils of rural living. But the off grid straw bale house he's building in the woods is almost done and its going to be a beauty.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Thanks, Bob, that's kind of what I figured. I believe I'll try running 32 front and 36 rear and see how that works. How've you been, still running the Miata? Doug still loves his even though he hasn't had the best of luck with it up in the Mendocino woods. First a drunk driver hit it while it was parked, and then he had an unfortunate encounter with a deer. Ah, the perils of rural living. But the off grid straw bale house he's building in the woods is almost done and its going to be a beauty.

Still driving the Miata. Straw bale house, eh? That's ambitious. Large animals and cars are a bad mix.