New tire question...

[Comedian]

Yesterday I bought a new set of tires and rims for my wife's 2006 Convertible. Gone were the ugly painted rims and 215-65R16's and replaced by a set of Black faced Bullitt Torque-Thrust 17X8 rims and a set of Falken 235-55ZR17's Man, they look great!



The "before" pic. Very much a "Plain Jane" Mustang.



The "after" pic. While not fantastic like a GT, it still looks great.

So I drove it to work last night. Christ, the thing handled rougher than my '95 Corvette. I felt every bump in the road, every crevice and it didn't "feel right". I took it for an alignment this morning; the tech said it was textbook perfect and didn't need to be tinkered with. I've known this guy for years and I believe what he told me.

So I checked the air pressure. Damned - 55 PSI in every tire. The tires (and FALKEN website) both state MAXIMUM inflation pressure to be 51 PSI. So I dropped the pressure of each tire down to 35 PSI and it now rides and handles much more civilly. My question: Is running this new tire with this pressure (35 PSI) going to cause the tire to overheat and cause a possible failure? I know I can't see myself keeping these tires if they require 55 PSI at all times.

 

[brycerichert]

32-36 range is fine for those tires. you'll be fine.

 

[pesj]

Nicely done! Much better looking now. I just want to know (regarding your stock wheels/tires), WHO at Ford sat at the drawing table and approved that hideous design? "Heck yes, we'll put some tiny unpainted wheels on the Mustang, and big bubble looking tires to compliment them. They'll sell like hotcakes!"

 

[Comedian]

Nicely done! Much better looking now. I just want to know (regarding your stock wheels/tires), WHO at Ford sat at the drawing table and approved that hideous design? "Heck yes, we'll put some tiny unpainted wheels on the Mustang, and big bubble looking tires to compliment them. They'll sell like hotcakes!"

Well, the cars sold well, not because of the stock rims, but in spite of them.

I know that the stock rims and tires didn't have much in gripping power on the road. A compromise between all-year versibility and being a semi-performace car. Ford's designers failed at both ends of the spectrum. All I can say is, "Goodbye" to the stock rims and tires.

 

[The Fang]

I still like mine they are the tinted painted with the spinners I'll eventually get some better rims before I croak.

 

[ct07gt]

The 51 psi shown on the side of the tire is not what you should run them at. It is only the maximum safe air pressure according to Falken. If you run the max pressure it will ride awful, have pretty much zero grip and wear out the center of the tread extremely fast. Run the recommended pressure inside the door jamb.

 

[COBESGT]

Looks great! It's amazing what a different set of wheels can do for a car.

 

[SpartaPerformance]

Air pressure is dictated by the vehicle not the tire. If you look at the spec sheet on your driver door sill it will tell you the proper inflation for your vehicle regardless of brand of tire.

 

[pesj]

Air pressure is dictated by the vehicle not the tire. If you look at the spec sheet on your driver door sill it will tell you the proper inflation for your vehicle regardless of brand of tire.

Interesting...no matter what the tire size is? Just wondering

 

[COBESGT]

Interesting...no matter what the tire size is? Just wondering

Humm, very good question and I would like to see the answer vs. what I think.

My thoughts are the psi ratings are based on the car, car weight. But honestly, I don't think I've ever heard of a passengar car requiring more than 36 psi.

 

[DarkFireGT]

Yes Sparta is correct. Always inflate to what the car manufacturer recommends.

 

[SpartaPerformance]

Interesting...no matter what the tire size is? Just wondering

Tire size does does not matter, provided you have the proper rim width to put the correct amount of tire contact patch to road. The vehicle manufacturer's static tire pressure takes into account the vehicles weight, handling characteristics and suspension load for proper street operation. The tire sidewall psi. is the tire max inflation pressure when extra load carrying is required such as 4 passengers and a trunk load of luggage or if you're towing a boat etc... When ever you're going to carry extra weight in any vehicle then you must add some air to the tires to compensate other then that normal psi on the door is what you should be running.