[Cal Cruzer]

quote:Originally posted by Mike-in-Orange

I run right around 35psi up front, but lately have been putting 45 in the rears. Here's my thinking - take it as you wish: Street radials will "crown" if you put too much air in them, allowing only the center of the tire to contact the road. Underinflate them and they will actually go a bit concave at the center, essentially just running on the outer edges. If you've ever seen those tread wear indicator photos where they show how unevenly a tire wears if under- or overinflated you know what I mean. So basically, to get the largest contact patch (and presumably best traction) out of street tires I recommend the, um, well, recommended pressureMy rationale for higher pressures in the rears is simply for lower rolling resistance - heck, you're just towing those tires behind you, it's not like they do anything other than keep the back bumper from rubbing on the street!

Mike, have you experimented with lower pressure at the track in the fronts. I agree, pump up the rears. If you can reduce the contact pacth at all it is just that much less resistance, like running skinnies on the front of a RWD car. I would think that dropping the fronts down even more would result in better traction.