Tyre pressures

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Mike2 - 19 Dec 2004 21:19 GMT

My handbook specifies tyre pressures from 29 to 46, depending on load. Do
Ford seriously expect me to deflate my tyres every time I use the car on
my own, and re-inflate them when I load up with the family? Is there a
happy medium I can set them at?

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Tim \(Remove NOSPAM. - 19 Dec 2004 23:27 GMT

> My handbook specifies tyre pressures from 29 to 46, depending on load. Do
> Ford seriously expect me to deflate my tyres every time I use the car on
> my own, and re-inflate them when I load up with the family? Is there a
> happy medium I can set them at?

What model and what size tyres have you got?

On my Zetec 5 door 1.8 i've tried many different pressures and find the best
balance to be around 30psi front and 28rear. That is 99% driver only.

I would raise the back to around 31-32psi if you carry passengers or luggage
reasonably regularly.

Remmeber the published figures are only a guide, and yes you should inflate
for a full load and then deflate again when runnin light. If you had an
accident and tyre pressures were found to be wayward the insurance company
can and do refuse to pay out.

Tim..

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Chris Whelan - 20 Dec 2004 10:26 GMT

> On my Zetec 5 door 1.8 i've tried many different pressures and find the best
> balance to be around 30psi front and 28rear. That is 99% driver only.

Tim

The handbook figures for my 1.8 LX are 32psi front and rear. In
the UK it is an offence to drive with wrongly inflated tyres. I
have it on good authority (friendly traffic cop) that a 10%
variation from maker's figures is enough to justify a
prosecution, so I would imagine 28psi is a bit low.

Chris

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Mike2 - 20 Dec 2004 22:37 GMT

I have a '99 Zetec estate 1.6 (T reg).

Handbook specifies 29 front and rear for a 'normal load', (specified as
'up to three persons'), and 32 front, 46 rear fully loaded (defined as
'more than three persons').

I'm sure this is meant to be a range varied according to common sense: if
you put 46 in the back with only four persons it defintely doesn't handle
properly! When the vehicle was serviced by Ford it came back with
pressures around the 36 mark (in the rear at any rate) - either the garage
don't bother to check the correct pressures for each model they service, or
they are used to usng a compromise setting within the range.

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Mike2 - 20 Dec 2004 22:42 GMT

Please read my post immediately before this one.

Sorry I forgot to state the tyre size: 195/55 R15, but the handbook
specifies 46 for the rear pressures on ALL tyre sizes for both saloon and
estate, with the only different specification being for my tyre size in
the front only: 29 for 'normal load' compared to 32 in the front for all
of the others.

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