GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Daz Auto on 23 December 2018, 10:53
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My car was in for a service last week. On the paper work it showed that both front tyres were 1mm in the middle and 3mm on the outside i.e. 3-1-3mm.
The garage told me that this wear pattern happens when tyres are over inflated.
The tyres were Michelin PS4 225/40/R18 which were inflated to the recommended pressure of 38 psi. It was the 20k service and the tyres had been on the car for 18k miles. The alignment of the car was checked using a Hunter 4 way laser alignment system when the tyres were new.
Every month I check the pressure using a small analogue gauge and adjust the pressures using a Michelin tyre pump. The pressure reading on both devices roughly correspond. So I don't believe it is an equipment malfunction.
I have just had my winter tyres fitted and am now wondering what pressure to run them.
Questions -
Has anyone else had this problem with their tyres?
Could this just be a problem with Michelin tyres?
Should I ignore the VW recommended tyre pressure?
What pressures should I use for my summer and winter tyres?
Other factors - VAQ LSD set to sport, DCC set to comfort, I have noticed it a lot easier to make the wheels spin as the tyres neared the end of their wear. (Though I was not trying to make them spin all the time - wife wouldn't let me :whistle:)
This has been discussed on another thread. It appears that VW increased the pressure recommendation from 36 to 38 psi for the Clubsport and the Mk7.5. This isn't really a big increase and I don't see how that alone caused the centre wear pattern.
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I run PS4 and I put 34psi in mine as I felt the VW recommended were a bit on the high side. I've had no problems with uneven wear and the grip is fantastic.
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I think 38 is too high for 18"s I run my 19"s at 38psi and VW every service lower them to 36psi. I think my sisters GTI runs at 34psi according to the door sticker.
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I would of thought 18k miles is pretty good for a set of fronts. I run mine at 38psi without issue.
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I would of thought 18k miles is pretty good for a set of fronts. I run mine at 38psi without issue.
More than good, its epic.
The PS4's don't last anything like that normally on the front - the OEM BS's maybe 16k? PS4's maybe 14-15k.
Ignore the garage BS and just swap the tyres and carry on.
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I ran the factory fit Bridgestones at 36 all round and got 17k out of the fronts and the rears still had just under 5mm left. The fronts actually had just under 3mm left but the puncture I got was unrepairable so I just changed all four. I'm probably one of the only people who didn't have any real issues with the Bridgestones although the grip was gradually worse as the tyre wore down especially in the cold. When all four were removed they were even across the entire tyre.
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Manufactures recommend higher pressure to achieve less rolling resistance, therefore lower emmission. 38PSI is way too high for a car that weighs as relatively little as the Golf does.
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As a general rule I tend to double the size of the tyre for a rough estimate of pressure for example 17" = 34psi.
Don't know how accurate it is but I tend to run with that until I know for certain the pressures.
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Recommended tyre presures are what are required to support the weight of the vehicle, that's why you should increase the pressures for higher loads. The size or shape of vessel (tyre) the air is contained in, makes no difference to the load it will support. So other than comfort preferences, there is no reason to have different pressures for different size wheels and tyres.
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I run 35 all round on mine and check pressure, tread depth and condition weekly and adjust if needed. Not had any uneven wear, usually get 16k out of fronts over double out of rears.
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Just checked four different websites this morning and got four different recommendations ranging from 35 all round to 41 all round. :grin:
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The label for my 2015 GTI:
(https://i.postimg.cc/PrsvShQF/20180929-112531.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/pyCddw7D)
I run 19s so it is 41 all round which I've always done and had no uneven wear. First set of tyres was spot on all over after 20k miles having regularly rotated them. They still had a bit more life in them but I changed them as it was winter.
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That's a case of high recommended pressures to lower emissions. 19's are heavier and create more drag, so they suggest higher pressures to overcome this. From a weight bearing point of view, there's no reason why the pressures should need to differ from those for 17 and 18" wheels.
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usually get 16k out of fronts over double out of rears.
Only 32k from the rears? I had 60k+ from the OEM BS rears on my last GTD.
Only super noisy inside edge feathering made me change them - the rest of the tyre had plenty left to spare.
A Mk7's (front wheel drive) rear is so light that it hardly eats tyres at all.
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usually get 16k out of fronts over double out of rears.
Only 32k from the rears? I had 60k+ from the OEM BS rears on my last GTD.
Only super noisy inside edge feathering made me change them - the rest of the tyre had plenty left to spare.
A Mk7's (front wheel drive) rear is so light that it hardly eats tyres at all.
That's all I could take from the Bridgestones, they came off with loads of life left. But they were noisy and from new had terrible grip.
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That's all I could take from the Bridgestones, they came off with loads of life left. But they were noisy and from new had terrible grip.
Yeah I learnt my lesson from my Mk7 and this time swapped the OEM BS rears with the fronts when the fronts wore out...
Almost there now... and goodbye to Mr BS.
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Thanks for all the replies.
I have my winter tyres on at the moment. The car is more floaty and I can feel it moving around more in the corners without pushing it. The door sticker recommends 41 psi for M+S (winter) tyres. I have them at 38 psi and can't decide if I should try 41 psi or 35 psi :huh: Though I doubt if the tyre pressure would make winter tyres feel any better either way. :undecided:
I was going to put all 4 Bridgestone tyres back on the car for summer. Now I'm thinking of putting the remaining PS4 tyres on the rear and use the Bridgestone tyres on the front to wear them out faster.
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Try 36 psi too.
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I run 36psi
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<I was going to put all 4 Bridgestone tyres back on the car for summer. Now I'm thinking of putting the remaining PS4 tyres on the rear and use the Bridgestone tyres on the front to wear them out faster.>
That seems a wise decision, DazAuto.
And once you finish all Bridgestones, stick with Michelin. Makes a world of difference.
P.S. My Bridgestone Potenza S001 have done 17k and are all 5 mms front & rear (I am rotating them). So they will still last for a while... :-(
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So is there a definitive thought on what a GTI fitted with 19" alloys and the 225/35/19 tyres should be run at please ? I'm currently running them at what it says on the sticker, which I think from memory is 41psi all round on the stock Pirelli's, but always thought this was a bit high ?
Obviously running at slightly lower pressures (say 36psi) will increase ride comfort somewhat (although I do already run the DCC in comfort mode most of the time), but will also slightly increase fuel consumption (but I seriously doubt this would even be noticeable), but what what about even tyre wear - better, worse or about the same ?
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Hard to say what the effect would be... as others have said VW will suggest higher pressures to decrease CO2 figures.
Whether 36 is low enough to cause increased wear, I don't know.
Probably somewhere there is a formula based on kerb weight and tyre size from BS...
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Kwikfit suggest 33psi...
https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-pressure-search
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Thanks Fred, just been on the Kwik Fit website and entered my Reg Number, and now I'm no wiser :D
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4871/31627793507_88a7e77b69_o.png) (https://flic.kr/p/QbQH7B)
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Do you really want to trust Kwik Fit :whistle:
I've found three different values on three different sites so I don't think anyone knows haha
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Exactly, ignore Kwik Cr@p, just use the values as per VW, which are in the inside of your petrol filler cap, depending on wheel/tyre size and carrying load.
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Thanks guys. If you read my reply above you will see that I am currently running the pressures as specified on the data sticker on the car, however as I don't have a set of Winter wheels and tyres to go on the car, (at the moment) it got me wondering if lowering the pressures a little (to say 35-36psi), would very slightly improve grip in these cold condition over the 41psi I'm currently running them at.
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Kwikfit suggest 33psi...
https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-pressure-search
They also suggest you need front brake pads & discs and rear shocks. :grin:
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Kwikfit suggest 33psi...
https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-pressure-search
They also suggest you need front brake pads & discs and rear shocks. :grin:
I only ever went to Kwik Fit once, many years ago in the 1980’s to get my wheels balanced. They told me my tyres had been flat spotted due to emergency braking and the wheels locking up, hence the imbalance. I was the only person who’d driven my car and I knew my tyres didn’t have a flat spot through any form of emergency braking manoeuvre. They also tried to sell me shock absorbers - told me mine were leaking; they weren’t, as I’d had them replaced just a couple of months earlier!
I told them not to bother balancing my wheels and I went to an independent tyre place and got them done without any attempts to sell me anything I didn’t need and hadn’t asked for.
I’ve never been back to Kwik Fit since and don’t plan going back any time soon :grin:.
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Like any chain of stores, the experience can vary massively. The idiot in your local Curry's might be not as good as the guy you get in another branch. I find the same with all of these, Kwik fit included. It's not the company, its the individual staff...