Tyre pressure

[winrya]

I run mine at 2.8 bar.  At the recommended 2.4 bar i was wearing the edges out too quickly, running them a bit firmer has stopped this problem and the car feels a little sharper with no change in ride quality

[Teutonic_Tamer]

36 all round, seems to give a good balance between comfort and performance. Only really ever me in the car....if Dawn French ever got in I would have to pump them up a bit... 

LOL, and Dawn also might need some pumping too! 

[stealthwolf]

Just checked my pressure - and all my wheels were at 29psi!!!!!!! Ive put all the wheels to 37psi now and will see how things go.....

You should notice a huge difference. Ever since I bought the car I've been diligently checking the tyre pressures at least every fortnight if not every week. Kept it at 37psi. Took it to the stealers and drove the car back home.

Felt very different, handling was wierd. At first I thought it was because I'd been away from the GTI for too long (24 hrs) and had gotten used to the TDI I'd gotten as a courtesy car. But very quickly realised it wasn't.

Jumped out and checked the tyre pressures. 29psi all round too. Had been getting low mpg (didn't go above 30mpg). After inflating them to the recommended pressures, took the car for a spin and it was back to it's old self! (mpg back to 35+).

So you should notice a dramatic difference in handling as well as mpg.

[ifti]

Yup noticed a difference straight away. I have been getting mpg's of around 30-35 under normal driving with 29psi - will see what I get at 37 now

[ifti]

Actually another question - my rear tyres have plenty of tread. I havent measured them yet, but my front driver side tyre seems low, while the passenger side seems fine yet.
What do you guys do in this scenario - replace both the front???
Im thinking of replacing both the front as soon as the driver side is at 2mm, but what to do with the spare replaced tyre that still has good tread?

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Actually another question - my rear tyres have plenty of tread.

Situation normal for most front wheel drive cars.  I bet they would still have pleanty on them at 60k miles if you never rotated them!

I havent measured them yet, but my front driver side tyre seems low, while the passenger side seems fine yet.

What, tread depth?  If so, that simply means that just one tyre has been replaced (prolly due to a puncture).  Look carefully at the markings on the sidewall for the date code - sommat like "3006" - which would mean that it was manufactured during the 30th week of 2006.  Both tyres on an axle should ideally have the same date code (meaning they both came from the same batch).  I bet yours are quite different.

What do you guys do in this scenario - replace both the front???
Im thinking of replacing both the front as soon as the driver side is at 2mm, but what to do with the spare replaced tyre that still has good tread?

2mm is a very wise decision (2½mm is better on wide boots though) - so how much meat will the other tyre have?  Replace both, and maybe ask to keep the decent part worn in your garage, then if you whack a kerb or get a puncture, at least you have a spare tyre to fit.

[ifti]

Ive ordered a digital tyre tread checking tool, so will know exactly what tread my tyres are hopefully in the next few days after the bank holiday weekend.....

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Ive ordered a digital tyre tread checking tool, so will know exactly what tread my tyres are hopefully in the next few days after the bank holiday weekend.....

The most reliable tread depth guages are the PCL pencil type guages, and they are often much cheaper too.

[stealthwolf]

The most reliable tread depth guages are the PCL pencil type guages, and they are often much cheaper too.

I'll vouch for the analogue depth guages. They're not exactly the most difficult or taxing of tools.

The tyre pressure guage is a little funnier.