Nokian WRC tire pressure

[yycwesty]

Heading out on the highway tomorrow..Have the 16" nokian wrc tires but the tires state 70psi max. To me that seems really high..My tires cold are sitting at about 35psi.

Just wondering what others have their wrc's set at for highway travel

Cheers
Al

[dobryan]

I have 15" WRC Van tires and max pressure is 65 psi. I run around 45 front 50 rear at normal load and add 5 psi when more heavily loaded. YMMV. 35 psi is way low IMHO.

Why do you use 35 psi, only half the rated max pressure?
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[yycwesty]

not so much that I use 35 psi but that is what they are currently sitting at after a calgary winter..heading down to fill them up before the trip

[fixedgear]

I got this reply from Jonathon at Van Café responding to my query on the Van Café 205/70/15 WRC Vans.

I like keeping them above 46 - I had someone who ran his in the high 30's and he developed deep cracks in his sidewalls. He did also go to Death Valley often so would have had more extreme heat than most, but it made me want to be more cautious. I like 46/52 but I realize this gives you a harsher ride (and there is nothing scientific about that).
Recently someone shared the following info with me that should provide a more scientific way to determine this but I have not had time to read and digest. He was a pretty loaded syncro so his personal take on it may differ from yours.

This is a PDF load table from Toyo Tires. BFG/Michellin sent me the same specs. They are regulatory requirements and do not vary by brand. The table is only for Light Truck Tires. No passenger tires.

http://cache.toyotires.com/sites/default/files/imce/LoadInflationTable.pdf

I would inflate to no less than 1500 lbs load inflation front, 1750 lbs rear.

These are the original loads VW inflated to http://www.roadhaus.com/tires/OE%20Tire%20Load%20Inflation%20Table.html

Discussed here
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5551266#5551266

I hope that helps
Jonathan
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[yycwesty]

Hi Jonathan. Great info thank you. Your 46/52. Is that 46 in the rear and 52 on the fronts or the other way around. Good rule if thumb keeping them above 46. Think I will follow that and see how it goes

Cheers
Al

[dobryan]

[yycwesty]

I think I'm going to start at 55 in the rear and 50 in the front

[Jake de Villiers]

I would use the values given on the door jamb sticker by the manufacturer. Front is lower than rear.
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[dobryan]

[Randy in Maine]

[Reckless Amateur]

I asked the same question of the folks for the Nokian 16's at Van Cafe and they suggested 46 all around. I had been running them lower (36/42 maybe) and the higher pressures are the way to go--better MPH, smoother highway ride, crisper feel.
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[dobryan]

[porterbrown]

I started a similar thread a while back in regard to 16" Nokian Hakka C Van tires. The most logical response that i received was from Jon_Slider and it went as follows:

1. look at the sidewall and read the Max Load
2. look at the sidewall and read the Max pressure
3. Divide 1400 by max load, and multiply by max pressure, thats your front inflation.. add 8 psi above that to the rear.

for example IF your tire is rated 2335lbs@65psi, then use 39psi front, 47psi rear

The second most logical suggestion was the chalk-line method:

Park on level ground.
Aim straight ahead.
Draw a line completely across the tread.

Pull ahead 2-3 tire revolutions or until the chalk starts wearing off. (some also suggested driving around the block)

If the chalk is worn off equally across the width of the tread, the inflation pressure is correct.

If the chalk is worn off more in the center than at the edges, as shown below, the tire is overinflated.

If the chalk is worn off more at the edges than in the center, as shown below, the tire is underinflated.
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'90 Westfalia GL Automatic

[yycwesty]

Sounds like 46 in the front and about 8 psi in the back might be gooos start. Never knew there was a calculation for tire pressure. But good to know

[Jon_slider]

> Have the 16" nokian wrc tires but the tires state 70psi max

and what does it say the max load is?

here is a guy that also knows how much his van weighs

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6705113#6705113
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[jadatis]

You can also look in my made pressure/loadcapacity-lists, they come to lower loadcapacity then the American lists, and even lower then the European.
In next topic I describe it and give advices of adding reserve for the loads to look back.http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6694799#6694799

But your 70 psi is not the maximum pressure of the tire, but the reference-pressure, to calculate with in the formula.
The Nokian was probably made for the European market, Amerika only gives 65 psi. The extra 5 psi is probably done to give less deflection , the tire is only allowed because of the profile of the treath that covers bigger part of the sidewall then most on-road tires with same sises, and the maximum load of your tire is probably the same as such an on-road tire with same sises and D-load/8PR.

[dart330]

My new Nokian WR C3s are 205/65R15C with a 55PSI Max. I ran the door jamb calculation often used here, and the front number seems way too low.

OE Tire Max load: 1580
OE Tire Max PSI: 40
Door Jamb Sticker PSI 30/40
New Tire Max load: 1870
New Tire Max PSI: 55
New PSI: 35/46

The 15" Rhein wheels say not to inflate past 50PSI cold, which is what I have them at until I decide what to run. I would expect the fronts to be a little lower, just not sure I want to go down to 35.

[Jon_slider]

I suggest you try 40 front, 48 rear

see the pressures for the 185 tire in this list, I suggest you follow those, since it had a max inflation of 55 psi and is closer to your Nokian than the 205 tire that had a max psi of 40
http://www.roadhaus.com/tires/Silver%20Sticker%20Info.html

you can also use some confirming indicators to see if your tires are reasonably well inflated

count how many tread blocks touch the ground
and or
measure the temperature of center tread compared to outer tread (with your fingers or an IR gun, focus on the rear tires, the fronts are more misleading because they lean in turns)
and or
careful on road testing for fine tuning
and or
chalking across the tread and over the shoulder, then drive and observe where the chalk wears off

the original tire specs
185R14C  6PR
- Min Load Index 99
- Max Load 1710 lbs
- Min Load Range C
- Max Inflation 55 psi
 
*205/70R14 97R
- Min Load Index 97
- Max Load 1580 lbs
- Max Inflation 40 psi
* Reinforced Sidewall Passenger car tire
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[dart330]

Thanks Jon, I will give that a try.

I was using the 205 pressures referencing the original spare.
1580 x 30 / 40 x 55 / 1870 = 35

Using the 185 pressures I am getting 39/48 with the same formula. You were right on the money

[Jon_slider]