2008 t spirit, 90,000 miles. Tyres set at 40/38 Are they a bit of a hard ride or is it just because the UK roads are so crap? I never really noticed it before but a passenger mentioned it so now I can't get it out of my head.
First try dropping the pressures back down to the recommendation on the door sticker. Next, search for reviews on the specific brand and model of tires you have; some just have a harsh ride. But.....at 10 years old and nearing 100K miles, you might need some suspension work too (shocks). Can't comment about the specific roads you are dealing with.
yes, that pressure does produce a hard ride. and more suspension wear most likely. i doubt its worth whatever mpg's you may or may not be picking up
Each type of tire is different depending on the terrain you regularly drive on. I've been pleased with ecopia LRR tires... Those who don't use low rolling resistance tires have no idea what they're missing out on in terms of both mpg and smooth ride. Also add more tire pressure if you like... Smoother and faster the roads/highway, the higher the tire pressure. Find the right balance between high mpg and not loosing traction. The hard ride likely won't change much unless you lower pressure super low but your handling will suffer and it'll feel like steering a couch.
NOT universally true. With some tires +/- 4 PSI will make a noticeable difference in ride quality. Using the "right" pressure almost always results in longer tread life, improved traction and better handling too.......as opposed to really high pressures. We are NOT talking about race cars here.......and "track" rules do not apply, for most of us anyway.
One more possibility: tire pressures gauges can be off: if it's reading low, pressures might even be higher. Also, depends on the tire. Some are referred to as XL (for extra load), tend to have stiffer sidewalls.
Your analysis always leans toward blind obedience to rules that other decide for you rather than DIY trials and experiments... And I've repeatedly said I got an extra 10K miles beyond the normal lifespan of Ecopias running them at 47/45 psi their entire lifetime and no uneven wear. But here we are yet again, you parroting false claims that are generally accepted in the tire business and me claiming a truth that I've directly experienced with my own experimentation. Same old crap, different day...
What works for YOU likely will not work as well for everybody else. And yes, I tend to go with the recommendation of the recognized experts in any field.......rather than some self-appointed "expert" on the Internet. SSDD.......indeed. P.S. I've been driving and wrenching on cars for a bit over 50 years now, so my recommendations are not "blind" obedience to anything. I have found that there always is a down side when you deviate too far from the "standard recommendations". Sometimes you don't care about the downside and sometimes it doesn't show up for a LONG time.......but there almost always IS a downside.
One I can think of, and it's sneaky: wheel bearings failing prematurely? And/or shocks, suspension bushings. And so on. If there is a connection, I'll take a few thousand less miles out of a set of tires over any of the aforementioned.
I was talking about 10K miles extra from the tires, not a few thousand miles. And it's an epic stretch to correlate that to premature wear on wheel bearings, bushings and shocks when the primary factor influencing that is the type of roads you drive on, not tire pressure.
Sure, it is an "epic stretch" to suggest ANYTHING that conflicts with your considered opinion. We all know that. You REALLY don't have to keep repeating it.
