I attended the Murcott Driving Course last week. The instructors advised that low profile tyres should be inflated to 40 psi even though Mazda recommends 32 psi. More pressure should decrease rolling resistance, improve handling/braking and increase fuel economy. What tyre pressure are people using?

 

40 psi is ok on the track in the real world i like mine at 36 psi , vary your prresure from 32psi to 40 psi see what suits your terrain and your type of driving .

cheers
michael

 

I use 38psi for road, all four corners, but I do 80:20 (highway:city) driving. I never go under 36psi - it feel awful even if it is on the road. I don't even let my wife drive under 36psi in her Holden Barina.

On track, I will get a meter with me (or I borrow from the Michellin guys my track days). Pump it up to 40psi when cold at a petrol station. Do 5 hot laps and back to the pit to check. I love to vary the tyre pressure when hot to 41-43psi and I can make sure the tyre pressure is equal L and R on the track. Try a few different pressure until I am happy for the rest of the days.

 

I run 40psi all the time.

 

36 psi for me. i do mainly city driving

 

42psi on the front /40psi at the rear
the car feels too bouncy with less than 40psi..

 

36psi for a a daily drive; 40psi for track work

 

My Molar Mechanic told me 40psi is too many, so I run 36....

 

I'm running 38 psi

 

37 - 38psi for me seems to give the best compromise between acceptable low speed ride, good steering feel/handling. At 17500km my wear on both front and back tyres is almost perfectly even edge to edge. It's a personal decision though, and you should experiment to find out what suits you best. One thing is clear however: 32psi is too low, spoils the RX-8's lovely steering feel, compromises the handling and will probably also result in uneven tyre wear.
I have yet to come across a manufacturer's tyre pressure recommendation I agree with. BMW used to specify front 29 and rear 32 for the 3 series for example, which just about killed the steering and handling of that car. So Mazda is not alone on this one.

Slightly off topic, but ain't it weird that this is one of the remaining areas where metrication seems to have failed abysmally??

 

Back when I had the stock rims, I was running 34psi, now with the 19's, I run 36psi.
I guess it depends on your personal preference and driving habits, I find 40psi doesn't allow me to launch the car as hard. :D

 

40 psi all the way around.

My track tyres used to run between 24 and 28 psi.