Tyre pressures you run in your stock NA tyres

[snshami]

Hi just trying to understand what tyre pressures you use. I always used 36 psi for every other cars I have had or dríven with great results. When I got the MX-5 I tried higher pressures such as 32 psi and found the car very skitish. I am now down to 28 psi and it seems really very good.
Any ideas why the MX-5 responds very differently to tyre pressures than other cars do. Is it the weight ?

[93_Clubman]

32psi cold all around.

Yours sounds like it has more to do with the type &/ or age &/ or wear of the tyres. Other considerations might be alignment or suspension, i.e. do you know it to be standard & serviceable.

[PaulF]

mazdatenfive: When you post a new topic (like from the button in the bottom left of this page), there's an area where you can make your post like if you were replying to a thread and there's an area below it where you can set out your poll: Poll question, options etc. Just scroll a little further down the page, below "Upload attachment", and you should find it easily enough.

[snshami]

32psi cold all around.

Yours sounds like it has more to do with the type &/ or age &/ or wear of the tyres. Other considerations might be alignment or suspension, i.e. do you know it to be standard & serviceable.

Tyres have only 10k on them. They are 185 Turanzas and everything is completely stock. Wheel alignment done by Brighton Mazda.

[93_Clubman]

32psi cold all around.

Yours sounds like it has more to do with the type &/ or age &/ or wear of the tyres. Other considerations might be alignment or suspension, i.e. do you know it to be standard & serviceable.

Tyres have only 10k on them. They are 185 Turanzas and everything is completely stock. Wheel alignment done by Brighton Mazda.

So Bridgestone Turanzas, which if everything is stock should be 185/60x14 in size?

"10k" is that 10 kms or 10k kms? Assuming it's 10k kms - how many mm left to the wear bars?

Other issues are what is the date & location of manufacture of the tyres?

Mazda dealer may have gone by the book ref alignment, which is less than optimal - see here:
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=15398

Btw, how do you know everything is stock - have you been able to do a side by side comparison with a proven stock LE?

[snshami]

32psi cold all around.

Yours sounds like it has more to do with the type &/ or age &/ or wear of the tyres. Other considerations might be alignment or suspension, i.e. do you know it to be standard & serviceable.

Tyres have only 10k on them. They are 185 Turanzas and everything is completely stock. Wheel alignment done by Brighton Mazda.

So Bridgestone Turanzas, which if everything is stock should be 185/60x14 in size?

"10k" is that 10 kms or 10k kms? Assuming it's 10k kms - how many mm left to the wear bars?

Other issues are what is the date & location of manufacture of the tyres?

Mazda dealer may have gone by the book ref alignment, which is less than optimal - see here:
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=15398

Btw, how do you know everything is stock - have you been able to do a side by side comparison with a proven stock LE?

I did manage to drive an LE with around 80,000km and decent tyres and stock wheels and the car felt very similar.

The tyres have 10,000 km on them. They were never drifted and are almost like new.

There is nothing wrong with my car nor its suspension. I am very very sensitive to how a car feels. I can usually tell if a car has the wrong tyre pressure even by 2 psi. So please lets not go down the path of analysing my car and stick to the topic of why MX-5s run better with lower tyre pressure as compared to other cars.

[93_Clubman]

Hi just trying to understand what tyre pressures you use. I always used 36 psi for every other cars I have had or dríven with great results. When I got the MX-5 I tried higher pressures such as 32 psi and found the car very skitish. I am now down to 28 psi and it seems really very good.
Any ideas why the MX-5 responds very differently to tyre pressures than other cars do. Is it the weight ?

32psi cold all around.

Yours sounds like it has more to do with the type &/ or age &/ or wear of the tyres. Other considerations might be alignment or suspension, i.e. do you know it to be standard & serviceable.

Tyres have only 10k on them. They are 185 Turanzas and everything is completely stock. Wheel alignment done by Brighton Mazda.

So Bridgestone Turanzas, which if everything is stock should be 185/60x14 in size?

"10k" is that 10 kms or 10k kms? Assuming it's 10k kms - how many mm left to the wear bars?

Other issues are what is the date & location of manufacture of the tyres?

Mazda dealer may have gone by the book ref alignment, which is less than optimal - see here:
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=15398

Btw, how do you know everything is stock - have you been able to do a side by side comparison with a proven stock LE?

I did manage to drive an LE with around 80,000km and decent tyres and stock wheels and the car felt very similar.

The tyres have 10,000 km on them. They were never drifted and are almost like new.

There is nothing wrong with my car nor its suspension. I am very very sensitive to how a car feels. I can usually tell if a car has the wrong tyre pressure even by 2 psi. So please lets not go down the path of analysing my car and stick to the topic of why MX-5s run better with lower tyre pressure as compared to other cars.

Unfortunately, I don't agree with your assumption that "MX-5s run better with lower tyre pressure as compared to other cars". Sadly, these things are rarely so simple, but I won't waste my time trying to explain if you don't want to explore the issue more fully.

[snshami]

Hi just trying to understand what tyre pressures you use. I always used 36 psi for every other cars I have had or dríven with great results. When I got the MX-5 I tried higher pressures such as 32 psi and found the car very skitish. I am now down to 28 psi and it seems really very good.
Any ideas why the MX-5 responds very differently to tyre pressures than other cars do. Is it the weight ?

32psi cold all around.

Yours sounds like it has more to do with the type &/ or age &/ or wear of the tyres. Other considerations might be alignment or suspension, i.e. do you know it to be standard & serviceable.

Tyres have only 10k on them. They are 185 Turanzas and everything is completely stock. Wheel alignment done by Brighton Mazda.

So Bridgestone Turanzas, which if everything is stock should be 185/60x14 in size?

"10k" is that 10 kms or 10k kms? Assuming it's 10k kms - how many mm left to the wear bars?

Other issues are what is the date & location of manufacture of the tyres?

Mazda dealer may have gone by the book ref alignment, which is less than optimal - see here:
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=15398

Btw, how do you know everything is stock - have you been able to do a side by side comparison with a proven stock LE?

I did manage to drive an LE with around 80,000km and decent tyres and stock wheels and the car felt very similar.

The tyres have 10,000 km on them. They were never drifted and are almost like new.

There is nothing wrong with my car nor its suspension. I am very very sensitive to how a car feels. I can usually tell if a car has the wrong tyre pressure even by 2 psi. So please lets not go down the path of analysing my car and stick to the topic of why MX-5s run better with lower tyre pressure as compared to other cars.

Unfortunately, I don't agree with your assumption that "MX-5s run better with lower tyre pressure as compared to other cars". Sadly, these things are rarely so simple, but I won't waste my time trying to explain if you don't want to explore the issue more fully.

It was merely an observation based on a two data points. I am sure, as you say, there is more to it than meets the eye. The thing is I am quite happy with the car the way it is now and don't want to change for the moment. Undoubtedly I will, in due course, start exploring and pushing the boundary a bit. Right now I am trying to go slow and prevent mental overload. There is so much to learn about the car. Hopefully I can learn it without offending anyone on this forum with my lack of tact.
For now I will accept that this is an area to be explored in the future with an open mind.

[Old Dude]

32psi cold all around.

Yours sounds like it has more to do with the type &/ or age &/ or wear of the tyres. Other considerations might be alignment or suspension, i.e. do you know it to be standard & serviceable.

Tyres have only 10k on them. They are 185 Turanzas and everything is completely stock. Wheel alignment done by Brighton Mazda.

So Bridgestone Turanzas, which if everything is stock should be 185/60x14 in size?

"10k" is that 10 kms or 10k kms? Assuming it's 10k kms - how many mm left to the wear bars?

Other issues are what is the date & location of manufacture of the tyres?

Mazda dealer may have gone by the book ref alignment, which is less than optimal - see here:
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=15398

Btw, how do you know everything is stock - have you been able to do a side by side comparison with a proven stock LE?

I did manage to drive an LE with around 80,000km and decent tyres and stock wheels and the car felt very similar.

The tyres have 10,000 km on them. They were never drifted and are almost like new.

There is nothing wrong with my car nor its suspension. I am very very sensitive to how a car feels. I can usually tell if a car has the wrong tyre pressure even by 2 psi. So please lets not go down the path of analysing my car and stick to the topic of why MX-5s run better with lower tyre pressure as compared to other cars.

I don't neccessarily agree either, my car runs better on 36psi , It could be different tyres as well, as I'm running on Michelin PP2's
Cheers
Dale

[93_Clubman]

Hi just trying to understand what tyre pressures you use. I always used 36 psi for every other cars I have had or dríven with great results. When I got the MX-5 I tried higher pressures such as 32 psi and found the car very skitish. I am now down to 28 psi and it seems really very good.
Any ideas why the MX-5 responds very differently to tyre pressures than other cars do. Is it the weight ?

32psi cold all around.

Yours sounds like it has more to do with the type &/ or age &/ or wear of the tyres. Other considerations might be alignment or suspension, i.e. do you know it to be standard & serviceable.

Tyres have only 10k on them. They are 185 Turanzas and everything is completely stock. Wheel alignment done by Brighton Mazda.

So Bridgestone Turanzas, which if everything is stock should be 185/60x14 in size?

"10k" is that 10 kms or 10k kms? Assuming it's 10k kms - how many mm left to the wear bars?

Other issues are what is the date & location of manufacture of the tyres?

Mazda dealer may have gone by the book ref alignment, which is less than optimal - see here:
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=15398

Btw, how do you know everything is stock - have you been able to do a side by side comparison with a proven stock LE?

I did manage to drive an LE with around 80,000km and decent tyres and stock wheels and the car felt very similar.

The tyres have 10,000 km on them. They were never drifted and are almost like new.

There is nothing wrong with my car nor its suspension. I am very very sensitive to how a car feels. I can usually tell if a car has the wrong tyre pressure even by 2 psi. So please lets not go down the path of analysing my car and stick to the topic of why MX-5s run better with lower tyre pressure as compared to other cars.

Unfortunately, I don't agree with your assumption that "MX-5s run better with lower tyre pressure as compared to other cars". Sadly, these things are rarely so simple, but I won't waste my time trying to explain if you don't want to explore the issue more fully.

It was merely an observation based on a two data points. I am sure, as you say, there is more to it than meets the eye. The thing is I am quite happy with the car the way it is now and don't want to change for the moment. Undoubtedly I will, in due course, start exploring and pushing the boundary a bit. Right now I am trying to go slow and prevent mental overload. There is so much to learn about the car. Hopefully I can learn it without offending anyone on this forum with my lack of tact.
For now I will accept that this is an area to be explored in the future with an open mind.

"...an observation based on a two data points" on your vehicle does not constitute a trend, nor is it universally applicable.

[Charlie Brown]

The answer is pretty simple.
Car weight and suspension design.

The MX-5, especially the NA series, use the tyres as part of the suspension design along with the obvious springs, shocks and bump stops.

The higher the pressure the less initial shock absorption and therefore the more bump impact transferred into the suspension components. This means that through bumpy corners you will get that skittish, floaty feeling you’re talking about along with a decrease in ride quality. Remember the car manufacturer pours big money into testing and test equipment and have noted the optimum tyre pressure on the door frame of the car.

When you move away from the original tyres you may find that some tyres have softer side walls (eg Toyo T1Rs) and to help turn in response you need to run about 2 psi more than a tyre with firmer side walls.

None of what I’ve said above has anything to do with running your car on a smooth road or the track where you want optimum cornering performance and ‘feel’ consistency. On the track where the road is billiard table smooth you should run a pressure of 36 - 37psi cold and never more than 41psi hot.

[miata]

Instructors at the FREE Driver Training Course, given with new MX-5s, always insisted on 37 psi.
They would send people out with gauges during the first classroom session and those who didn't have the specified pressures were given a few minutes to find a "servo" and rectify the situation.
During the course of the lectures, they then explained why. Of course the Station wagon driving traveling salesperson in the group, always argued with the experts because "they knew better" but by the end of the day were converted to sacrificing a little comfort for more car control and greater safety.
I think most of us then knocked a couple of psi off the optimum and used around 33 - 34 psi for the road. Certainly worked with my NA and even better with the NB, especially after I fitted the Konis.

[GP]

Remember the car manufacturer pours big money into testing and test equipment and have noted the optimum tyre pressure on the door frame of the car.

Mine says 26psi but I prefer 28.

On the track where the road is billiard table smooth you should run a pressure of 36 - 37psi cold and never more than 41psi hot.

That sounds strange, The sidewalls would be had as a rock.

[snshami]

Ok so it seems that the consensus is that a full four wheel alignment by an MX-5 expert is a really good idea for an MX-5.

I guess my curiosity is stoked.

Who would such an expert be in Melbourne and what is the typical cost to do such an alignment.

[Charlie Brown]

On the track where the road is billiard table smooth you should run a pressure of 36 - 37psi cold and never more than 41psi hot.

That sounds strange, The sidewalls would be had as a rock.

What's strange?

On the track, ride is not important. Keeping the tread face square with the road for maximum grip and instant response to steering wheel input is.
Grip falls away noticeably above 41psi with performance road tyres on an MX-5.