I've been curious to know what people are running with their tire pressure here. Do we keep it to recommended specifications? What is the recommended specs for an E30 with 15" wheels?And as for tire longevity. I was told that if the tires are more than 5 years it deteriorates with the Malaysian heat. And it hardens so it doesn't provide good grip anymore. Any real truth in this? My front tires are about 5 years old. And they still have some thread in them. So what do I do? change them since I love to late apex a corner and drive at high speeds. Please advise. Thanks.
Tire pressure and tire longevity
- Thread starter RedZ4
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ichiwan2
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There is an optimal tyre pressure recommended for the e30 - there should be a sticker somewhere at the door pillar. There is room on either side of the recommended tyre pressure. However, you must not exceed the maximum tyre pressure that is indicated on the tyre.
5 years is the general guide. I did find that the grip reduces with time - not because of shallower tread. My F1s had about 4mm of tread left and I was sliding a lot. Changed them.
Generally, the rubber on the tyres tend to harden with time, due to heat cycles, i.e., it gets hot due to friction with the road as well as internal friction as the tyre flexes. As it hardens, the propensity to crack is higher. Hence, the chances of the tyre blowing increases as the tyres get older.
As you love high speed cornering and driving, I strongly recommend that you change the tyres. It will keep you, your passengers and other motorists safer.
If you do decide to keep the using old tyres, the old saying penny wise, pound foolish comes to mind.
5 years is the general guide. I did find that the grip reduces with time - not because of shallower tread. My F1s had about 4mm of tread left and I was sliding a lot. Changed them.
Generally, the rubber on the tyres tend to harden with time, due to heat cycles, i.e., it gets hot due to friction with the road as well as internal friction as the tyre flexes. As it hardens, the propensity to crack is higher. Hence, the chances of the tyre blowing increases as the tyres get older.
As you love high speed cornering and driving, I strongly recommend that you change the tyres. It will keep you, your passengers and other motorists safer.
If you do decide to keep the using old tyres, the old saying penny wise, pound foolish comes to mind.
Try this site:
http://www.thetyrepressuremonitor.com/tyrepressures_bmw.html
http://www.thetyrepressuremonitor.com/tyrepressures_bmw.html
Ghostrider-SG
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5 yrs seems like a long time. You mean those rubbers that are virgins that have not touched the tarmac yet or those that have already been on the road.
For those on the road, I think 2 years and the rubber compound would have harden in our climate. The ozone with the heat will make the rubber harden...making them useless...even if they are plenty of threads left in the tyres.
For those virgins that have yet to be used, storage is also important. It must be outta the sun and preferable the tyres are not stacked on top of each other....for a short while like a couple of months is ok, but if its for long, the steel belts in the tyre will be outta shape.
I only buy rubbers that are made in the current year....for those made last year, it must not exceed more than 12 months. Since you gonna pay for it, might as well get the fresh stocks as opposed to old stocks (cos likely the seller gonna charge you for same price.)
