Tyre Pressure

[0071]

I have Golf 8 Life 1.0 eTSi. It has the 16 inch alloys.. the tyres are 205-55-16.. inside the door it’s stated that the tyre pressures must be 36psi all.. but I think it’s too high and it gives me a bumpy ride.. so I set them to 34 psi all.. what do you think, should I go back to factory recommendations or should I continue the way that suits me .. and also do you think it effects the fuel consumption in negative way..

 

[SRGTD]

VW’s recommended tyre pressures do seem to be quite high - presumably set high for emissions reasons as the higher the tyre pressure, the lower the rolling resistance, so lower emissions = which means lower emissions-based fines for VW.

Dropping your tire pressures by 2psi to 34psi should be OK; It might have a slightly detrimental impact on mpg, as lower tyre pressures increase the rolling resistance of the tyres. By way of comparison, VW’s recommended tyre pressures for the GTI Clubsport is 41 psi all round with up to two occupants plus luggage in the car, rising to 44 psi front and 48 psi back for a fully loaded car . Now that does seem high.

 

[airforced]

Over the last 10 years or so I have had Mercs/Volvo and now Mk8 and they all have had higher tyre pressures recomended by the manufacturers than suits a comfortable ride, presumably in the persuit of better figures for THEM. There is absolutely nothing wrong in looking for a comfort setting that will make the ride better. The downside will be slightly worse mpg figures and tyre wear but such adverse figures will hardly be noticed but the ride improvement WILL be noticed. A reduction of 2 psi as previously mentioned is about right across the board, irrespective of manufacturer.