bridgestone potenza RE050A
04-26-2012, 08:28 AM
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2003 S500, 03 C240, 03 E320, 03 tahoe
bridgestone potenza RE050A
just installed another set, $1180 mounted/balanced. 245/45ZR18 front. 275/40ZR18 rear. factory placard says 28 psi front and 33 psi rear. add 4 psi for sustained high speed. tire placard says 51 psi max. i have been experimenting with pressure and 28 front is a limo smooth ride but destroys the shoulders of the tire. anything less than 35 in the rear and im looking at 15k miles or less for a set. at 40psi front and rear i have seen 27 mpg. at factory specs 28/33 front/rear 24 mpg. has anyone found the "zen" pressure that gives the best of both worlds. im seeking an even # front and rear to make it easy for the wife, im in afghan for 9 months of the year and she has to keep them serviced.
04-26-2012, 09:47 AM
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just installed another set, $1180 mounted/balanced. 245/45ZR18 front. 275/40ZR18 rear. factory placard says 28 psi front and 33 psi rear. add 4 psi for sustained high speed. tire placard says 51 psi max. i have been experimenting with pressure and 28 front is a limo smooth ride but destroys the shoulders of the tire. anything less than 35 in the rear and im looking at 15k miles or less for a set. at 40psi front and rear i have seen 27 mpg. at factory specs 28/33 front/rear 24 mpg. has anyone found the "zen" pressure that gives the best of both worlds. im seeking an even # front and rear to make it easy for the wife, im in afghan for 9 months of the year and she has to keep them serviced.
Drag, I go 40F and 22R
Road course, I use 42F 35R
Anything less than 32F, IMHO doee NOT support the weight and the tires roll over too much, think sidewall wear here.
Good luck
PS: I have NEVER seen any change in gas mileage with tire pressure higher than 35F, just a rougher ride.
04-26-2012, 11:02 AM
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MB 2003 S600. Volvo 2003 XC70.
No say about racing condition, not even close to Marty does.
But for regular driving I use around 32F and 35R.
35 psi is the design/working pressure for manufacturer to test and mark the load rate. Means if you want the front 245/45ZR18 96W to take 710Kg load you need pump it to 35 psi at least. If it is under 35 psi, the less psi the less load it could take, plus too low pressure lead to shoulder worn as you mentioned.
To play it safe, I use 35 psi as a number to play around, only under or over 2-3 psi on regular driving. I do use caliper to check tire worn (wheel runout too) everytime I change summer to winter or vise versa. For my setting I don't see unusual worn. I feel comfortable without bouncing around. For me I never go under 30 psi which I think is under pressure and not acceptable.
By the way if you want to drive very fast you need put more pressure than 35 psi to take designed load as you need more pressure to compensate the higher speed.
According to my pressure setting I couldn't see much difference in mpg.
Thanks.
Howard
Last edited by haoz129; 04-26-2012 at 11:20 AM.
04-26-2012, 03:06 PM
#4
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Cobra,
No say about racing condition, not even close to Marty does.
But for regular driving I use around 32F and 35R.
35 psi is the design/working pressure for manufacturer to test and mark the load rate. Means if you want the front 245/45ZR18 96W to take 710Kg load you need pump it to 35 psi at least. If it is under 35 psi, the less psi the less load it could take, plus too low pressure lead to shoulder worn as you mentioned.
To play it safe, I use 35 psi as a number to play around, only under or over 2-3 psi on regular driving. I do use caliper to check tire worn (wheel runout too) everytime I change summer to winter or vise versa. For my setting I don't see unusual worn. I feel comfortable without bouncing around. For me I never go under 30 psi which I think is under pressure and not acceptable.
By the way if you want to drive very fast you need put more pressure than 35 psi to take designed load as you need more pressure to compensate the higher speed.
According to my pressure setting I couldn't see much difference in mpg.
Thanks.
Howard
No say about racing condition, not even close to Marty does.
But for regular driving I use around 32F and 35R.
35 psi is the design/working pressure for manufacturer to test and mark the load rate. Means if you want the front 245/45ZR18 96W to take 710Kg load you need pump it to 35 psi at least. If it is under 35 psi, the less psi the less load it could take, plus too low pressure lead to shoulder worn as you mentioned.
To play it safe, I use 35 psi as a number to play around, only under or over 2-3 psi on regular driving. I do use caliper to check tire worn (wheel runout too) everytime I change summer to winter or vise versa. For my setting I don't see unusual worn. I feel comfortable without bouncing around. For me I never go under 30 psi which I think is under pressure and not acceptable.
By the way if you want to drive very fast you need put more pressure than 35 psi to take designed load as you need more pressure to compensate the higher speed.
According to my pressure setting I couldn't see much difference in mpg.
Thanks.
Howard
04-26-2012, 06:32 PM
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2003 S500, 03 C240, 03 E320, 03 tahoe
thanks for "science" of tire pressure
Cobra,
No say about racing condition, not even close to Marty does.
But for regular driving I use around 32F and 35R.
35 psi is the design/working pressure for manufacturer to test and mark the load rate. Means if you want the front 245/45ZR18 96W to take 710Kg load you need pump it to 35 psi at least. If it is under 35 psi, the less psi the less load it could take, plus too low pressure lead to shoulder worn as you mentioned.
To play it safe, I use 35 psi as a number to play around, only under or over 2-3 psi on regular driving. I do use caliper to check tire worn (wheel runout too) everytime I change summer to winter or vise versa. For my setting I don't see unusual worn. I feel comfortable without bouncing around. For me I never go under 30 psi which I think is under pressure and not acceptable.
By the way if you want to drive very fast you need put more pressure than 35 psi to take designed load as you need more pressure to compensate the higher speed.
According to my pressure setting I couldn't see much difference in mpg.
Thanks.
Howard
No say about racing condition, not even close to Marty does.
But for regular driving I use around 32F and 35R.
35 psi is the design/working pressure for manufacturer to test and mark the load rate. Means if you want the front 245/45ZR18 96W to take 710Kg load you need pump it to 35 psi at least. If it is under 35 psi, the less psi the less load it could take, plus too low pressure lead to shoulder worn as you mentioned.
To play it safe, I use 35 psi as a number to play around, only under or over 2-3 psi on regular driving. I do use caliper to check tire worn (wheel runout too) everytime I change summer to winter or vise versa. For my setting I don't see unusual worn. I feel comfortable without bouncing around. For me I never go under 30 psi which I think is under pressure and not acceptable.
By the way if you want to drive very fast you need put more pressure than 35 psi to take designed load as you need more pressure to compensate the higher speed.
According to my pressure setting I couldn't see much difference in mpg.
Thanks.
Howard
06-04-2012, 06:37 AM
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2006 S500 4Matic, 2006 S430 4Matic
I run a fleet of S500/S430 4Matics for my limo company in NY Metro. I run stock-size Pilot Sport A/S+ at 35psi cold and am getting 65-70K life out of the tires. I think that's pretty good for NYC area road conditions. You should do better on CA freeways. S/F from a 53Echo Crewchief!
06-04-2012, 08:20 AM
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MB 2003 S600. Volvo 2003 XC70.
Nice. You are in the postion being able to tell the cost difference between brands and models. I believe you got a very good balance from Pilot Sport A/S.
One thing I want to bring up, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S is in All Season catagory and Bridgestone Potenza RE050A the OP mentioned is Summer tire. RE050A will deliver better sporty performance than all seasons, hence not as good as All Seasons to handle winter.
I use Summer/Winter setup which gives the best performance in summer and safety/grip in winter. But it's too complex for a fleet I know.
Model wise Michelin Pilot series are the best worth considering: Pilot Sport, Pilot Sport PS2, now Pilot Super Sport. I still have a set of Pilot Sport for front and two sets of PS2, Super Sport for rear. They are quiet and smooth.
Bridgestone RE050 series are great too. They are very well built and do last. I still have set of RE050 (245/45R18, 265/40R18) and you can feel the quality. They are great both in wet and dry.
Above tires are all performing well and pull my S600 like on rails in every road/driving (winter excluded) condition.
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 is a problematic child though which grows cracks after years that's the only thing need watch out.
Anyway Michelin and Bridgestone are two brands I will use as they really gave me worry free. Very, very, very good quality.
Thanks.
Howard
One thing I want to bring up, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S is in All Season catagory and Bridgestone Potenza RE050A the OP mentioned is Summer tire. RE050A will deliver better sporty performance than all seasons, hence not as good as All Seasons to handle winter.
I use Summer/Winter setup which gives the best performance in summer and safety/grip in winter. But it's too complex for a fleet I know.
I run a fleet of S500/S430 4Matics for my limo company in NY Metro. I run stock-size Pilot Sport A/S+ at 35psi cold and am getting 65-70K life out of the tires. I think that's pretty good for NYC area road conditions. You should do better on CA freeways. S/F from a 53Echo Crewchief!
Model wise Michelin Pilot series are the best worth considering: Pilot Sport, Pilot Sport PS2, now Pilot Super Sport. I still have a set of Pilot Sport for front and two sets of PS2, Super Sport for rear. They are quiet and smooth.
Bridgestone RE050 series are great too. They are very well built and do last. I still have set of RE050 (245/45R18, 265/40R18) and you can feel the quality. They are great both in wet and dry.
Above tires are all performing well and pull my S600 like on rails in every road/driving (winter excluded) condition.
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 is a problematic child though which grows cracks after years that's the only thing need watch out.
Anyway Michelin and Bridgestone are two brands I will use as they really gave me worry free. Very, very, very good quality.
Thanks.
Howard
