Tyre Wear in Centre
Tyre Wear in Centre
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Discussion

atm

Original Poster:

21,453 posts

249 months

Tuesday 13th March 2007
quotequote all
Hello

I've noticed my rear tyres have worn more in the centre - Boxster 986 18". I have them on 36psi as per the Porsche recommedation. Should I lower them?

Anyone else notice this also?

Thanks...

911wise

1,887 posts

239 months

Tuesday 13th March 2007
quotequote all
I went to a pcgb meeting the other night where somebody gave a talk on wheel and tyre set up, they used a tyre that was worn in the middle as an example of what happens to a poorly inflated tyre. Unfortuantley the talk was boring me to tears so I cant remeber whether it was low inflated or high inflated tyres that cause this. What I do remember is that excessive speed does cause this type of wear in a tyre.

willdew

2,138 posts

294 months

Tuesday 13th March 2007
quotequote all
Yep, tyre wear in the center means they're overinflated. I'd drop them a couple of psi and see if that improves things.

Brett928S2

1,504 posts

245 months

Tuesday 13th March 2007
quotequote all
Hi

Yes they are OVER inflated...

The way I set my pressures on my 18s on my 928 is as follows...

Get a thermal laser gun (little gun thing with red laser beam that reads temperature..around £30 off ebay)

Drive for a few miles fairly fast once tyres are up to normal temp...

Stop in layby....aim gun across tyre...read temps...they should be EVEN....if centre temp is higher than edges then LOWER pressure....etc etc...

Like this one but dont buy unless in UK !!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CE-Certified-Gu

All the best Brett


Edited by Brett928S2 on Tuesday 13th March 11:35

atm

Original Poster:

21,453 posts

249 months

Tuesday 13th March 2007
quotequote all
Right ok

I like the Laser gun idea. Didn't realise they were only 30 quid. So if a tyre gets hotter does it make the pressure higher - forgot my boyles law GCSE lesson obviously.

GreenV8S

31,024 posts

314 months

Tuesday 13th March 2007
quotequote all
I agree probably over-inflated.

An infrared thermometer isn't a very good way of measuring tyre temperatures, it only measures the surface temperature not the temperature inside the tread - which is a much better indicator of how hard the tyre is working. You really need a tyre pyrometer which will read the temperature within the tread.

You won't get even readings across the tyre, but what you should aim for is the middle being roughly the average of the inner and outer edges.

The actual temperature distribution will vary enormously depending on what sort of driving you do - hooning round roundabouts will cook the outer edges while they will be stone cold on a motorway. So taking snap measurements isn't a good way to manage long term average tyre wear. The best way to do that is simply to monitor how they are wearing.

atm

Original Poster:

21,453 posts

249 months

Tuesday 13th March 2007
quotequote all
Right

Very informative.

Thanks...

Brett928S2

1,504 posts

245 months

Tuesday 13th March 2007
quotequote all
GreenV8S said:
I agree probably over-inflated.

An infrared thermometer isn't a very good way of measuring tyre temperatures, it only measures the surface temperature not the temperature inside the tread - which is a much better indicator of how hard the tyre is working. You really need a tyre pyrometer which will read the temperature within the tread.

You won't get even readings across the tyre, but what you should aim for is the middle being roughly the average of the inner and outer edges.

The actual temperature distribution will vary enormously depending on what sort of driving you do - hooning round roundabouts will cook the outer edges while they will be stone cold on a motorway. So taking snap measurements isn't a good way to manage long term average tyre wear. The best way to do that is simply to monitor how they are wearing.


Hi

I agree with some of the above....but a couple of points....

Most of a tyres time is spent in straight lines..not going around corners so a temp reading done after straight running is on AVERAGE a better way to do it...

Monitoring a tyres wear by looking is a VERY expensive way to do it as you have probably lost half the tread by the time you notice the difference between the centre and the edges...

My way you can drop the pressure BEFORE you actually SEE the wear....

Higher temp in middle = over inflated
Lower temp in middle = under inflated

One other advantage of an infrared temp gun is that it works even if you change make of tyre (as tyre compounds are different you cannot assume all tyres of the same size will run properly at the same pressure)

p.s.. When I said make sure you buy from a UK supplier...I meant NOT from someone selling on Ebay from Taiwan or Hongkong !!
Also do not buy the Snap-On version unless cheap (they usually go for silly money)

All the best Brett

john ward

118 posts

246 months

Wednesday 14th March 2007
quotequote all
I had a query when I was buying new tyres recently, I wanted to know what the 'n' rating was about. As usual, when I want to know something, I just went straight to Porsche HQ. They patched me through to the branch in Chester where their 'best tyre man' works. He was really helpful, explaining what the 'n' rating was about, and finishing with, quote - "By the way, the book says the tyre pressures should be 36psi, which is fine for the German snooker table roads, however for British roads we recommend our customers to run the tyres 2 -3 psi lower, which will give you a better ride and make your tyres last longer".

Hope that's useful to you.

Pickled Piper

6,452 posts

265 months

Wednesday 14th March 2007
quotequote all
It could just be that your car does a large amount of high speed motorway miles? wear in the centre doesn't necessarily mean overinflation.
pp

atm

Original Poster:

21,453 posts

249 months

Wednesday 14th March 2007
quotequote all
john ward said:
I had a query when I was buying new tyres recently, I wanted to know what the 'n' rating was about. As usual, when I want to know something, I just went straight to Porsche HQ. They patched me through to the branch in Chester where their 'best tyre man' works. He was really helpful, explaining what the 'n' rating was about, and finishing with, quote - "By the way, the book says the tyre pressures should be 36psi, which is fine for the German snooker table roads, however for British roads we recommend our customers to run the tyres 2 -3 psi lower, which will give you a better ride and make your tyres last longer".

Hope that's useful to you.



Front and rear?

Book says 29 front and 36 rear.

andy tims

5,606 posts

276 months

Wednesday 14th March 2007
quotequote all
Might be worth the OP checking his pressure guage in case it's reading incorrectly.

john ward

118 posts

246 months

Thursday 15th March 2007
quotequote all
That might be for 911s, but I've only got a 944S2, and the book says 36 psi front and rear. The guy knew what model I had, yet still didn't mind talking to me!

softinthehead

1,550 posts

269 months

Thursday 15th March 2007
quotequote all
Brett928S2 said:
Hi

Yes they are OVER inflated...

The way I set my pressures on my 18s on my 928 is as follows...

Get a thermal laser gun (little gun thing with red laser beam that reads temperature..around £30 off ebay)

Drive for a few miles fairly fast once tyres are up to normal temp...

Stop in layby....aim gun across tyre...read temps...they should be EVEN....if centre temp is higher than edges then LOWER pressure....etc etc...

Like this one but dont buy unless in UK !!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CE-Certified-Gu

All the best Brett


Edited by Brett928S2 on Tuesday 13th March 11:35


flaming hell. I knew that the 928 was luxuriously kitted out, but your own personal laser gun???

Brett928S2

1,504 posts

245 months

Thursday 15th March 2007
quotequote all
Hi

Lollll.....928s have everything...lol

Actually the temp gun is extremely useful , you can for instance point it at the base of a spark plug and the temp will tell you if its missfiring etc etc...also useful for me with my nitrous...to see if my bottle heater blanket is in correct place to give even temperature across whole bottle....you can even use it for your kids ..point at forehead...see if they are ill

All the best Brett