So, when I'm going down the highway, I noticed that the car feels like it's 'skating' from side to side. I have 225/40-18's in the front with 245/35-18's rear. I had them set at 31PSI cold. We're doing a meet tonight, so chances that I"m gonna be driving the hell outta the car are good, and I don't want the 'skating' effect while I'm scooting down the road. Is this problem related to tire pressures? I was considering running 29PSI cold at all four corners. Is that dangerous?

 

I guess maybe I should consider running maybe 30 front, 32 rear to keep the rear from feeling like it's sliding around?

 

Well, turned out to be a lucky guess - 30/32 F/R cold and the car felt like it was an extension of my body. I'll post some guidelines on tire pressures that I found when I get a chance.

 

Please do.



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tire pressures close to what you should run ( 30 front 27-28 rear set cold) do not make your car "skate" or hunt or darty.



insufficient toe-in should be the culprit.



proper specs should be less than 1/8 toe in front and rear. with drive time toe in inevitably becomes zero and then toe out... that's why we should align our cars at least twice a year. as soon as your car reaches no toe it skates, or hunts w every bump.



you are correct to focus on tire pressure as to handling. it is the most obvious yet overlooked factor as to tuning. tire pressure acts as a spring and as such plays an important role in trimming out a cars handling.



the challenge as to improving handling for all front engine rear drive cars is to hook up the rear end in a corner so as to be able to get on the gas before the other car. soft rear is the key and lower tire pressure, spring rate, shocks and more rear weight all play a positive part.



good luck,



howard coleman