Quote:
Originally Posted by Russjd
Blanket Statement?
FUD?
Because you Never had a tire failure,
Because you Never had an accident,
what instrumentation are you using to determine "your car's handle way better"?
I go buy.... max tire contact = max braking, cornering (at "normal" speeds)
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And how are you determining max tire contact? What pressures and what tires and what load? Yes FUD. Fear Uncertainty or Death. :roll-eyes: The truth is, when pressure is kept at or below the sidewall max pressure, contact patch integrity is retained and very little if any contact patch is reduced. Stopping distance is not drastically altered by more than a few feet +- depending on whether you're driving on concrete or asphalt.
Max, I would not argue your points because i agree with them but you never stopped to ask me what I consider overinflated and wrongly assumed I run "hyperinflated" tires, whatever that means. Generally speaking most of the road surfaces I drive on at speeds over 45mph are quite smooth so inflating to even 50psi (51psi max) doesn't induce a lot of bouncing or skipping but for safety and comfort reasons I don't go that high except for testing purposes. A tire inflated near sidewall max (hot) has the benefit of a stiffer sidewall which helps quicken steering response and keeps the tire from rolling over onto the sidewall in hard cornering. It also decreases deformation/deflection which reduces heat buildup thus resisting heat induced blowouts and excess tire wear. I'm sure you've experienced this if you have ever ran autocross events. This also helps to keep the car under control in the event you have to perform an evasive maneuver. The Prius comes with fairly undersized tires, especially on the GenII, so adding pressure above placard levels (33/35psi) creates more stable handling, slightly better fuel economy, and even tire wear. Even so, no one on our forum ever recommends running above sidewall max pressure and they often recommend less if the end user drives on poorly maintained roads. IMO that is not hyperinflation nor do tire manufactures consider it so from what I have read and I do read a lot.
It's amazing what you can learn from racing tech and the trucking industry! LOL