I have the 17" runflats, checked my tire pressure yesterday, and they were around 35psi. The tires are marked for Max PSI = 44. so I bumped them all up to about 42, I can't believe the difference it made, in a BAD way. The tires seem to be VERY sensative to movement now, it's actually hard to keep the car in a straight line. Doing 65 on a straight hwy, every little tiny movement of the steering wheel seems to jerk the car one way or the other. It did not do that when they were at 35psi.

Anyone else notice this? What are you folks inflating them to?

 

38 LBS is the MINI recommended pressure..Try that

 

Read owners manual.

 

Look at the sticker on the door post

 

Actually, the manufacturer's tire pressure recommendations can be improved on for both ride and performance driving. For instance, if you seldon have passengers or loads in the rear of the car try pressures in the 30-33 lb range on 17" tires. Fronts worked well for me at 36 for 17". I'm running 35/32 on the '07 with 16". Tire pressure changes will allow you to make small changes to turn-in, under/over steer, and ride of you car.

 

42 is way too high. The owner manual said 38 psi for 18" wheel. I don't remember what it is for 17", but I think around 36 psi.

 

My owner's manual says 36 psi for 17" tires. The MAX rating on a tire is just what it says, and no more. There's no relationship between that number and manufacturer recommendation for best handling.

 

The owners manual was probably printed in 2004 or something, and is most likely meaningless when it comes to tire pressure. I would NEVER follow a car manuals tire pressure recomendation. They change brand of tires sometimes, they change type of tires, and depending on what rims you have, there are different size and style of tires (run flats, non-run flast, all seasons...).

What I'm looking for is what everyonese "experience" is at different tire pressures. What are YOU finding to be the best presure, and why.

 

I tried 38 in front, 37 in back. I think it is a little too high. I'll be trying 36/34 next. This is with 17" Dunlap factory runflats, and Michelin Pilot Exhalto PE2 205/45 17 non-runflats (two sets of wheels).

If you drive over 100 mph with four passengers and luggage, MINI recommends a higher pressure.

 

Birdman, Robin, etal.

I am running 36 all around on the varied roads in Colorado. I was a bit lower but figured I would run a bit faster in the mountains this past weekend. Going up to 36 from 34 actually made the RFs a bit quieter for some reason. I think 42 is much to hard and might lead to a tire failure.

 

My door jam says 32 psi for 1 person and 35 psi for a full load. I run 35-36 all around. High pressure helps gas mileage, usually at the cost of ride quality. The only minus is the possibility that the tire will wear the middle out early. I've heard conflicting reports on this topic, though. The steel belts are there primarily to prevent this very thing from happening. Police intercepters are also run at the maximum inflation pressure on the sidewall, police training vehicles are supposedly run even higher.

 

This is interesting. When my car was delivered, I have the 17" crown spokes wheels with runflat on. I changed them to aftermarket 18" wheels on the same day. When I look at the door jum, it said to put 38 psi on the 17" crown spokes. When I read the manual, it said to put 36 psi on 17" wheels on MCS. So I guess 36 to 38 are the recommanded range! :p

I put 38 psi on my 18". They seems to run pretty good.