tyre pressures....

[alstevens]

I know its a bit obvious as the decal on the door gives a range of psi's from 44 to 50 something - just wondered if there are advantages / disadvantages to upping the pressure towards the top end for fuel economy even if there are just two of us on board and fairly minimal kit ?

al

 

[Martin]

I was advised by VW to use the fully laden pressures even if the van is empty, I assume the pressures on the door decal are standard Caravelle ones which is obviously lighter than a Cali? I may be wrong!

 

[Goldie]

There was a bit of a debate on here and people posted the tyre pressure door decals and there was quite a difference between models. Mid 40s (my Beach Thunders) to mid 50s (my steel wheels with four seasons tyres) are good examples.

Andy

 

[alstevens]

Just popped down to the garage and put them on the recommended top load of 45 - discovered that I'd been running at around 37 as hadn't checked since picking Herman up in November ..... maybe I need to check more often...

 

[ChrisandPenney52]

I've always worked on the basis that even an 'empty' Cali has a whopping payload of habitation kit, and I
use the fully laden pressures.

 

[alstevens]

Herman did seem a lot lighter on the steering heading home....

 

[Larkrise]

When we changed to our winter tyres last November we noticed that the outer edges of the tyres were wearing more quickly- the diagnosis: pressures too low. So now we have them back on we have upped to about 50 to even the wear out.

 

[Goldie]

When we changed to our winter tyres last November we noticed that the outer edges of the tyres were wearing more quickly- the diagnosis: pressures too low. So now we have them back on we have upped to about 50 to even the wear out.

I did some research when I got them and the standard pressure for the T5 Transporter steel wheels and four seasons (winter) tyres supplied by Benn is 54psi.

Andy

 

[Larkrise]

Yes, I was a bit vague in my posting. We had 54 in our winter tyres (and got even wear)- it was our OE Dunlop's that had been under pressure and thus worn. I must admit to being out of the habit of checking pressures but I will certainly ensure we keep them quite high to even out the wear now. We have done about 17000 so far on the OE tyres, and did about 7000 on Benn's winter tyres from Nov to March.

 

[Alan]

I normally put 55 in my thunders
Checked my pressure directly after a service which showed a reading of 57 psi all around
Don't know how accurate my gadge is though

 

[uniqueadventures]

This rings true for me too...

I checked my tyre pressures fully loaded before going away last week (beach model with family of four and some average weight kit but reasonably heavy total load) pressures came up a bit high already so I let out some air.

On my return and with no load I checked the pressures again and they were we too high for unloaded so I had to let out loads of air.

They don't look at all right (they look slightly flat) at this pressure but it is what the sticker in the door suggests.

I want to get the best economy I can, while most importantly being as safe as I can, and thirdly I'd like the tyres to wear evenly. Should I just stick with it? Or give it more air because it looks right??

 

[jts46]

55 psi all round for me.

John

 

[Alan]

It does say in the hand book tires to be checked whilst cold (before starting off)
Not sure how long one needs to wait after driving the vehicle!

Alan

 

[Goldie]

Yes, I was a bit vague in my posting. We had 54 in our winter tyres (and got even wear)- it was our OE Dunlop's that had been under pressure and thus worn. I must admit to being out of the habit of checking pressures but I will certainly ensure we keep them quite high to even out the wear now. We have done about 17000 so far on the OE tyres, and did about 7000 on Benn's winter tyres from Nov to March.

To be honest I'm not that impressed with the tread on the Dunlop Sprorts, after a few 1000 miles they look like the Bridgestone F1 tyres of a few years ago, just bands around the tyre; no tread across the tyre.

I haven't done that many miles recently and left the Four Seasons GoodYears on for the Summer. I'm glad I did as I've ended up parking uphill on damp grass and I'm not sure they would have got me out that easily.

Andy

 

[Andy]

Tyre pressures should always be checked when cold. Can check acuracy of pressure gauge by checking pressure at tyre centre then with own gauge & work out difference.

Sent from my SM-G900F

 

[muttley]

When we changed to our winter tyres last November we noticed that the outer edges of the tyres were wearing more quickly- the diagnosis: pressures too low. So now we have them back on we have upped to about 50 to even the wear out.

I suspect that this outer edge wear may also be due to the weight of the Cali. I do a lot of driving on twisty country lanes, and the outside edges of my tyres always wear down noticeably faster than the middle. Or perhaps my tracking is out!

Mind you, I have less tyre choice with 18" wheels, so I am currently running Hankooks which seem to be made out of plasticine. I will be lucky to get 8000 miles out of them. In contrast, the 17" winter tyres which I have just removed after 6 months still look brand new.

Simon

 

[AndyFromTheBrac]

Simon that's interesting. I've just replaced a front pair of 18" Hankooks (VW were recommending these at the time) with similar crazy wear. I've gone down the vredestein route this time. I'll update later in the year.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[lfm]

On my 18s I had Falken ZIEX extra load (actually a 4x4 tyre) and they still had 5mm left after 18k miles. I've just changed the rear two over to Michelin Primacy 3 only because they seemed to be a manufacturing fault with one of them (weird groove right down to the carcass on one edge). Fronts have slightly more wear on one edge but still plenty of life in them.

 

[AlanC]

I had the running gear checked for tracking, caster and camber angles at the local big Kwikfit last year. Opposite corners were out of alignment, so the van was crabbing down the road slightly.

After 10k miles, the MOT test last month showed even wear across the whole width of the tread on all tyres.
£60 well spent in my view, as this is a lot cheaper than a full set of new tyres for a Cali.

Did the same on our Saab last month as it needed some suspension work to get through the MOT. This was out so far it didn't steer straight. Felt like it was slipping across tram tracks. Now steers dead straight.

Alan

 

[WelshGas]

Just received a call from Les Waghorne, Service Manager at South Hereford VW ( who does know the California well ). The Tyre Pressure label on the Front Door B pillar, IS for the California. Select the tyre size and the High Load pressures are for 4 passengers ( adults) and the Low Load for 2 passengers- inclusive of water , gas and presumed luggage. That is from VW Technical.
So you can make your own choice.

 

[BikerGran]

Oh help I was going to ask about tyre pressures but now I'm not sure what to ask!

Off to Cornwall Sunday so i thought I should check - following the sticker on the the door post I decided that the pressures should be 44 all round - just two of us in the vehicle and minimal load. But when I went to the tyre presssure machine the pressures wer all about 50 and having set it for 44 it lowered the pressures.

The van had a service and MOT before I collected it nearly 3 months ago so that would be when the pressures were set - so have I done the right thing? Or not?

 

[Hotel California]

@BikerGran ,
What tyres are on ?
We just been discussing tyre pressure in this topic recent
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/tyre-pressure.15121/#post-162713
There's a picture in that topic with a pressure table

 

[WelshGas]

Oh help I was going to ask about tyre pressures but now I'm not sure what to ask!

Off to Cornwall Sunday so i thought I should check - following the sticker on the the door post I decided that the pressures should be 44 all round - just two of us in the vehicle and minimal load. But when I went to the tyre presssure machine the pressures wer all about 50 and having set it for 44 it lowered the pressures.

The van had a service and MOT before I collected it nearly 3 months ago so that would be when the pressures were set - so have I done the right thing? Or not?

Don't forget the tyre pressures are measured " cold ", and that magic word will vary depending on th time of year and time of day.
3 months ago the ambient temperature was 7 - 11c.
Last week midday temperature 20 - 25c.
If tyres were set to 44psi 3 months ago and checked last week then the pressure change seen was probably normal.
Also Garage Tyre pressure gauges are supposed to be calibrated, if you pay for the service but not otherwise.

 

[BikerGran]

@BikerGran ,
What tyres are on ?
We just been discussing tyre pressure in this topic recent
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/tyre-pressure.15121/#post-162713
There's a picture in that topic with a pressure table

Mine are 215/65 R16 - but the pressure table on my 2007 Cali tells me 44 all round for 2 people and minimal luggage, or 50 for a full load, so they were 50 and are now 44.

I had only done a mile to the garage so they were cool enough, and the one mile ride home didn't feel noticeably different. I've never worried about tyre pressures before (I mean it's been simpler) as I've never had a vehicle this size

 

[BikerGran]

Don't forget the tyre pressures are measured " cold ", and that magic word will vary depending on th time of year and time of day.
3 months ago the ambient temperature was 7 - 11c.
Last week midday temperature 20 - 25c.
If tyres were set to 44psi 3 months ago and checked last week then the pressure change seen was probably normal.
Also Garage Tyre pressure gauges are supposed to be calibrated, if you pay for the service but not otherwise.

Tyres were checked today - temps are lower today! I think it was definitely higher but probably set to allow for the idiot old person to load it fully without checking - and to be fair, I'm ashamed that I've had it nearly 3 months without checking! At least I did do it before my trip to Cornwall!