HELP - Tire pressure confusion

[MML]

Hi all,

I have searched through the forum and the web in general for answers, but unfortunately without success. Therefore, I come to all you performance driving experts and enthusiasts here for some advice.

From internet discussions/articles to knowledgeable individuals that I know, most say that we should run our Minis with higher pressure for the rear and lower for the front. Conceptually, i get it; lower front pressure giving the car more front end grip to cure understeer that occurs to most FWD cars. However, for some reason, I simply cannot live with that setup.

I do not track or auto-x, but the roads around my home is indeed one of the most challenging in my city. It is extremely narrow and contains short straights and sharp/hairpin corners, therefore best for the short wheelbase mini! Anyway, thats just a little background of the environment so that the driving experts can assess what kind of setup for the car is needed

To cut the long story short, I am running on Toyo Proxies R1R 205/50/16 tires, with 32 psi for front and 30 psi for rear. The car is well balanced, at least to my driving style i guess. But with all the information on the net and from others, i had to try the "correct setup". I first tried by lowering the front pressure to 30 psi, so all 4 tires are equal at this stage. Immediately, the change in handling was significant, only in a negative way. I was unable to throw the car into the corner like before, the tail just became extremely unstable under braking and the tail would step out alot more than before during turn-in. For large bends, I also noticed a great increase in body roll. At the end, I didn't even bother to try lowering more front pressure as I have seen enough of the change and worried that accident might occur with my driving style.

My question is, why would people prefer that kind of over-steery setup? Is it my driving style that makes me feel that high front psi and low rear psi is good? Is it because of the nature of the tight corners that makes my setup more appropriate? With the "correct setup", i felt that i am losing alot of speed for corner entries in order to stablize the tail.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

[iain cooper]

I wouldn't have imagined that this change in tyre pressure would have created such a dramatic change in your car's handling ?? ( on the public highway )

I am tempted to say that your driving style leaves a lot to be desired on the public roads, but I remain open to be convinced otherwise.

[PK5]

if you are saying the ground that you are driving on is loose gravel then if you drop the front pressures and not the back then there will be a difference. try dropping the rear the same amount say the front are 20 then try rear at 25.

[The Eggman]

20 Front-25Rear ?????????????????? The tyre pressure sensor will be on and I don't think the tyres will last long !!!!!!
32F-30R is about right on a R53.

[MML]

The road is tarmac.

Eggman - is that what you run too(32F / 30R)?

I am just curious as to why most people would recommend something like 30F / 32R.

[The Eggman]

The weights on the front, article in Modern Mini said you could lower rears to 24PSI, fronts stay at 32PSI. I run Toyos 215x40-17's at 32f-28r. A couple of lbs is nothing, 20psi in fronts crazy.