I believe that we are guilty here of perpetuating a myth. While it is true
that bias ply and early radial tires could have their contact patch
influenced by tire pressure, modern steel belted tires are fairly immune to
this. In fact I read somewhere (Cor**tte FAQ, I believe) that they can act
in the exact opposite manner, that over inflation will stretch the outside
of the belts more than the middle and where the edges out first. I know
that on my Corv**te, two tires leaked so pressure varied wildly.
Nonetheless. all tires wore fairly evenly across the face with the center
wearing out slightly faster than the edges. Of course the rear tires wore
out first :-)
Personally, I run the tires on my cars at as high a pressure as I can
tolerate the ride. I use to run my B at 40 psi all around when I was young
and indestructable. Now I run my A at 30 psi all around. After all,
oversteer is the spice of life! Usual disclaimers apply. I am not
reccomending that you ignore the maximum pressure printed on the tire. I
am saying that I have ignored it in the past and have had no ill effects.
To summarize, other than ride harshness, I know of no ill effects from
running higher tire pressures on your LBC.
Regards,
Bill Eastman
61 MGA
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