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Re: TR-3A Tire Pressure

To: <blambert@socal.rr.com>
Subject: Re: TR-3A Tire Pressure
From: Herald948@aol.com
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 10:01:44 EST
Cc: <triumphs@autox.team.net>
In a message dated Mon, 15 Jan 2001 11:15:06 PM Eastern Standard Time, Dennis & 
Bridget Lambert <blambert@socal.rr.com> writes:

<< I have Michelin XZX's on my TR-3A ($48 at the local Costco).  The book calls 
for 30 lbs pressure on the rears, and only 24 lbs on the fronts.  This seems 
quite a disparity to me; do the fronts really have to be that soft?  Has 
anybody had any success running the fronts a tad fuller?  >>

Dennis, I see no reason why you couldn't experiment with slightly higher front 
pressures. I remember reading years ago (and wish I could again locate the 
source) that auto manufacturers often tended to "recommend" tire pressures that 
would normally lead to understeering conditions at the limit rather than 
oversteering. The reasoning was (is still? Explorers and Firestone tires 
notwithstanding) that, for the average driver, a bit of front-end plowing was 
easier to deal with than a tail trying to swap ends with the front.

FWIW, I always rather liked the Michelin XZX tires back in my Volvo 144 days. 
They were, IMO, a great improvement over the ZX tires. Of course, I still have 
"original" Michelin "X" radials on the Mayflower, said tires salvaged from a 
TR4. Even those vintage treads are a notable improvement over the cheap 
bias-plies that were on Priscilla when I first got her! Seems worth a mention, 
since Mayflower and TR share many suspension components! :-)

--Andy Mace

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