I have Toyo 205/45/16 tyres fitted to my mk1 can anyone give me the correct pressures for long motorway driving and for knocking about the doors,cheers in advance.
26psi all round
Cheers for that though I’ve just read that the factory setting recommend 33 front and 30 rear, seems opinions vary??
The handbook for that size on my mk2.5 says 26, so not an opinion but Mazda advice. but I do tend to run at about 28, as my preference, and did same when I had them on my MK1 for a while…
26psi is the Mazda recommendation.
Gra
Think it also depends on the tyre.
Don’t know which Toyos you have, but when I was running the legendary T1R I found it helpful to run a little higher than the recommended pressures. That went some way to improve steering feel and turn in response.
indeed, which is what I do.
Yeah I have the T1Rs, I’ve gone for 33psi front 30 rear and I’ll see what it feels like on my long motorway drive on Tuesday, can always drop them a bit if it feels a touch too harsh. I do also think tyre makes differ and it’s just a case of how the drive feels but a base setting is helpful.
At those pressures the car will not handle the way it is designed too. Maybe a couple of psi over 26 but certainly no more. Just come back forma 2,500 mile trip around France in our MK2 which has T1R’s at 26psi and it handled every type of road surface and speed perfectly.
Same pressure all round or not?
Yea, and lower than you are suggesting, but give it a try first, then adjust them.
Too high, no need for that. Try 26-28 as has been suggested, your choice. It costs nothing to experiment a bit. but same front and back though. Just done 2050 miles around UK and Scotland at 28, and no issues, in wet or dry…
Ok, will drop it a touch I think, I trust your judgement, cheers all??
I think the tyre pressures should be the same all the round because of the 5’s 50/50 weight distribution.
You increase pressure in tyres for load or high speed running to reduce the flex of the sidewall to reduce the internal friction and stop heat build up. You really are not going to have that problem in an MX-5.
If you adjust pressures to make a tyre feel different, nothing wrong in that, but them by the same token you can adjust how the different ends feel and respond by altering pressure, so nothing wrong with having different pressures front to rear.
Sadly all the pressure variation in the world won’t make it a better tyre.