Tyre Inflation Levels For 340?

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Justin
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Tyre Inflation Levels For 340?

Post by Justin » 14 Jan 2011 04:32 pm

Am I correct in thinking the rear tyres on a volvo 340 should be 30psi and the front ones 27psi? A friend told me that tyre inflators in garages are very rarely accurate. I usually just put 30psi in all four tyres at a garage...
1988 340 1.4 DL

(I suffer with O.C.D. which makes me obsessed with fine detail)

(Diagrams or photos are far more helpful to me when it comes to cars)

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Speedy88
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Re: Tyre Inflation Levels For 340?

Post by Speedy88 » 14 Jan 2011 05:15 pm

Yeah that's what is recommended. I always found it made the steering too heavy for me so I used to stick in 32 all round.
'88 340 Williams (Sold)
'85 360 GLS - Drift project (Sold)
'77 Colt Sigma
'96 940 Drift project

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dubweiser666
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Re: Tyre Inflation Levels For 340?

Post by dubweiser666 » 14 Jan 2011 09:36 pm

Depends on what tyres you have on! It say's what the recommended PSI (air pressure) is on the sidewall of every tyre i have ever seen!
13" steelies will mostly typically be somewhere between 30 - 36 i reckon, 15" and above alloys could be 50 odd psi,

checkout number 4 on this handy attached diagram!

Image

Max Pressure ...?psi

under inflated tyre's = higher fuel consumption
Image
Don't own a Volvo atm, might be looking another?
1988 Volvo 340GL, 1.7, 3 Door Hatch (SOLD 2014)
1990 Volvo 340LE, 1.4, 5 Door Hatch (SOLD 2013)

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Speedy88
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Re: Tyre Inflation Levels For 340?

Post by Speedy88 » 15 Jan 2011 02:00 am

Max load is only the highest pressure you should put in though - for road comfort and spread tyre wear, 30 is about right. Low profiles can go up to about 50 sometimes but I wouldn't take it up to this unless I was on a track. And even then I wouldn't happy that the whole tyre was in contact with the road.

The info on the tyre only shows the max pressure, not the recommended.
'88 340 Williams (Sold)
'85 360 GLS - Drift project (Sold)
'77 Colt Sigma
'96 940 Drift project

Justin
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Joined: 31 Jul 2008 12:18 pm
Location: Plymouth

Re: Tyre Inflation Levels For 340?

Post by Justin » 15 Jan 2011 03:20 pm

Im gonna stick with 30psi all round I think...
1988 340 1.4 DL

(I suffer with O.C.D. which makes me obsessed with fine detail)

(Diagrams or photos are far more helpful to me when it comes to cars)

Ride_on
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Re: Tyre Inflation Levels For 340?

Post by Ride_on » 15 Jan 2011 04:03 pm

You should use the recommended pressures (30+27). And yes gauges vary widely, get a good quality/good brand gauge of your own with a small full scale reading as possible (i just got an inflator for my compressed air system and it reads up to 220psi..ridiculously inaccurate). Any gauge is only as good as its calibration, and garage ones get a hard life and tend to be neglected. When you have you own you can see the variation and get an idea of how accurate yours is.

Tyre pressure is a compromise for load and temperature variation to get the right contact patch on the road. The wrong pressures will cause the tyre to not contact to road fully and will reduce grip and increase wear. So it may be reasonable to increase pressures if you only do short journeys, or if you carry higher than average loads.

I have experimented with different pressures and the recommended ones give the most grip, higher ones the car feels a little faster and tighter but definitely less grip.
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

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