'05 330I ZHP-Michelin's: What's the best psi for cornering?

I've had the car 1 day and I love it. I checked the tire pressures. They were set to 46 psi each. Wow! this seems a little on the high side. I read the door sill which indicates 39 - 46 psi. I thought a lower psi was better for traction and control. I set the psi to 39 on all four tires. What are some opinions of the members of this group. I thought 32 psi for the street was the norm and lower for Solo II events. One caveat: I don't want to trade handeling for wheel protection. (I will wish I had when it becomes an issue I'm sure but not yet.) Thanks, J

This has been discussed a lot in the past and searching will provide a lot of answers for you. Personally, I run 36psi all around. It has seemed the general consenus is that 38 or 36psi will yeild the best handling and neutral understeer/oversteer on our cars. It's worked ok for me so far- good handling and no wear issues so far.

~Jon

Lately I've been running 34F/35R, I've tried many different pressures but this seems to handle well without beating the car up, of course by the summer I'll probably change my mind again.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I will try 39 psi for a while thenreduce to see the change. 46 psi seemed high to me. J

The official recommended pressure is 32 Front and 38 Rear. Scroll down to the bottom of the first page of this thread for a discussion on this issue.

Thanks for the link. Looks like 38/38 is the consensus. J

It's very confusing. Like you said before, my door also says 39/46. That sounded odd, especially when the manual said minimum 32/38. Just play around with it and you'll find what feels best. And have fun with your new ride! Congrats.

~Jon

Originally Posted by JAWJr

It's very confusing. Like you said before, my door also says 39/46. That sounded odd, especially when the manual said minimum 32/38.

32/38 is the recommended pressure for a load of up to 4 people.

39/46 is the recommended pressure for a maximum load (up to 5 people plus cargo). This weight is listed on the door jamb, and I think it's about 1,000 lbs. for the 330i ZHP.