Macs73

I have a 1973 454 Stingray. I bought the car last May and it had on it New/Near new Goodyear Eagle GT II (P225/70R15, I was told once what the #'s meant but I forget.) The tires say 44 psi max. The door panel sticker says 20/20 psi. The tires currently are near or at 35 psi. Todays cars/tires normally are around 35 psi. Should I go lower or am I just fine with where the psi is at???

aharte

35 psi seems reasonable. Play with it and see what you like. Every type of tire is a little different, and so are everyone's driving preferences.

Solid LT1

Figure roughly about 1psi for every 100 pounds of car weight. You car is around 3650 with all that 5MPH bumper stuff so, go about 35-36PSI for your tires and keep an eye on tread wear to determine if you are in the right range.

GrandSportC3

I usually run 30 - 32 psi in my street tires.... 35 psi seems a little high...

Super Stock

73' was the first year for radials on the vette. The powers that be recommended 20# for a smoother ride but that was too low. 32#-35# sounds pretty close.

Corz

I only run 32 psi on the street

73ragtop

I run 28 front and rear on my 73 convertible with factory steel spring and AC Delco shocks. Any higher gives me a really choppy ride on anything other than really smooth pavement.

OHSIXX

You must be feeling every bump in the road at 35 psi. Try 32 psi for a smoother ride. :)

Macs73

There is one bump when I leave town heading east that I grunt at, just before I hit it, cuz I know it is going to be bad. Thanks for the input gang.

trw

And I run 30 in the rear.

Terry

ddecart

You can ignore the 20/20. I checked with every old-timer around that was part of the Corvette back then and none of them can recall why it was at 20.

Personally, I run in the 30psi range. I think the tires tend to get a bit hard above 32psi, so I keep it around 30.

Tire pressures are set with the vehicle load in mind, and particularly the max vehicle load compared to the max tire load rating. That said, there should be no concern at all over a 15" Corvette tire running around 30

Super Stock

My second new Corvette was a 73' . It came with 20# f/r. It was so squirrelly compared to my 71' LT1 that I inquired about tire press. I was informed that going to the rubber body mounts and new (new at the time) radial tires was due so many complaints of a harsh ride. Remember we were getting away from the real vette owners who lashed valves, had no a/c, no am/fm etc. Anyway I pumped them up to 30-32# and it seemed to help stiften the sidwalls and they handled so much better.

killain

I have Goodyear eagles and I have always run 32-34, but I have a figerglas spring on the rear. :rolleyes:

Macs73

Thanks gang, I will try 32 psi and see how that goes.


[Modified by Macs73, 2:44 PM 5/4/2004]

gliot1

I was told by more than one tire man, that the general rule for passenger radials is 32-35psi.