help with tyres

ikazimirs

hi first of all just to let you know im a new car owner so i still have a lot of things that i dont know so maybe someone can point me in the right direction - yesterday i facad soe simple situation yet strange to me i got a flat so i put the spare on and went to te petrol station to give it some air and here i was what is the normal tyre pressure? and how do i know if the meter yoke in the station is bar or psi ? and as it turns out another thing i never realised is that all my 4 tyres are different brands - same size and all but one is like michelin other matador and so on does that make any difference?

and another think crossing my mind is aloi rims are they any better than the ordinary stuff or is it just for the looks?

anywho hope someone can give me the right pointers and maybe good advice on whats best tyre wise and more... by the way i drive an Opel Vectra 99 1.6 petrol 16v glx hatchback

colm_mcm

1) 1 bar is equal to about 14 PSI so there's no chance of confusing one for the other.

2) having different brands could affect the braking performance and handling as different tyres have different characteristics, it's advisable to have matching tyres on each axle. It's not the end of the world though. your car is old enough and I don't know if you could justify 4 new tyres. so in your case, it's just looks.

3)Alloy wheels on a humdrum car won't really make a difference to performance etc. the principle is that alloys have less weight and the less unsprung weight on a car the better, the downside is they are more prone to cracking than steel wheels

ikazimirs

yhanks for that mate but still havent found the correct pressure my tyres should have - i have it on 2 bar each and i know it should be on the drivers door but im afraid its not
oh yeah and its more of a family car wanted a sports car but if u have 2 kids tough luck :DDD

colm_mcm

30psi should be ok.

bear in mind that the weather affects the pressure, so if this bad weather ever goes, adjust your tyre pressures to suit.


Isn't the tyre pressure written on the inside of the fuel flap on Opels?

ikazimirs

idk ill check that actually would never have crossed my mind lol thx man