Tyre looks soft, but is not?

Kent Brockman

Changed cars recently. The front tyre on the passenger side looks very soft and it has been pointed out by at least 3 other people, as being flat/soft.

I've brought it to the local garage to pump it up twice now, and both times it had a tyre pressure of around 32lb and did not require air.

Any explanations? maybe it has to do with the type of tyre? (Car has alloys)

I'm glad its not flat but its a pain having to keep checking....

Cuddlesworth

Is the side wall bulging out at 32psi?

colm_mcm

Is the tyre size the same as the other 3 tyres?

dr.fuzzenstein

If the suspension geometry is out and the tyre is at a different angle than the others, it could look like it's a bit flat.
Had a Focus where the driver's side front tyre always looked flat, but it was always up to the correct pressure.
The suspension and tracking on that car where way off, I never did fix it, but it's worth checking tracking/suspension.

Buffman

I wouldn't trust some of those garage gauges, I've seen some that are way off. I usually double check with my own digital one.

mickdw

Maybe the correct pressure for your tyres is alittle more than 32 psi.
My 40 profile tyres can look flat at 28 psi

Kent Brockman

Same tyres on either side ,bridgestone directional, on correctly.
Have attached pic, Doesn't seem to be bulging at the sides but just looks flat at the bottom (doesn't look toobad in the attached pic as we are just back form journey and its probably warm)

jadatis

Have you checked the other tires too.
Mayby they measure higher. Then you can fill the "flatt"tire to the pressure of the other on the same axle , regardless or if the measurement is right.

mickdw

My tyres have profile something similar to that and they do look pretty much like that at around 29 to 30 psi.
Id say ideally they should be run at slightly higher pressure than you currently do.

jaffa20

The tyre looks pretty worn to me but it hard to really tell from a side pic. Have you checked the thread depth recently?

EPM

That a Mondeo? I'm driving one tonight and it looks like that on recommended levels. Checked the tyres on Friday in it too. They are 17s and the car is heavy.

-Chris-

Looks fine to me. Start off by making sure that all 4 tyres are at the same/correct pressure and see if it looks right compared to the other tyres (particularly the other front tyre).

If it looks like it's still off, bring it to a tyre place so they can check alignment.

That's what I'd do anyway

Kent Brockman

Put all 4 to 35psi using same air pump .
It is a Mondeo alright.
Will bring it to a tyre place for a look

Cheers for all the replies:)

tossy

Kent Brockman wrote: »

Put all 4 to 35psi using same air pump .
It is a Mondeo alright.
Will bring it to a tyre place for a look

Cheers for all the replies:)

35PSI is way too much!

245

There is wear on the sidewall - you can see that the G in the word Warning is missing its top and the text beside it is worn too. There are diagonal wear lines along the sidewall too. It looks to me that the tyre was driven underinflated for a while. If its now not got the same sidewall strength as the others it could well be that the casing has been damaged. If I were you, I'd get it checked by a trustworthy tyre centre. If it was me I'd bin it.

W.Shakes-Beer

Funny that this has cropped up. I've been having the same issue with my front tyres as well. They're 205/40/17 and have a slight stretch look (so this may be why) but they always look flat.

I then get paranoid, go to the garage and lo and behold they're at 32psi. A weird one.

Just to reiterate what was said above, really really do NOT trust just any old garage gauge reading, far too many of them are way off. Go to a tyre centre.

-Chris-

W.Shakes-Beer wrote: »

Funny that this has cropped up. I've been having the same issue with my front tyres as well. They're 205/40/17 and have a slight stretch look (so this may be why) but they always look flat.

I then get paranoid, go to the garage and lo and behold they're at 32psi. A weird one.

The weight of the engine over the front tyres can often make them look slightly squished. It's only if one tyre is more squished than the other (or if you're getting incorrect wear patterns) that I'd worry.

Divorce Referendum

I think radial tyres always have a little bit of a bulging look about them. Nothing to be worried about.