I just took delivery of my Frozen White Focus RS (RS2, forged wheels, Super Sport tires, no sunroof, winter wheel/tire package). I was surprised to see the owners manual supplement does not list tire pressures and only says to see the door jam sticker. I was even more surprised to see the recommend pressures noted on the door jam are 46 front, 46 rear (seemed very high) and the door jam and manual both do not make any reference to different partial load and full load pressures.
So I did some research. The UK owners manual for the Focus RS notes the following:
Normal Load:
-Front: 41 psi
-Rear: 38 psi
Full Load:
-Front: 46 psi
-Rear: 46 psi
So, unless you are loading your car with passengers and/or luggage then you should run the normal load pressures noted above. I wish Ford was like BMW and listed all the various pressures for every wheel/tire/load combination. It seems Ford North America decided to just list the full load pressures.
Now to figure out what Ford recommends for the 18-inch winter wheel/tire package. Luckily, we have time. It's only June.
Everyone should check their's as soon as possible. It's one thing most dealerships don't check. When I checked mine, all 4 were at 50 psi, the tire max. I'm sure they leave the factory for the long journey that way, to keep the tires from flat spotting.
Interesting on the normal load specs. I read in here some where, where someone suggested 40 psi in all 4... With one person in the car, she might be a wee bit softer, maybe!
Everyone should check their's as soon as possible. It's one thing most dealerships don't check. When I checked mine, all 4 were at 50 psi, the tire max. I'm sure they leave the factory for the long journey that way, to keep the tires from flat spotting.
This is a very old mentality if it's indeed the case. It is nearly impossible to flat spot steel belted tires. I would venture to say it is impossible in the relatively short time it's on the boat.
Michelin's response was a canned: See Door Sticker. Since there is no specific information, Michelin must want us to use the same pressures as the Super Sport and Cup2 tires. They include a door sticker with the package (mine got thrown out at the dealership!), but it doesn't have any pressures on it. I'll be starting with 41/38 and closely watching the wear across the tread. One of the forum members was going to check his connections at Michelin, I wonder if he found anything. I'll check.
I also reached out to ford customer service. Here is the eventual response after she looked into it. I sent her a copy of the U.K. Picture as reference.
Okay, in the U.S. we only have 1 recommended pressure for tires on a vehicle. We do not recommend different pressures for different loads. So for your vehicle it is 46 psi rated for all load conditions. This is Ford's recommendation.
Had my Australian delivered RS with 60psi on all 4 tyres. Car is transported from factory at that level and didn't get deflated as part of pre-delivery checks.
I cannot believe all the confusion. Some are asking about tire pressure and don't even have their cars yet.
Suggestion: When you do get your RS, check the door or door jamb (on the body) for the Tire Pressure sticker. The psi specified should be for the tires that came with the car and may have additional info for other sizes or types as well such as, for instance, for the winter tire package which uses an 18" wheel. Only then, if you are using a different tire than as specified, go with the tire manufacturer's recommendation.. These specs obviously vary with what continent is involved.
Also, when posting, at least have an indication of what continent you are in or are referring to. Not everyone has a 'LOCATION" description.
I have put about 2k mi on my RS (MPSS) and found the following: 1) For general street use the 41/38 or 42/39 both work fine. 2) For aggressive street, where you'll be loading the outer edges (cornering) then a slightly higher 44/40 seems to help support the outer edges and reduce wear. 3) Softer pressures like 38/36 on the street will increase edge wear and likely to trigger warning light.
I had a warning light on the softer setup (38/36) and reset the system to 42/39 and haven't had any further warnings.
In my past experience (STI) the MPSS were very sensative to tire pressure and almost always had to be run with 3-5 psi over recommended to help support the outer edges to minimize wear. Going beyond that the tires would start losing grip.
My impressions are that front cold tire pressures in the 41 to 45 range and rear pressures 2 -3 psi less than fronts works well for mixed use street driving. Cold frt pressures under 40psi significantly increased edge wear in aggressive cornering.
I prefer a slightly higher psi (42/39 or 43/40) for aggressive street driving to aid wear and grip. If you like more rear rotation (I don't ) minimizing the frt/rr psi difference will aid rotation by trading off some rear grip.
41/38 is what I've been running in my DD usage with a few twisty trips thrown in. Almost 3000 miles and no low pressure warnings and good tire wear. My 2 cents.
I have a feeling this difference is the reason we are seeing so many complaints about ride quality amongst US reviewers, but not among UK reviewers. I believe 41/38 is really the proper setup for the car.
You won't hear anything official because it would be counter to the US mandated sticker, and open a whole new can of worms. Here are the part and full load pressures on the UK cars:
@herbnhero I think that full load would really be the max capacity of the car, I would hope to never hit that, with 4-5 people plus luggage. Ill be that the middle back person would have to be a child to fit 5 people but I would assume some spirited driving would not be done like that
I just took delivery of my Frozen White Focus RS (RS2, forged wheels, Super Sport tires, no sunroof, winter wheel/tire package). I was surprised to see the owners manual supplement does not list tire pressures and only says to see the door jam sticker. I was even more surprised to see the recommend pressures noted on the door jam are 46 front, 46 rear (seemed very high) and the door jam and manual both do not make any reference to different partial load and full load pressures.
So I did some research. The UK owners manual for the Focus RS notes the following:
Normal Load:
-Front: 41 psi
-Rear: 38 psi
Full Load:
-Front: 46 psi
-Rear: 46 psi
So, unless you are loading your car with passengers and/or luggage then you should run the normal load pressures noted above. I wish Ford was like BMW and listed all the various pressures for every wheel/tire/load combination. It seems Ford North America decided to just list the full load pressures.
Now to figure out what Ford recommends for the 18-inch winter wheel/tire package. Luckily, we have time. It's only June.
funny enough I think in USA they only metioned the FUll load cause in USA we all are FAT in here! that's why Ford didn't bother to add normal load specs!
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