Was playing around with settings in my Wife's 4S car today and noticed that the dealer had set the car up with "Comfort" tire pressures (we just got the car, and I was not aware of this setup / option) I reset the pressures to "Standard" and what an amazing difference.

I thought the handling on the Panamera was good, but a little lazy, which I attributed to the size and weight, but with higher tire pressures it is sharp as heck. Turn in is close to my R8 and I could not really find the understear limits on a twisty road near my house, and I pushed it pretty hard. I actually think I went through the section a few MPH faster than I can reasonably with my R8, I was shocked.

Could not believe what a difference the tire pressure made. Did compromise ride quality a little and it is a little more harsh, but not too bad, and handling improvement is huge.

 

out of curiosity, what were dealer pressure's set at and what did you increase them to?

 

Dealer had them set at 32 psi all around - Setting for "Comfort" according to manual. I increased the front to 40 psi and rears to 37 psi - "Standard" according to manual and also changed the setting from Comfort Tire Pressures to Standard Tire Pressures in car settings for TPMS. Both sets of pressures are for 20" All Season (although you need to use Winter Tire settings in the car as there is no option for 20" All Season Tires) and for Partial Load.

 

Interesting, my dealer went the opposite, 2014 P2S with 20" tires delivered in May with 44 front, 46 rear. Looked at door sticker and it says 40 front 43 rear and reset to that but have not had enough time on the new settings for a good comparison.

I'm interested in best handling setup, drive in Northern California (mild temps, never very hot or cold) mainly myself and one passenger and no extra weight in car - any recommendations on pressure settings?

 

I find around 39/42 works great in Northern California. The roads here suck, as you must know, and it's a good compromise between comfort and performance.

 

When I had picked up my car from the dealer it was set at 46 front and rear and it was very rough and light on the steering. Tried it on comfort by switching to 32 all around. Ride was very comfortable and smooth but at the sacrifice of handling. Increased it to 37 front and 42 rear and handling is a lot better yet a very comfortable ride and less tire noise(seems it was not as flat footed when at 32). In short, I have played with 3 different settings and 37/42 seem to work for me on my p4s.

 

32 psi all around sounds very low. The important thing is what your hot pressure is when you're running. If it's a hot day, your pressure from the garage to a hard session on the road could easily go up 6 psi or more. Under normal driving its more like 2-4 psi. Tire pressure is the single most important factor in car handling, so I'd continue to experiment and see what works for you!

 

I would think with this set up the car would tend to "push" or understeer, typically I would think higher in front achieves a better balance on an AWD car, but on my R8 I run the same pressure all around for best handling for that car.

I think I am going to drop pressures about 2 - 3 psi all around and get some ride quality back for my wife's day to day use, while maintaining some of the performance improvement I got with increasing the pressures.

 

I live in Florida. I run my '13 GTS on PSS at 38 all around (cold) heats up to around 41-42 all around when up to temp. Car handles like its on rails

 

Dropped pressures to 35 psi front and 37 psi (cold) rear and seems a reasonable balance. Doesn't turn in quite as well, but ride quality is better, so will leave it at that for now.

 

Like cole328 - I believe 42 hot all around is the best overall pressure setting I have found. I have tried 36-45 psi hot over the 47,xxx miles I have driven

I have 2012 PTT

 

41 hot all around works great. I have 20" all season Michelin.

I have standard suspension. How does the setting to comfort vs standard affect the ride feel in this case?

 

Doesn't change anything with respect to the car handling or ride, just changes the set point for the TPMS alert. Other cars let you just set the pressure at what you want and then baseline it at that pressure for the TPMS, I guess Porsche wants to be more prescriptive with only 2 settings.

 

We have a lot of concrete roads here and the ride is too jarring if the pressure is to high. I run mine at 36/36 cold which usually translates to 40-42 at running speeds and that feels like the best compromise. Of course if I'm going to go out and play they go to 42/43 cold. Running Michelin PSS's

 

As suggested increased front from 37 front to 42 in the front. Handling is even better and lighter. Thanks. So now I got 42 all around. Think I am gonna stick to it.