The doorjam says 29 Front / 32 Rear. There is visible bulging of the tire at this pressure on my Impreza. What is a reccomended pressure for 195/60/R15?

 

The bulging may be normal for a radial with a relatively tall sidewall. In any case, no passenger tire should bulge irregularly at anything less than max cold pressure, which should be 51 psi. Can you post a pic for us?

Also, the 29/32 (are you sure that's not supposed to be 32 front, 29 rear? That's what my door jam plate says) is a "suggested" number based mostly on ride comfort. It's prefectly okay to go somewhat higher than that for added handling, say 35 psi. I run my Goodyear F1 GSD3s at 40/38 all the time, although they do have a very small sidewall at 215/45R16.

 

Now that I think about it, do you mean a slight bulge around the contact patch? Almost like it's low on air? If so, that's normal too. No radial tire should be perfectly symmetrical with the weight of the car on the tires, but the taller the sidewall, the greater that bulge will be. For reassurance, take a look at any and all 15-16" passenger car tires you can see. They will all look more or less like that.

 

Yeah you're right, I had the pressures backwards. Yeah, it seems as though they are low on air, I'll take em up to 35 and see what happens. Can I safely go any higher? I have Falken Ziex ZE-512's.

 

Whats the maximum pressure rating on the tire?

 

I would bet max pressure is 51 psi. I've never seen a passenger tire that was different.

As it is, I don't think there's anything wrong with your tires the way they are. Remember, a modern tire is actually "suspended" from the top of the tire and hangs on the bead. It doesn't actually rest on the lower part of the sidewall. Don't be afraid to try running somewhat higher pressures though. I highly doubt those tires will be effective above 40 psi though, so stick between 30-40 for now and play around with them to see what feels best to you. I would think that 34-35 will seem about right.

 

Max is 51. I'll put them up to 40 tomorrow, no higher. Should I keep the 2 psi difference f and r?

 

I would start at 33-34 and go up a pound or two every day for a while and see how it feels. Better than starting high. I'd keep the difference for now. Changing the F/R balance is more of a track/autocross handling thing than it is on the street, and you'll want your rear sidewalls a little softer because that's how your suspension is set up stock.

 

I ran about 38-36 with my stock L rims/tires, let it just go down over time. It got rather mushy when it was around 32/29, never really enjoyed that. 40psi might be a tad high, but the sidewalls do suck with that size of tire... Try it out, its easier IMO to pump it a little higher and let some out when you dont like it than to start low and pump it up to make it more to your liking.