Will an increase or a decrease in front tire pressure reduce the tendency for the front end to go out in a tight turn?

I think I have 35 PSI all around in my 1995 C280...

I have heard mixed thoughts on front tire pressure decrease or increase to reduce understter?

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2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

by go out do you mean create a push? From what I understand, if you lower the pressure the grip is increased. Don't go too low though.

Yes, I want to reduce the push, or resistance for the car to go in the direction it was headed. I want less understeer.... I figured a lower front air pressure was the way to go. However, i think MBDOc said to go above 45 PSI??

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

I dont know if you saw my poston this but you should check it out.
I would not inflate the tires to an arbitrary number, do not inflate the tires over their rating. Look on the side wall to see what your tire is rated for.
Subman

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Subman,
Yes, I did see your post, that is what spurred me to post that... hopefully get a more clear answer.

And thank you... of course I'll be checking the tire rating.

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

It's a very complex matter. In most cases, if you start to increase the pressures over the car maker's recommendations little by little, you will experience better transitional behavior ("turn-in," in NASCAR dialect) for sure, and most likely better steady state slip angles ("traction?"), too, but you will reach a point beyond which the steady state gains will begin to be lost again, although the transitional responsiveness may continue to improve for a few more psi. And all this is relative to the type of rims and tires you're dealing with: wide rims with 45 series tires may gain less and start to lose their gains sooner than narrow rims with 70 series tires, because the former are well supported in desigh to deal with lateral g-loadings, and their width may result in a loss of contact area when the pressure is raised very much, whereas narrow tires often can stand to gain a lot from being stiffened by more psi. Meanwhile, two different brands of the same size of tire, or even two different series from the same manufacturer may respond to pressure experiments differently.

At the race track we base what pressure to set the tires at on tire temp. The tempuratue of the tire is taken right after a hard lap. One reading is done in the center of the tread and two more at either side about 2.5-3" from the center. If the center is more that about 10-20 degrees hotter then the pressure is droped about 2 pounds. Minimal changes in pressure affect the temp greatly. The goal is to reach a point where consistent temps are takes all across the tread. This means that the tire is using all of the tread effectively. By the way, for the race tires that we use, spec TOYOS, we usually start around 24-26 pounds in the front and 22-24 pounds in the rears. When they heat up those pressures end up around 30-32 in the front and 28-30 pounds in the rear. Operating temps in the 185-220 range depending on how agressive the driver is. FYI, we race mustangs in a class called American Iron (AI) with the organization NASA. National Auto Sport Association here on the west coast. So the final answer is it depends on your tires, your car and how you drive.

I just tracked my 500E; intended to run 44 front/34 rear hot, so started at 38/28. Ran 20 or so laps, and the rear was at 35, and the front at 52!! BAD news since the tire max is 44 PSi, and a valve could blow out at over 50 (on my new set of track tires I've installed hi-pressure valves) which would be a catastrophic failure.

Gonna invest next in a pyrometer...roadracer is right

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Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

the goal is to have consistent temps accross the tread of the tire. Even if the tires are too hot, overly aggressive driving, if the temps are even the pressure is right.