I have a Defender ยด98 HI CAP pickup with recently mounted 265/75R16 Cooper S/T MAXX and am trying to find the optimum pressure. When it came back from balancing at the tyre shop, it offered quite a harsh ride, and after a few weeks I figured out they had set the pressure to 3.2 bar all around. My own initial pressure was 2.2 in the front and 2.4 in the rear. I have referenced my Haynes manual, but there are no tyres in this size mentioned there. What I notice is that they propose very high pressures for the rear vs the front.
I understand the best way (or at least a good way) is to mark the tyres with chalk or something and see how the chalk wears.
Is the reason Haynes and others are proposing substantially higher pressures for the rear that they are assuming one regularly load max?
If so, if I almost always ride alone with nothing on the rear bed, shouldn't I have the same pressure or maybe even higher pressure in the front (with the weight of the engine)?
Any input highly appreciated.