Tyre pressures

I've done a search to see what I should set the tyre pressures to but there are some conflicting views. My tyres are 235/70 R16 and the manual says 26 front and 34 rear but to be honest the front tyres look fat at the bottom and in need of more air.
Why are the front tyres supposed to have less air in them than the rear? (I would have thought it would have been the other way around with the engine being the heaviest end!)
I think I'll go with 35 in all of them and see how I get on.

i echo your thoughts completely on the lack of air.
i have put 36 in the front and 40 in the rear.
i know from routing around on here that some put closer to 50 all round.

as a motorway bobby the amount i have put in is based on what we put in the 4x4's at work.

I think the front ones are lower as they supply the steering and 70% of your braking. This gives you more rubber on the road. I put my S2 V8 at the recommended pressures and they looked flat. Great here for tootling about in the desert, but I have mine set at around 35-38. It improves tyre life and fuel economy.

Thanks for the replies gents
I've put them all at 36 for now. I'm going away on a trip of about 90 miles tomorrow and returning next Saturday so I'll see if it makes any difference.