Tire pressure?

[gid]

I find that anything above 35 p.s.i. makes for a much stiffer ride . Thus when tires are set at high p.s.i. it makes for more wear and tear on your suspension . Tires are considered part of the suspension . Go here , http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...re+page-5.html .

[*MAD DOG*]

Originally Posted by BailOut

*MAD DOG*,

Tires blow out due to manufacturing defects or excessively hard driving. It is likely that the one tire you experienced this with one time would have blown out even at a lower pressure.

By your logic someone that had a blowout at the pressure on the door jamb could forever run around claiming that you should run 20 PSI lower than the door jamb.

Look dude. I, as you have made my feelings quite clear on this topic. I you. I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

[Snyprwlf47]

Originally Posted by b_hickman11

I run 6 psi....I like to hear that thud a thud a thud sound when I drive!

ROTFL... Anywho I run 40-42 PSI for mountain racing to prevent tire roll...As a side note most tires have a max sidewall pressure posted on them of about 45-50 depending on manufacturer....They should put crosses on tire pressure gauges at about 55 PSI cause at that point your praying every time you press the gas!!!

[YAR1S]

Ongoing debate.... wether or not 60+ psi will be more good than bad.

personally I would rather run them at safe levels... in the 40 range... rather than in the 60 range...

I still average at 40 mpg, at 32 psi in my tires... Im not willing to get a few more by inflating my tires more....
A lot of points have been made here today but in the end its what you feel comfortable with... we all have respect for one another.... and there isnt a rule for PSI in tires... but there are ups and downs for all ranges....

I'd love to see some stats. on the amounts of tire damage/blowouts on specified limits versus over-inflation....
from a good source too.... not just from drivers submitting online their info...


Hmm.

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by *MAD DOG*

Look dude. I, as you have made my feelings quite clear on this topic. I you. I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

A tire is more likely to blow out if it's under inflated than over.

When a tire is under inflated, this creates too much flex in the sidewall which in turn, causes excess heat to build up in the sidewall and then boom.

Regardless of what is safe or not, the psi on your tires will change the handling characteristics of your car and you should not go from one range to another in one fell swoop, but instead, get to where you want to be in small increments of maybe 5 psi at a time so you can get used to how your car handles.

The only thing which degrades on your car as you increase the tire pressure is ride comfort.

As you decrease your tire pressure you will lower your handling, increase hydroplaning properties of the tire, accelerate wear of the tires, raise the chance of a blow out, waste more gas, etc etc.

Anyone running less than the max sidewall psi listed on the tire is only gaining comfort. On todays tires you can safely run at 60 psi like Bailout does, but you should always, only setup your car in a manner you're comfortable with.

If you believe that running your tires at 50 psi will cause a blowout, it doesn't matter if this is fact or not, it's what you believe, so follow your rules. Facts gathered over 100's of thousands of miles dictate higher psi's are safer and will save you money, but facts also dictate that the market goes up and down and I'll be damned if I put one cent in stocks... ever!

Under inflated and overinflated mean different things to different people.

The only situation where under inflated makes sense is in extreme off roading or some kinds or rally racing.

To me, under inflated is anything under max sidewall listed on the tire and overinflated is anything over max sidewall. The psi listed on the door jam of the vehicle is nothing more than the best psi for ride comfort.

The most important thing is to form your own opinions by testing your setup and other peoples theories. Don't attempt to drive with something you're not comfortable with, but don't be afraid to push your comfort level in controlled conditions to learn the real facts about your car and it's equipment.

This morning I safely passed hundreds of cars driving in track bare and sometimes snow/ice covered conditions on my winter tires inflated to 56psi, because this is what I'm comfortable with. This is the setup which I find gives me the best traction, control and handling and 56psi is as high as my pump will go. I did start out at 32psi when I got the tires, but kept upping the psi by 5psi over the past 1 and a half winters. The most important this is that I have amazing control with this setup and thus am able to drive extremely safely, it's a side benefit that I also am able to get over 50 US MPG often in the winter now and that the tires are showing very little wear.

[*MAD DOG*]

Originally Posted by b_hickman11

I wonder if they could make tires out of used condoms.....

How do you think they make goodyear tires? They get 365 used condoms and turn it into a tire and call it a "good year"

[DFA]

I run mine at ~40-45 (max sidewall), i haven't checked in awhile so it might be lower than 40 right now.

[smacky]

I run mine at 50 psi cold, though I really should check them more often. I am thinking about going up to 55 soon though. With all the miles logged by Bailout and everybody at cleanmpg.com have, I really don't think it is an issue at all.

[YAR1S]

Originally Posted by *MAD DOG*

How do you think they make goodyear tires? They get 365 used condoms and turn it into a tire and call it a "good year"

haha oh my god....

[DefStarYaris]

I keep mine at about 35psi. Works fine for me.

[nemelek]

Which tire lasts longer? The one that runs at 32psi or the one that runs at 60psi?

[4MPG]

Originally Posted by BailOut

Increasing tire pressure increases handling, traction and tread life as well as mileage. I run mine at 60 PSI, as do thousands of other hypermilers.




Fuel efficiency is all about many tactics adding up to significant gains. Tire pressure is one of the larger factors.

more pressure may increase mileage, but it sure as hell doesn't increase handling/traction or tire life.

your getting better mpg because you have less tire contact on the road (less resistance) and less flex (wasted energy). However, this also results in less traction and poorer handling. It will also reduce tire life by wearing the center tread faster, since it takes all the wear instead of spreading it over the entire tire... you will get a bald center with tread still on the sides. You can see a picture of this at almost any tire store, as they usually have them posted up along with the reason for it happening and what causes it etc. While overinflation might result in a drop in tire temp, the center wear will outweigh any benefit.

If you want even more proof, especially on the traction side, visit any local dragstrip. You will see all of the "street" cars lowering tire pressure after they arrive, and almost any dragstrip worth its salt has a compressor so you can bring them back to road pressure before you leave. The drag radials on my mustang are particularly sensitive to tire pressure, going from 25 to 20 PSI resulted in nearly a .2 second faster 60' time. Even on my buddies T/A, with stock goodyear regular radials, he was regularly picking up .1 in the 60' with a 5-8 PSI drop from his street pressure.

For traction, and to a lesser degree handling (gotta keep the pressure up enough to keep the sidewall fairly stiff) you want a lower than standard pressure, not higher. You want as much resistance as possible, as resistance is what gives you traction/handling, and to achieve this you get as much contact patch as you can. The basic idea is to lower the pressure to the point that you have as much of the outer part of the tire in contact as possible, without causing the center section to actually start rising from the road (too underinflated).

Edit: To answer the poster above me, to get maximum tire life your probably going to want to run your tires a few (3-5) PSI higher than the doorjam recommends. The doorjam takes into account the best PSI for the tire, but it also takes into account that a lower pressure will result in a better ride (soaks up more vibration/bumps etc).

[BailOut]

4MPG,

Your logic is flawed in several ways.

1) Center tread wear has not been an issue since the invention of the steel belted radial. Please update your personal cache of information.

2) I already mentioned that dropping pressure by a significant amount will help traction, but it does so through a pure "grippy" fashion rather than a tread-clearing fashion and will eat through your tires rather quickly. While this technique can certainly work on a clean, dry track the real world is a much different environment.

3) Your ideas on everyday traction seem solid except for one glaring issue: Millions of miles of road testing - that is testing as opposed to simply regurgitating what one was told one time - have shown the exact opposite to be true. Even police departments are starting to mandate pressures as much as 50% higher than the old recommendations for better handling and longer tread life.

Originally Posted by nemelek

Which tire lasts longer? The one that runs at 32psi or the one that runs at 60psi?

The one that runs at higher pressure, every single time. This has held true over millions of road miles of testing, in every kind of environment and on every type of vehicle it has been tried on. You certainly have the freedom to believe regurgitated rhetoric but for my money I go where the actual testing has been done.

[tuckevalastin]

I run 36psi

[b_hickman11]

Originally Posted by BailOut

4MPG,

Your logic is flawed in several ways.

1) Center tread wear has not been an issue since the invention of the steel belted radial. Please update your personal cache of information.

The one that runs at higher pressure, every single time. This has held true over millions of road miles of testing, in every kind of environment and on every type of vehicle it has been tried on. You certainly have the freedom to believe regurgitated rhetoric but for my money I go where the actual testing has been done.

I had a 2005 Tacoma with factory 20's on it and went through 2 sets of tires in the 3 years I had it. The 1st set of tires had massive center tread wear problems, and yes they were radial tires. So yes its still an issue. I was running about 5 psi over the recommeded psi and the dealer told me that was the reason why. The 2nd set of tires I ran at or below the recommeded psi and I didnt have the center wear problem. Also the 2nd set of tires lasted about 20,000 miles longer than the 1st set. Both sets were the same brand. So theres some actual real world examples. None of this "testing" crap.

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by b_hickman11

I had a 2005 Tacoma with factory 20's on it and went through 2 sets of tires in the 3 years I had it. The 1st set of tires had massive center tread wear problems, and yes they were radial tires. So yes its still an issue. I was running about 5 psi over the recommeded psi and the dealer told me that was the reason why. The 2nd set of tires I ran at or below the recommeded psi and I didnt have the center wear problem. Also the 2nd set of tires lasted about 20,000 miles longer than the 1st set. Both sets were the same brand. So theres some actual real world examples. None of this "testing" crap.

Perhaps your first set of tires were not steel belted? Many truck tires are not, or are not fully belted. The ones that came on my friend's 2004 Tacoma were not fully steel belted, nor were the ones that came on my coworker's 2008 Tacoma.

Additionally, I would be wary of trusting anything undocumented from a dealership, and only about half of what is actually documented. They are in the business of making money and will say anything to that end. They simply DO NOT want you to get any kind of longevity out of your tires, especially if they offer a tire service.

[b_hickman11]

Originally Posted by BailOut

Perhaps your first set of tires were not steel belted? Many truck tires are not, or are not fully belted. The ones that came on my friend's 2004 Tacoma were not fully steel belted, nor were the ones that came on my coworker's 2008 Tacoma.

Additionally, I would be wary of trusting anything undocumented from a dealership, and only about half of what is actually documented. They are in the business of making money and will say anything to that end. They simply DO NOT want you to get any kind of longevity out of your tires, especially if they offer a tire service.

They were both the same brand of tires and both were steel belted. The rims and tires were an upgrad offered that they get from an independent dist. So the information was not coming from the dealership, it was coming from GST. Im assuming your friend and co-worker's Tacos didnt have 20's did they? No, they probably had 16's or 17's. Got any more excuses?

[BailOut]

I am not sure where all your venom comes from b_hickman11, but it is uncalled for. Your experience, if truthful and accurate, is unique in all that I and thousands of others have learned and experienced at higher pressures.