Best tire pressure for Fuel Economy - Toyota Yaris Forums

edmscan · 04-30-2012, 06:56 PM

I was wondering what tire pressure I should use on my 2007 Yaris RS LB. I have Goodyear Assurance tires which have a maximum pressure rating of 51 psi. On my door jam .. it says to set tire pressure at 32 psi. I have set my tires to 40 psi as I felt that is someplace in the middle.

I am interested in getting as much fuel economy as I can without damaging my tires.

Is there an optimum amount of pressure to use for good fuel economy ?

TLyttle · 04-30-2012, 11:43 PM

I'm led to believe that the max pressure is for setting the bead, then dump them down to 32 as per the label. However, the label pressure has to do with handling.... and RIDE. If, like me, you don't give a damn about ride, then take them up into the 40+ range. Anything over that, and grip begins to deteriorate. Lots of the hyper-miler guys run at 60+, but my experience has been that the tires tend to skate at that pressure.

Just my opinion...

tooter · 05-01-2012, 01:35 AM

I always run tires at their stated maximum pressure, usually 46 pounds.

Hershey · 05-01-2012, 03:03 PM

35 >37 . '08 Yaris sedan with the 4 speed auto has overall gas mileage close to 38 for nearly 4 years . Was bought new in mid May of '08 .

nopk · 05-01-2012, 10:59 PM

you have to ask yourself: do you want to spend more money on tires, or more money on gas?

it's like this: if you set your PSI higher than recommended, you're going to rub away the rubber away quicker, and in a more detrimental way - and end up having to replace the tires more often. sure, you may get better MPG, but at the cost of possibly unsafe handling characteristics and spending way more on tires.

if toyota says 35psi, put it at 35psi. they don't employ thousands of engineers to just "guess" 35psi, they've done the work to make sure that it's most efficient and beneficial to you

obviously, i mean this for daily driving. if you're autocrossing you're going to want to use different pressures for whatever reasons you'll find

Hershey · 05-01-2012, 11:32 PM

Try to keep tires at about 37 during late fall > mid spring due to variations of pressure in cold / warm temps . 35 or a bit more for warmer months . Molecules are a bit of a nuisance . May have try nitrogen for more constant pressure .

edmscan · 05-02-2012, 01:44 AM

Thank you for those that replied. I will see how my car seems to feel at 40 psi for a while .. and see if running them at 32 like Toyota recommends feels any different.

TLyttle · 05-03-2012, 12:41 AM

Have a look in your Moaners Annual, nopk: extra pressure is recommended under some conditions. Maybe not as much as I suggest (up to 40+), but certainly an extra few pounds for high-speed cruising. In fact, I find that my tires wear less at higher pressures, plus the better mileage yielded. My OEM tires wore at a horrendous rate before I bumped the pressure up, but by then the damage was done. AND the bite was better.

As mentioned before, much of the recommended pressures by "thousands of engineers" compromises "ride' into the equation. There is no logical way to determine "ride" as it is always subjective: 1,000 engineers, 1,000 opinions on ride. Besides, changing tire make or wheel size pitches the calculations right out the window.

zkay · 05-06-2012, 05:21 PM

You might want to consider using Nitrogen in your tires instead of air, like another poster said. The pressure stays constant year round, and is uniform throughout the tire.

http://www.getnitrogen.org/

Pretty neat, I bought my sedan with nitrogen filled tires and have been getting pretty good gas mileage. It's had it since I got it, though, so I don't really know how much to attribute to the tires and how much is the car itself.

daf62757 · 05-08-2012, 09:21 AM

Just wondering if you can buy your nitrogen and do it yourself. Most shops won't over inflate with nitrogen.

mazilla · 05-08-2012, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLyttle

Have a look in your Moaners Annual, nopk: extra pressure is recommended under some conditions. Maybe not as much as I suggest (up to 40+), but certainly an extra few pounds for high-speed cruising. In fact, I find that my tires wear less at higher pressures, plus the better mileage yielded. My OEM tires wore at a horrendous rate before I bumped the pressure up, but by then the damage was done. AND the bite was better.

As mentioned before, much of the recommended pressures by "thousands of engineers" compromises "ride' into the equation. There is no logical way to determine "ride" as it is always subjective: 1,000 engineers, 1,000 opinions on ride. Besides, changing tire make or wheel size pitches the calculations right out the window.

There is more to consider than ride quality, contact surface and traction are more important. It has alwas been my stance that extreme over-inflation is a hazard to the driver and the public forced to be around them.

Last time i brought up the safety side f it the hyper-milers got a little butt hurt...

nookandcrannycar · 05-14-2012, 02:31 PM

I can't imagine either extreme, and 60 + PSI just seems insane. I've tried the max PSI on my tires (44 I think with each set I've purchased) and even that makes me feel as though I'm driving with bricks instead of tires. On the other end, I've gotten my car back from an oil change with the PSI changed to the spec on the tire (not my request) and I feel as though I'm floating on the high seas and have less control than at a higher PSI. I keep my tires at 38-40 PSI and can tell If it goes below 38..and that only happened earlier on this current set of tires when I had a slow leak and procrastinated on researching which Firestone shop would honor the specific warranty I have (only factory owned stores honor the warranty at all) and actually got it repaired at Discount Tire for free after a Discount Tire employee spotted me checking my tires in a wide open part of the parking lot at my local Kroger Signature. I carry a tire gauge in my Yaris and behind the rear seat/under the deck lid and hatch I carry a 12v air compressor that I paid about $12.00 for so I can put in my own free air at any time/in any spot. I got almost 10 percent over the mileage rating on my original set and first replacement set of tires and will get much more than that on my current set. I eyeballed my overall combined MPG, and this is over nearly 217,000 miles -- it's about 40 or slightly higher (I have the individual tank stats, but have never kept a running total). The only negative 'car consequence' that I think about in any significant way is that I might need wheel bearings sooner than if I wasn't running the higher PSI. My worst two tanks MPG wise have not been city tanks but instead on the 80 MPH limit stretch of I-10 in Texas and both in EXTREMELY windy conditions along that stretch. I have run across some idiot drivers whose actions have resulted in my brakes and steering being taxed quite a bit, but it those situations my car feels as though it is almost 'stopping on a dime' (so to speak). I wonder if the NTHSA or any insurance institutes have done any studies related to passenger car tire PSI in any meaningful way that would be useful to Yaris owners.

RikBakke · 05-14-2012, 04:40 PM

I like to run 2-4 PSI higher (RE92's) than the door jamb sticker recommendations. Decent ride and decent treadwear patterns. For a nitrogen fill, I generally use a mixture with 78-79% nitrogen. This fill mixture has the same pressure vs temp properties as pure nitrogen. I find this is the most cost effective and I get the same pressure variations as a 98% dry nitrogen fill.

When the RE92's wear down, I'll pick up a set of Michelins with the savings.

vincentg · 05-15-2012, 05:37 AM

is nitrogen better than just air? it gives out more handling but i dont know if it really changes the car's fuel efficiency

zkay · 05-16-2012, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vincentg

is nitrogen better than just air? it gives out more handling but i dont know if it really changes the car's fuel efficiency

Supposed to be, yeah. Check out the link I posted earlier.

why? · 05-16-2012, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vincentg

is nitrogen better than just air? it gives out more handling but i dont know if it really changes the car's fuel efficiency

not sure if anyone really knows for sure if nitrogen does anything, but it is lighter than air, so it might.

tooter · 05-16-2012, 01:00 PM

Did you know that the air we breathe is 78% nitrogen?

... can't be lighter than air if it is air.

why? · 05-17-2012, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooter

Did you know that the air we breathe is 78% nitrogen?

... can't be lighter than air if it is air.

it is only 78% of air. check a periodic table though. Argon, Oxygen, Water Vapor, carbon dioxide, etc, is all heavier. So basically everything you find in our environment will be heavier that straight nitrogen.

Getting all the facts right is better than making snide comments.

04-30-2012, 06:56 PM	#1
edmscan Drives: 2020 Corolla Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 549	Best tire pressure for Fuel Economy I was wondering what tire pressure I should use on my 2007 Yaris RS LB. I have Goodyear Assurance tires which have a maximum pressure rating of 51 psi. On my door jam .. it says to set tire pressure at 32 psi. I have set my tires to 40 psi as I felt that is someplace in the middle. I am interested in getting as much fuel economy as I can without damaging my tires. Is there an optimum amount of pressure to use for good fuel economy ?

05-08-2012, 09:21 AM	#10
daf62757 Nothing beats a Toyota! View User's Garage Drives: 2013 Yaris 5 dr liftback Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Posts: 564	Just wondering if you can buy your nitrogen and do it yourself. Most shops won't over inflate with nitrogen. __________________ Big Dave Indianapolis, IN Synthetic Oil....its in my car.....for at least 10,000 miles!

05-15-2012, 05:37 AM	#14
vincentg View User's Garage Drives: Toyota Yaris 2007 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Philippines Posts: 44	is nitrogen better than just air? it gives out more handling but i dont know if it really changes the car's fuel efficiency __________________ JUST DRIVE

05-16-2012, 01:00 PM	#17
tooter play every day Drives: 2012 Yaris L 2dr 5sp Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,961	Did you know that the air we breathe is 78% nitrogen? ... can't be lighter than air if it is air. Last edited by tooter; 05-16-2012 at 01:17 PM.

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04-30-2012, 11:43 PM	#2
TLyttle Drives: 07 Yaris sedan Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Keremeos BC Posts: 986	I'm led to believe that the max pressure is for setting the bead, then dump them down to 32 as per the label. However, the label pressure has to do with handling.... and RIDE. If, like me, you don't give a damn about ride, then take them up into the 40+ range. Anything over that, and grip begins to deteriorate. Lots of the hyper-miler guys run at 60+, but my experience has been that the tires tend to skate at that pressure. Just my opinion...

05-01-2012, 01:35 AM	#3
tooter play every day Drives: 2012 Yaris L 2dr 5sp Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,961	I always run tires at their stated maximum pressure, usually 46 pounds.

05-01-2012, 03:03 PM	#4
Hershey Drives: 08 Yaris sedan auto / Fit auto Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: northeast Posts: 2,897	35 >37 . '08 Yaris sedan with the 4 speed auto has overall gas mileage close to 38 for nearly 4 years . Was bought new in mid May of '08 .

05-01-2012, 10:59 PM	#5
nopk Drives: 2007 Yaris Hatchback Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6	you have to ask yourself: do you want to spend more money on tires, or more money on gas? it's like this: if you set your PSI higher than recommended, you're going to rub away the rubber away quicker, and in a more detrimental way - and end up having to replace the tires more often. sure, you may get better MPG, but at the cost of possibly unsafe handling characteristics and spending way more on tires. if toyota says 35psi, put it at 35psi. they don't employ thousands of engineers to just "guess" 35psi, they've done the work to make sure that it's most efficient and beneficial to you obviously, i mean this for daily driving. if you're autocrossing you're going to want to use different pressures for whatever reasons you'll find

05-01-2012, 11:32 PM	#6
Hershey Drives: 08 Yaris sedan auto / Fit auto Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: northeast Posts: 2,897	Try to keep tires at about 37 during late fall > mid spring due to variations of pressure in cold / warm temps . 35 or a bit more for warmer months . Molecules are a bit of a nuisance . May have try nitrogen for more constant pressure .

05-02-2012, 01:44 AM	#7
edmscan Drives: 2020 Corolla Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 549	Thank you for those that replied. I will see how my car seems to feel at 40 psi for a while .. and see if running them at 32 like Toyota recommends feels any different.

05-03-2012, 12:41 AM	#8
TLyttle Drives: 07 Yaris sedan Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Keremeos BC Posts: 986	Have a look in your Moaners Annual, nopk: extra pressure is recommended under some conditions. Maybe not as much as I suggest (up to 40+), but certainly an extra few pounds for high-speed cruising. In fact, I find that my tires wear less at higher pressures, plus the better mileage yielded. My OEM tires wore at a horrendous rate before I bumped the pressure up, but by then the damage was done. AND the bite was better. As mentioned before, much of the recommended pressures by "thousands of engineers" compromises "ride' into the equation. There is no logical way to determine "ride" as it is always subjective: 1,000 engineers, 1,000 opinions on ride. Besides, changing tire make or wheel size pitches the calculations right out the window.

05-06-2012, 05:21 PM	#9
zkay Drives: 2010 Yaris Sedan 4-DR Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Midwest USA Posts: 53	You might want to consider using Nitrogen in your tires instead of air, like another poster said. The pressure stays constant year round, and is uniform throughout the tire. http://www.getnitrogen.org/ Pretty neat, I bought my sedan with nitrogen filled tires and have been getting pretty good gas mileage. It's had it since I got it, though, so I don't really know how much to attribute to the tires and how much is the car itself.

05-14-2012, 02:31 PM	#12
nookandcrannycar Drives: 2('14+'07)MT 3d ,wHandCrWndws! Join Date: May 2009 Location: S.MontgomeryCnty,TX(HoustonMSA) '07=BayouBlue=300,125miles=OrigOwnr '14=ClassicSilvr=29,059miles Posts: 4,839	I can't imagine either extreme, and 60 + PSI just seems insane. I've tried the max PSI on my tires (44 I think with each set I've purchased) and even that makes me feel as though I'm driving with bricks instead of tires. On the other end, I've gotten my car back from an oil change with the PSI changed to the spec on the tire (not my request) and I feel as though I'm floating on the high seas and have less control than at a higher PSI. I keep my tires at 38-40 PSI and can tell If it goes below 38..and that only happened earlier on this current set of tires when I had a slow leak and procrastinated on researching which Firestone shop would honor the specific warranty I have (only factory owned stores honor the warranty at all) and actually got it repaired at Discount Tire for free after a Discount Tire employee spotted me checking my tires in a wide open part of the parking lot at my local Kroger Signature. I carry a tire gauge in my Yaris and behind the rear seat/under the deck lid and hatch I carry a 12v air compressor that I paid about $12.00 for so I can put in my own free air at any time/in any spot. I got almost 10 percent over the mileage rating on my original set and first replacement set of tires and will get much more than that on my current set. I eyeballed my overall combined MPG, and this is over nearly 217,000 miles -- it's about 40 or slightly higher (I have the individual tank stats, but have never kept a running total). The only negative 'car consequence' that I think about in any significant way is that I might need wheel bearings sooner than if I wasn't running the higher PSI. My worst two tanks MPG wise have not been city tanks but instead on the 80 MPH limit stretch of I-10 in Texas and both in EXTREMELY windy conditions along that stretch. I have run across some idiot drivers whose actions have resulted in my brakes and steering being taxed quite a bit, but it those situations my car feels as though it is almost 'stopping on a dime' (so to speak). I wonder if the NTHSA or any insurance institutes have done any studies related to passenger car tire PSI in any meaningful way that would be useful to Yaris owners.

05-14-2012, 04:40 PM	#13
RikBakke Drives: 2010 Yaris 3 Dr LB Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 9	I like to run 2-4 PSI higher (RE92's) than the door jamb sticker recommendations. Decent ride and decent treadwear patterns. For a nitrogen fill, I generally use a mixture with 78-79% nitrogen. This fill mixture has the same pressure vs temp properties as pure nitrogen. I find this is the most cost effective and I get the same pressure variations as a 98% dry nitrogen fill. When the RE92's wear down, I'll pick up a set of Michelins with the savings.