Tire Pressure

[eTiMaGo]

before this escalates into another full blown flame-fest, here is my definitive two cents:

As with most aspects of tweaking a car, it's a compromise. there'll always be a trade-off to higher or lower tire pressure. Increase pressure, and you will improve handling and economy, at the expense of comfort, and if you push it too far, tire longevity. The trick is to find the right balance which suits your preferences and driving style.
That's all there is to it, really!

[Black Yaris]

Originally Posted by grampi

Not true. I can tell you from personal experience the pressure listed on the driver's door IS NOT the optimum pressure. I have found that running your tires at about 5 psi over the recommended pressure increases tread life, improves handling (stiffer sidewalls), reduces tire noise, and improves fuel economy. The only thing that's better at the recommended pressure is the ride, and even then, only somewhat better. Some people run their tires at the max pressure listed on the tire's sidewall, however I've found door pressure +5 is usually the best compromise between getting all the other bennies and a smooth ride.

well your statement as also not true, 5 psi over the recommend may cause roll over hazzards in some vehicles, the tires being too stiff will cause them to fail government safty rollover test, this was the case back with the whole Explorer/Firestone recall. no matter what tires on those mid to late 90's explorers they can not pass the rollover test with any more than 26psi in the tires. But if you know anything about tire load index's you know that 26 psi in a tire can not hold the weight of a small SUV... there inlied the problem... regaurdless, you have some holes in your theories

[grampi]

Originally Posted by Black Yaris

well your statement as also not true, 5 psi over the recommend may cause roll over hazzards in some vehicles, the tires being too stiff will cause them to fail government safty rollover test, this was the case back with the whole Explorer/Firestone recall. no matter what tires on those mid to late 90's explorers they can not pass the rollover test with any more than 26psi in the tires. But if you know anything about tire load index's you know that 26 psi in a tire can not hold the weight of a small SUV... there inlied the problem... regaurdless, you have some holes in your theories

However, the rollovers being experienced by Explorer owners weren't due to overinflated tires. They were being caused by blowouts due to underinflated tires. Tire manufacturers would not list a max pressure on their tire's sidewall that's so much higher than the auto manfacturer's recommended pressure (this pressure is usually 44 PSI) if that pressure could cause safety issues. This would open them up to law suits. If there's a problem with any vehicle's handling with any tire pressure between the auto maufacturer's recommended pressure and the max pressure listed on the tire's sidwall, then there's a problem with that vehicle and it should not be allowed on the road. That problem wouldn't be due to tire pressure.

[Black Yaris]

Originally Posted by grampi

However, the rollovers being experienced by Explorer owners weren't due to overinflated tires. They were being caused by blowouts due to underinflated tires. Tire manufacturers would not list a max pressure on their tire's sidewall that's so much higher than the auto manfacturer's recommended pressure (this pressure is usually 44 PSI) if that pressure could cause safety issues. This would open them up to law suits. If there's a problem with any vehicle's handling with any tire pressure between the auto maufacturer's recommended pressure and the max pressure listed on the tire's sidwall, then there's a problem with that vehicle and it should not be allowed on the road. That problem wouldn't be due to tire pressure.

I will give you that

[grampi]

Originally Posted by eTiMaGo

before this escalates into another full blown flame-fest, here is my definitive two cents:

As with most aspects of tweaking a car, it's a compromise. there'll always be a trade-off to higher or lower tire pressure. Increase pressure, and you will improve handling and economy, at the expense of comfort, and if you push it too far, tire longevity. The trick is to find the right balance which suits your preferences and driving style.
That's all there is to it, really!

As long as you don't increase the pressure so as to exceed the max pressure listed on the sidewall you aren't going to experience any abnormal or higher than ordinary wear. It's when this pressure is exceeded, or you drive on underinflated tires that you'l experience premature wear.