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I always like mine to be inflated to around the maximum pressure on the tire. I recently got new tires and told them to max them out but they told me the center of the tire will wear out quicker that way. Seeing how they are under some sort of warranty I need to make sure I adhere to the requirements. I like my tires maxed out because in my opinion it gives less rolling resistance which in turn gives me better gas mileage and the appearance that they are ever so slightly bigger. I think the recommended tire pressure in the door jam is strictly for ride quality.
The trade-off for overinflated tires is that while you get better fuel economy, you lose traction.
An overinflated tire can also make handling and braking performance suffer as traction decreases. Having a little bit of sidewall compliance helps a tire "plant" better in a corner and grab better while braking. That 30 cents you save in fuel economy won't help if you find yourself oversteering in a panic swerve, or the ABS engaging prematurely in a panic stop situation because your tires are inflated hard as a rock.
When I autocrossed, having the tires overinflated made a dramatic impact in how the car handled, braked and accelerated...for the worse.
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But, everyone else covered the logic of the recommended pressure on the door plate, and adjusting it from there. Basically the recommended pressure is a factor of vehicle weight, plus the surface area of the contact patch and recommended pressure to maintain even pressure. Increase the contact patch surface area, and in theory you can decrease pressure. Reduce the surface area (like installing narrow snow tires) and pressure must go up to maintain contact patch even pressure. Of course, other variables come into play, like tire rigidity and such, so basically you'll need to play around with pressure and adjust from there.
But I disagree with the "air it to max and get better fuel economy" method. I certainly hope you aren't driving behind me with overinflated tires and find yourself in a panic stop situation. You'll need that $3/year you saved on fuel then.
Last edited by BostonMike7; 04-26-2017 at 06:52 PM..
I look at it is a range you can work in between. I do not let my car tires go below 32 lbs and do not go over 38 lbs. I try to keep all 4 at the same pressure level though. In the morning, when cooler, the pressure is about 5 lbs less anyway. As they heat up, they gain about 5 lbs, so your pressure is not at a static level anyway due to temp changes. If the vehicle is an SUV, I may go with a bit less to soften the ride some.
Truck tires: I go with more pressure for hauling, so, about 50lbs.
As a rule of thumb, I've generally tried to air up my tires to about 85% of the rated maximum pressure. So for tires rated at 51 PSI max, I try to go with about 43 PSI. Sometimes I drop down to about 40 for a bit more comfort.
But I've also owned tires that were rated for 35 PSI maximum. That was some time ago and I don't remember exactly, but I think I put in around 32 PSI or so. Less than that and the sidewalls appeared to be bulging out. I grew to dislike those tires and replaced them before they wore out.
The trade-off for overinflated tires is that while you get better fuel economy, you lose traction.
An overinflated tire can also make handling and braking performance suffer as traction decreases. Having a little bit of sidewall compliance helps a tire "plant" better in a corner and grab better while braking. That 30 cents you save in fuel economy won't help if you find yourself oversteering in a panic swerve, or the ABS engaging prematurely in a panic stop situation because your tires are inflated hard as a rock.
When I autocrossed, having the tires overinflated made a dramatic impact in how the car handled, braked and accelerated...for the worse.
------------------------------
But, everyone else covered the logic of the recommended pressure on the door plate, and adjusting it from there. Basically the recommended pressure is a factor of vehicle weight, plus the surface area of the contact patch and recommended pressure to maintain even pressure. Increase the contact patch surface area, and in theory you can decrease pressure. Reduce the surface area (like installing narrow snow tires) and pressure must go up to maintain contact patch even pressure. Of course, other variables come into play, like tire rigidity and such, so basically you'll need to play around with pressure and adjust from there.
But I disagree with the "air it to max and get better fuel economy" method. I certainly hope you aren't driving behind me with overinflated tires and find yourself in a panic stop situation. You'll need that $3/year you saved on fuel then.
Over-inflating tires are also more prone to blowouts and they will wear out faster as all the pressure is on the middle of the tire as opposed to the whole footprint of the tire handling the load.
As a general rule, definitely use the door sticker as your guide, not the tire itself. I also pump mine up a couple pounds higher than the door sticker but no way would I inflate them all the way to the max rating on the tire. Just my opinion...
Okay so I've asked a lot of people this question. And as always, at the tire dealers they tell you to keep the tire pressure at what it says in the door of your car.
So you wish to beat the engineers at the car manufacturers, eh?
Do yourself a favor. Stick with manufacturers recommendation.
The trade-off for overinflated tires is that while you get better fuel economy, you lose traction.
An overinflated tire can also make handling and braking performance suffer as traction decreases. Having a little bit of sidewall compliance helps a tire "plant" better in a corner and grab better while braking. That 30 cents you save in fuel economy won't help if you find yourself oversteering in a panic swerve, or the ABS engaging prematurely in a panic stop situation because your tires are inflated hard as a rock.
When I autocrossed, having the tires overinflated made a dramatic impact in how the car handled, braked and accelerated...for the worse.
------------------------------
But, everyone else covered the logic of the recommended pressure on the door plate, and adjusting it from there. Basically the recommended pressure is a factor of vehicle weight, plus the surface area of the contact patch and recommended pressure to maintain even pressure. Increase the contact patch surface area, and in theory you can decrease pressure. Reduce the surface area (like installing narrow snow tires) and pressure must go up to maintain contact patch even pressure. Of course, other variables come into play, like tire rigidity and such, so basically you'll need to play around with pressure and adjust from there.
But I disagree with the "air it to max and get better fuel economy" method. I certainly hope you aren't driving behind me with overinflated tires and find yourself in a panic stop situation. You'll need that $3/year you saved on fuel then.
If I put the max recommended air pressure in the tire, that does not mean it is overinflated. If I put more air in the tire than what the tire can take, that is overinflated. In my opinion, the door plate simply tells you the recommended tire pressure for the factory optioned tires that will provide the best quality ride. I don't care about comfy ride quality so I can honestly say I have never looked at the door plate to see what is recommended.
Our Audi has far better response on the road when it comes to handling when the tires are bumped up as it feels like it is floating a bit when they are at the recommended pressure. I find the floating feel in the winter when I have the snow tires on it or after I get it serviced and the service dept adjusts the pressure to the recommended psi. With the Audi, its maxed out strictly for handing as I don't care about gas mileage but with the SUV I did it previously for the added gas mileage. I have never had an issue stopping in either vehicle though I wont disagree that less air pressure would result in a shorter stopping distance.
If I put the max recommended air pressure in the tire, that does not mean it is overinflated. If I put more air in the tire than what the tire can take, that is overinflated. In my opinion, the door plate simply tells you the recommended tire pressure for the factory optioned tires that will provide the best quality ride. I don't care about comfy ride quality so I can honestly say I have never looked at the door plate to see what is recommended.
Our Audi has far better response on the road when it comes to handling when the tires are bumped up as it feels like it is floating a bit when they are at the recommended pressure. I find the floating feel in the winter when I have the snow tires on it or after I get it serviced and the service dept adjusts the pressure to the recommended psi. With the Audi, its maxed out strictly for handing as I don't care about gas mileage but with the SUV I did it previously for the added gas mileage. I have never had an issue stopping in either vehicle though I wont disagree that less air pressure would result in a shorter stopping distance.
I would bet you that if you took your Audi for an Autocross lap with your tires set high, and your tires at the recommended level, you'd post a quicker lap time with the lower tire pressure.
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