Tire pressure question

I couldn't tell the difference in ride. Keep in mind, this is what Goodyear stamped on the side of the tire. If they didn't mean for the tire to have that pressure, they wouldn't have molded it into the side. And if it couldn't handle it, the lawyers would have a hayday.

50psi is nothing, my Ford truck is 85psi.

You're used to your former cars all being 35psi.

 

I have my all seasons pumped to 42/40, but am switching to winter tires later this week. Is it safe to inflate my winter tires to 42/40 as well?

 

I also read on the side of my tires 51 so I pumped them up to 50 (they were in the low 30's) and I also noticed a marked improvement in MPG (up as much as 5 MPG). I have never seen a tire which had a rating this high, is it safe? Typically they are rated around 42 I believe, at least all my previous vehicles were.

 

I've been driving with 50 front/48 rear since last June with no problem.

 

Oh, is it better to keep the rear tires a little lower? Yes, I'm a newb.

 

Wait a sec, Goodyear (for example) has 51 psi on the sidewall, yes. But it's indicating max permissible load that can be carried, at that max pressure. You're making an errant leap of logic with your statement that Goodyear's saying to use 51 psi for everyday use. They're not. The only recommendation as to what you should set the pressure at is the decal in the door jamb, supplied by Toyota.

That said, Toyota's recommendation leans heavily towards comfort, and a few extra pounds are advantageous, as long as you don't mind feeling like a bobble-head going over speed bumps in a parking lot.

Also, I think tire profile is a factor. I run our 195/65R15 snow tires around 44~42 psi (they're rated max psi 50~ on the sidewall). But with our OEM 215/45R17 I find 38~36 more liveable.

 

I believe the reason is the weight of the front engine and driver.

 

That is correct.

I would not recommend running high pressure on very rough roads. You can actually hurt FE because of lost momentum when the tire skips over rough sections instead of gripping.

 

Going from 30 to 38 psig made about 8% reduction in gas costs.

 

Resurrecting this old thread because it seems relevant enough.

The dealership never lowered my c's tire pressure after its trip from Japan, so I lowered them slightly to 45-48 psi not long after, when the weather was still in the 40s-50s here in Ohio. Just got my 5k mile maintenance, and they were down to 30 and adjusted to 35/33. Guess I'll have to check 'em monthly, because I didn't expect them to lose 16 psi in a few months, especially now that the weather's warmer.

The tread wear was also measured:
front: 8/32; rear: 7/32
The inspection sheet says new tire treads are 10-11/32, and 6+ is fine. Is 7-8/32" of tire tread normal after only 5,000 miles? My tires are Goodyear Assurance tires with a max sidewall pressure of 51.

Aside from windshield washer fluid being refilled, the only other interesting thing noted was that the cabin air filter "may need future attention". It seems a bit early for that, since I don't live in a dry/dusty environment. The only causes I can think of are some short dog hair (dog is in the car an average of once each week) or that driving on rural roads somehow caused it, though those roads aren't gravel.

 

Factory tires generally don't hold up that well. Forces you to buy new ones sooner... that being said... I'm on 11k and have 10/32 all around.
Cold weather and then warm weather and then cold weather will fluctuate the tire pressures quicker than just one or the other... and knowing how the lake affect changes the temps during the days up there, it wouldn't surprise me if that's why you have pressure issues.

Air filters should probably be changed once a year. Do you have to, no... should you... depends on where you live.

 

Huh. I don't see why mine would be more worn out - hopefully the measurement was wrong or something. This page: Goodyear says the treads are warranted for 65,000 miles and mentions 2/32" as the point where the warranty would apply. It also says the tread warranty doesn't apply to tires supplied as original equipment. There was a tire warranty thing that came with the car - guess I should read that.

Ah, that makes sense. Yes, northeast Ohio has gone through a few year's worth of seasons in the past few months, so that'd do it.

Got it, thanks! I'll let 'em do whatever seeing as it's free, then worry about it after then. I'm guessing they saw some dog hair.

 

Service departments sometimes don't actually measure tread depth unless it looks thin enough to sell you new tires. They look, estimate, and write it on the service order as though it were a fact. If I were to believe what my dealers service department wrote down each time, my tires have gained tread depth between services on occasion.

If you want to know what your tread depth actually is, you need to measure it yourself. There are lots of gauges for $5 to $10 or you can improvise and measure it for free with things you have on hand. The gauges make it easier.

 

The tire warranty is basically road hazard. If you hit a pothole you will get prorated on the cost of a new tire. If they deem that you neglected to maintain the tires (do the rotates and balances... do the alignment checks every year) they can void your warranty. I doubt the dealer warranty on the tire is 65k, they are usually less.

Your roads are much worse than ours down here in Georgia. I'm from Youngstown and have family in Warren, so I make trips every now and then... it's amazing the difference. That will wear a tire down quicker too.

 

Besides a pressure gauge, tire depth gauge is handy to have, pretty cheap. Take measurements near the outer and inner edges. The inner measurements will likely show less tread depth, due to negative camber on the rear suspension. Also, move the gauge back and forth along the tread a bit, to make sure you're not on a wear bar location.

Tire Tread Depth Gauge | Princess Auto

 

I keep all four tires at max. side wall pressure, 44 PSI, Michelin Energy Saver AS (195x65x15). Last set nearly
70,000 miles and perfect wear. I have a brand new set on now with nearly 20,000 miles and pefect wear.
Also a 3 mpg increase over any other tire available in the U.S.

 

Well, I just checked my tires' pressures today, and they're definitely not set to 35/33 like the dealership maintenance stated. They're almost exactly where I filled them up to - 43-47 psi. I readjusted them to 48/46. I wonder if the dealership even checked them, or if they actually did the rest of the maintenance or just wrote numbers down in the boxes...

 

I think there is a lot of that going on, I would never trust a dealer to get the tire pressure right.