17" Tires scream PUMP ME UP!

OMG! Exceeding the manufacture specified air pressures will cause you to explode the tires and further increase the size of the hole in the ozone layer!

*sits back and waits for the tire pressure nazis to freak out over this one*

LOL

 

I am new here and have not seen a flame war over tire pressure yet. But everything i have heard is that overinflating will cause less traction and premature wear.
And if you are going through tires quicker, it sort of defeats the purpose of saving all this fuel, doesn't it?
I am not a gear head and may be just be out of touch, is my conventional wisdom too conservative?

 

Here ya go mate. Have a look at some of thesde threads and it will answer your questions.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...24-integritys-over-35k-miles-50-psi-pics.html

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-fuel-economy/32512-tire-pressure-poll-where-yours.html

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-technical-discussion/44327-max-oem-tire-pressure.html

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...oting/14383-confused-about-tire-pressure.html

 

OK, I have learned something today. Thanks.

 

Please keep in mind that this is related to the Goodyear Integrity tires. I will go out and measure my Nokian i3s which are overinflated as well. We will see if the treadwear is consistent with our findings on the Integrity. I have a feeling that the wider 17" tires may not like to be severely overinflated but since I won't be running those anytime soon I'll leave it up to someone else to test that idea.

No one recommends running pressures over the max pressure "limit" on your specific tire. We just report the outcome of doing so on our own vehicles and let you decide what you think is prudent.

 

ggood,

Not sure which tires you have; I have the Bridgestones. I didn't last a week at 33/32 (actually 3 days) before I brought mine up to 38/36. Screw the tire nazis, I like the road feel better at the higher psi and, at 450 miles so far, I've already exceeded 51MPG on my usual commute that yielded 44-46 MPG with my well broken in 2006 with 71,000 miles.

Bottom line, 33/32 won't kill you, but for me, it's too low, soft and bad for tire life/safety. Buy a tire pump, don't exceed the maximum psi, but play with the pressures until you find pressures you and your MPG's like and enjoy your new toy.

 

I'm starting at 42/41 when I get the car (based on PM exchanges with someone who already has the car and is getting great mileage and handling). Where is the TPM reset switch? BTW, how do you deal with the TPM issue with winter tires (sorry if off topic)?

 

Get down on your knees and read the tire pressure on your tire and it gives you a Max pressure and stop reading the manual.

 

My Prius V is due into Newark on June 22nd, but I have first hand experience that confirms your experience.

I currently have a Jaguar X-type, non sport suspension with 17 inch Bridgestone Pole Position tires. Recommended tire pressure was 30/30, but when equipped with the sport suspension the OEM tire pressure was 38/35.

I pumped up the Bridgestone's to 38/35 and found handling/tracking much improved with a minor increase in ride stiffness. I have driven them over 15K miles and wouldn't think have going back to 30/30.

I plan to set my 2010 Prius V to 38/35 or thereabouts as well which seems to follow the experiences being shared above.

 

Before I turned on my new Prius V, I pulled out my portable pump and showed the dealer how it worked and what pressure I'd use.

The recommended 33/32 or 32/31 seemed quite low, even though the 215s have a good bit of additional tread contact area. I measured the PSI (tires were cold) before inflating and found that they were already at 38 (sidewall max is 51). With the dealer there, I decided to set the pressure at 42/41. I ran that pressure for nearly two weeks. Yesterday, I bumped up the pressure to 44/43. The little bump didn't seem to change anything.

I haven't yet thought about whether I'll go higher. I haven't felt anything unusual, and I've been able to put nearrly a thouseand miles on the car.

 

Good question. I hadn't really thought through that issue myself until now. Thanks for bringing it up.

If you are mounting the winter tires to the original wheel I don't think there will be a problem because the transmitter is attached to the wheel. It should be the same as fixing a flat. If you are using other wheels, as I plan to, it should be find to go ahead without transmitters in the wheel and ignore the resulting TPM warnings--at least I hope so. You might want to check tire pressure manually over the winter, but no big deal.

BTW, if you have the storage space I recommend not using the 17" original wheels and instead getting the winter tires mounted on a set of 15" wheel, either steel wheels or used wheels from at least a Gen2 Prius (from other posts, I believe they have the right offset etc.). Downsizing from 17" to 15" wheels will require a narrower tire, which is what you want for snow, and will keep your nice 17" wheels away from the salt. It's also a lot cheaper than having to unmount, remount, and balance tires twice a year.

You can probably find used 15" wheels on craigslist. Or you can order pre-mounted and balanced tire and wheel packages from places like tirerack.com this fall.

 

Actually, there seems to be a thread on the TPM subject. I assume it is still valid for 2010. I haven't read it all, but it has some more points to consider -- like the risk of having the tire shop break one of your transmitters, which has happened to my wife and is another reason for separate winter wheels....

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...roubleshooting/26135-tpms-summary-thread.html