Tire Pressure Poll - Where is Yours?

Poll is flawed, 60+ psi all around. I'm up 3 mpg, less cornerwear on the tires, drives great.

 

Good info guys, thanks!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(etyler88 @ May 21 2007, 12:02 AM) [snapback]446416[/snapback]</div>

On what tires?

 

Did the 60 psi on the stockers and now on BFGoodrich touring comp T/As

 

62F/60R - 10000 miles, slow city driving.

I know the dangers.

 

The following is just my two cents worth:

I wonder if some wise guy insurance persons will pick up on the trend of the prius crowd to overinflate their tires beyond the manufactures safe recommended air pressures. I would guess that somewhere along the line, someone will be questioned as to why they did this. And then of course whether or not a bunch of insurance company lawyers will seek to dismiss the claims of the prius folks because they knowingly engaged in this unsafe practice. I recall a poster to this thread may have said his tires hopped a little upon quick braking at the overinflated tire pressures. Maybe I am over reacting to this, but somebody somewhere will notice this and start to question the safety of the overinflated tires on some of the Prii out ther. I could be wrong?

My tire pressures are normal as set by the good folks at Costco. To my knowledge, they will NOT inflate to a requested pressure. They are supposed to inflate the tires to the MANUFACTURERS recommended safe pressures. Could someone speak to this? I average 45-50 MPG on the MXV4s by Michelin at Costco.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bigmahma @ May 21 2007, 10:02 AM) [snapback]446730[/snapback]</div>

BigMahma, I could watch your avitar all night! I have a Touring model with 38/36 (similar to your avitar!) and I do just fine at average 51 mpg with the warmer weather. I'm not too happy with the ride at higher pressures.

B) Lee

 

I just posted (on another PC topic):
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=33640&hl=
the problem my Wife had yesterday on the highway with very, very heavy CROSS WINDS !!
We have a (six day old) 2007 Prius TOURING with the Bridgestone TURANZA EL400's.
I too am from the Old school" and thought keeping the tire pressure at the "proper" (factory decal) pressure, which as we all know is 35 (front) / 33 (rear) would be the "smartest" solutuion for IMPROVED HANDLING ??

PLEASE, tell me this......... if we are running 35F/33R right now, here in hot Florida (near Tampa) then WHAT would going to 40/38 (adding 5 lbs. to each tire) do for our "handling" ?? Oh, and by the way, just ordered a BT CHASSIS PLATE this morning...............

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ May 23 2007, 11:36 AM) [snapback]448196[/snapback]</div>

I read that Bridgestone (the tires we have on our "Touring") states MAX. tire pressure is 51 psi.
I would worry about over-inflating then taking the tires on the highway at speeds of 70+, in the heat of Florida (where we live), and having a blow-out !!

Also........... would an "over-inflated" tire (or let's just say MAXIMUM inflated tire) do a lot more slippin' and slidin' (lose traction) in the rain and/or hydroplaning ?? Would you get "away" from a more "normal" traction that the tire would have at say 40 psi ?? I am very curious !! NOT trying to debate !!

 

I honestly don't know. Had the car only for a few weeks now and haven't checked them yet. I don't have a compressor or a digital tire gauge at home so I've got to go out and buy those items soon. I'm happy with the mileage we're getting but I do want to try and "push it" to try and stretch the numbers even farther depending on where they're at now.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Trendy2 @ May 23 2007, 02:11 PM) [snapback]448337[/snapback]</div>

No, not everyone has an air compressor in their home garage. Luckily I have one (what ex-mechanic doesn't??) but for those of you that need "air" to fill tires, you can buy at Sears (automotive/hardware dept.) or ANY auto parts store, for around $25 (maybe less if on sale) an AIR TANK that you fill up with about 100 PSI of air (from a gas station that gives air "free") and then you can also buy a decent (don't want inaccurate junk!!) tire pressure guage, I prefer the "round dial" type myself (analog) that (make sure of this) goes up to at very least 60 psi. with a 0 to 100 psi being even better as your tire pressure readings will fall in the "mid".

Being "in the field" (auto. mechanic) in my YOUNGER years.............. after over 35 years I still have the same Snap-On (Blue-Point) "round dial type" tire pressure guage my Brother gave me (brand new) as a birthday gift. It goes from 0 - 100 with extreme accuracy and at around 3" diameter these tired old eyes (still need the glasses) can read it just fine. Our Bicycle tires get filled frequently (60 lbs.) and between the Air Compressor and this guage, we use them quite a bit. Unfortunately THIS (Snap-On) guage NOW would probaly cost around $60 or more......... but there are decent ones out there for under $20 !!

One of the first things I did when our vehicle "cooled down" (actually the next morning) after we bought it, was to check the tire pressures. The rears were both at 33 psi. and the passenger front was 35 psi. but the driver's front was a bit high at 38-39 psi, so I let some air out (another feature on my Snap-On Blue-Point guage) and brought it down to 35 !!

NOW........... I am reading on this PC Forum that MOST Prius owners are running 40F/38R - 42F/40R and some are even a way lot higher..................

 

Just checked mine for the very first time. They were 35/33.

IMHO, the risk of over-inflation (pre-mature wear, possible blowout, etc.) is not worth the increased MPG.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(briloop @ May 23 2007, 07:53 PM) [snapback]448578[/snapback]</div>

35F/33R are EXACT factory recommended specs. and there is nothing wrong (in MY opinion) with these pressures, although most others consider them to be LOW and prefer to run about 5 psi per tire higher to get better gas mileage. I think the "average" I have read on the post here (not the poll) was 40F/38R. My Wife is having some slight "handling problems" with her brand new Prius Touring on the highway in very windy (crosswind) conditions so we are (for NOW) also staying at 35F/33R (factory specs.) Perhaps later, after we install the BT STIFFENING PLATE we just purchased and are awaiting it's arrival, we will "experiment" with higher tire pressures. Remember though, the Touring model has 55 series tires and overinflating them would drastically effect (again MY opinion) road "adhesion" and also make for a really "bumpy" ride !!


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bigmahma @ May 23 2007, 07:24 AM) [snapback]448003[/snapback]</div>

Do you have the 2007 Prius TOURING with the 16", 55 series Bridgestone TURANZA EL400's or the 15" NON-Touring ?? TWO distinctly different tires..................

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bigmahma @ May 24 2007, 07:54 AM) [snapback]448923[/snapback]</div>

The Touring also has those "blueish" HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlights as well as a "larger" (sticks out about 2" more than non-touring models) REAR SPOILER.

My Wife and I live in Plant, City (Walden Lake) and we used to live (about five years ago) in Bloomingdale (Valrico). We almost bought a nice house (on a pond) in Riverview but it was in a very busy, overpopulated with kids, community, close to RT. 301. Is Bradenton where the Tropicana Orange Juice factory (one of them) is located ??

Good Luck with your Prius (how long have you had it ??).......... tomorrow (5/25) will be OUR one week celebration !! Bought it from a Toyota Dealer in Tampa (on Fletcher)........... great price, very good "dealings"...... an overall VERY pleasant experience. We had to wait a couple of weeks to get the Silver Pine Mica (light metallic green) with gray cloth interior and Package #5 !! We were very lucky one was coming into port (actually to another dealer) and "our dealer" was able to swap and "grab" it before it reached port !! We were also able to "eliminate" that extra $699, Port installed "TOYOGUARD PLUS Package" !!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ May 23 2007, 10:36 AM) [snapback]448196[/snapback]</div>

Is that the only variable you changed? (Other than the inevitable breaking-in of the car and better P&G techniques, etc.) When did you put in the EV mod? (I think it was 6 months earlier if I remember correctly, so it probably didn't make the difference). You also put in the EBH right? Do you use that during warm weather? As is, it looks like an average of 7 mpg better, or about 14% which is impressive. My understanding from what I've read is that mpg gains from tire pressure changes would be more in the 5-10% range.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Trendy2 @ May 23 2007, 01:11 PM) [snapback]448337[/snapback]</div>

Or you could just use a good bicycle (floor stand style) pump like I do. Takes less room and no fossil fuels to operate. On mine, about 9 pumps is one PSI, probably 7 seconds time. I admit it was a bit of a pain when my Subaru tire (12 pumps/psi on the 17" wheels) had a slow leak and I had to pump it up weekly, then twice/week, then 3x before I finally had the hole plugged.

 

Why did the POLL omit the "factory" 35F/33R tire pressure settings and start at 3 psi per tire higher ???? Does no-one run "factory specs.", even with the 16" tires (P195/55 R16) used on the '07 Touring models ??