Believe it or not, but the best thing to do is simply follow the engineered psi located on the door jamb on a regular basis, and buy a good gauge. like everyone else should. Most people don't, and have no clue as to why they have issues with their tires.
Are my tires over inflated?
- Thread starter gregk24
- Start date
Yes, but that seems to easy! Joking aside, I like to have them a tad over inflated 2-4 PSI max for slightly increased MPG and handling. The only reason I was asking was due to the malfunctioning machine that wouldn't let me adjust the desired PSI. I ended up letting some air out and set them all to 38 PSI (2 pounds over door sticker). Took a two hour trip today with no hiccups.
Following the 1 psi per 10 degrees F rule, I set my tires over the door placard by the typical swing in temperature I'm experiencing for that time of year. So typically 2 psi. I don't want to be caught under, and air never leaks into a tire. Done well by this.
Tire gauges seem to be all over the place. I have an older acme gauge the seems to be accurate. I have had digital and dial gauges that just don't seem repeatable and accurate.
Using the same pressure gauge for years is my only claim to "accuracy". Don't call me out...'twas said as a joke...but...
After YEARS of using 36 psi as a starting point and using the "+10% rule" for highway travel (36 + 3.6 = 39.6 or 40 psi) THEN remembering to lower the pressure when the highway part is done has yielded straight and square wearing tires.
Let's be frank. Too, too many people are fat bottomed lazy slugs who'd never think of checking their tire pressure. One must bend at the waist and possibly get their hands dirty. How unacceptably animalistic is that?
Start with a gauge which appears to possibly be of good quality and stick with that one. It doesn't really matter if your TP is consistently at 34 psi or 34.6 psi. It's the consistency you're looking for, not dead on accuracy
POSSIBLE WARNING: In my experience fluctuating temperatures are what makes tires lose air the fastest. That's Spring and Autumn where I'm from.
After YEARS of using 36 psi as a starting point and using the "+10% rule" for highway travel (36 + 3.6 = 39.6 or 40 psi) THEN remembering to lower the pressure when the highway part is done has yielded straight and square wearing tires.
Let's be frank. Too, too many people are fat bottomed lazy slugs who'd never think of checking their tire pressure. One must bend at the waist and possibly get their hands dirty. How unacceptably animalistic is that?
Start with a gauge which appears to possibly be of good quality and stick with that one. It doesn't really matter if your TP is consistently at 34 psi or 34.6 psi. It's the consistency you're looking for, not dead on accuracy
POSSIBLE WARNING: In my experience fluctuating temperatures are what makes tires lose air the fastest. That's Spring and Autumn where I'm from.
How much is consider over inflation?
If the vehicle has TPMS with PSI reading, no need for a tire pressure gauge.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Messages
- 29,558
I would think over the car’s oem recommendation.
It doesn't cause wear in the center tire. And if you do not like firm ride just stick to the placard.
I am riding 40 psi cold on mines over decades.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Messages
- 29,558
I like a firm ride, but tires are designed to take some of the road's shock.
Accutire Programmable Tire Pressure Gauge https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G9QRDJQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vyxwFbQ626ZFM
I get that, but how would you know if the tpms was inaccurate? I've had numerous tire gauges and even electronic gauges that are inaccurate, why would tpms be garranteed to not drift?
I used to subscribe to the "more PSI = more mpg" and jack my pressure close to the max pressure indicated on the sidewall (which is 44psi for most passenger standard load tires.) I stopped doing this after the first set of tires that wore out prematurely in the center. Next set of tires on that same vehicle wore out evenly when aired up to 2-4 PSI over the vehicle placard, which is what I stick to. The propensity to wear in the center with over-inflation probably depends a lot on the weight of the vehicle and recommended pressure. In my case it was a light car with 28 on the placard, so I was well above the recommended pressure. To me, the minuscule mpg gain and arguably worse handling is not worth the risk of increased/uneven tire wear. To each their own.
I would trust 4 TPM sensors over an unknown quality gauge any day. At least with 4 sensors, if you have an errant one, you'll be able to tell-- you can always compare the TPMS readings with any gauge to see if the 4 TPMS sensors are reading similar. If all four of your tires read 36 PSI on the readout, and one checks out different with a gauge (doesn't matter if the gauge is accurate, just that it's reading different than the other three,) you know you have a suspect sensor. If all 4 read different, abort mission, go and buy a reliable gauge
I agree, thats why you need a gauge. I replied to painfx post, where he stated, if you have tpms with psi readouts, you don't need a guage.
I have tpms on the mazda, and i still check it with my gauge.
The hyundai tpms sensor's batteries have long expired, and i'm not buying new ones.
If the door label calls for 36 psi that's fine if you want a cushy ride on touring tires. 42 psi sounds about right for better handling. Should the ride really be to harsh, drop the pressure down to 40 psi. Also consider number of passengers, cargo and high speed driving, all of which call for increased tire pressure.
...Or if you drive on rough city streets.
You really need off-road tires on some of our city streets. Pinch flats and bent wheels are very common.
Impressive
The calibration pressure instruments I have at work are calibrated and certified every year. Some can read accurately to .05% IWC. I have a bunch of tire pressure gauges at home. I took them all to work to check their accuracy. They were all over the map. I actually tossed a few. I try to use the Longacre as it is accurate between 30 and 60 psi but way off at 15psi and just marginal at 100psi. Since most of my tires live between 35-45psi it was the best choice.