Have tire pressures trended up to improve gas mileage?

[walterjay]

I have noticed that most all tire pressure setting on cars and suv's are at 35 psi.
Looking back my old 07 SantaFe was 30 psi and the 17 SantaFe is 35. Approximately the same weight vehicle.
Also 06 Hyundai Sonata is 30 and newer is 35.

Is there a reason for this?

 

[zfasts03]

lower profile tires require higher pressure

this is because there are less interior square inches that the pressure can act upon when you have less sidewall

 

[oldhp]

MPG. My 2018 RAM 1500 short bed 3.6 / automatic was 35PSI. MY identical 2020 RAM 1500 was 40PSI. So yes they are going up for MPG I'm sure.

 

[johnmyster]

For some cars. Our Mazda 3 says 36 psi in 205/55r16, which is way too much for a 2800 pound log wagon car. TPMS gets angry at 30, so I try to do 32 but cool fall mornings get aggrivating.

 

[HemiBenny]

I believe so. The recommended psi on the tag in the 2015 Chrysler in my sig says 38 psi. I’ve always set it to 35 and my tire wear is good/even. I thought that 38 psi was a tad too high.

 

[Hermann]

MPG. My 2018 RAM 1500 short bed 3.6 / automatic was 35PSI. MY identical 2020 RAM 1500 was 40PSI. So yes they are going up for MPG I'm sure.

Need those CAFE credits

 

[Geekhead]

I have noticed that most all tire pressure setting on cars and suv's are at 35 psi.
Looking back my old 07 SantaFe was 30 psi and the 17 SantaFe is 35. Approximately the same weight vehicle.
Also 06 Hyundai Sonata is 30 and newer is 35.

Is there a reason for this?

I like to run my tires 10-20% over rated pressure. This for me seems to always give me very even tire wear across the tread for full tire life. Tires tend to lose 1 psi/month anyway so if I am say 3 psi over @ fillup within 3 mo it's back to door spec anyway if I forget to check. I am running Michelin CC2 tires on my Kia (door spec 33psi) so 20% over works with that tire and as some owners claim fuel economy on that tire is a little lower so 6psi more cancels that out. I don't mind a slightly harder ride anyway.

 

[I<3oil]

My CR-V says 33psi front and 30psi rear so....

 

[dvblanch]

Modern steel belted radials are much less pressure sensitive than the old bias ply tires ever were. This can be proven by wrapping a thin tape measure around the tire in middle of tread at recommended pressure and note the reading. Then add 10psi the reading will not change.

 

[Dave Hess]

MPG. My 2018 RAM 1500 short bed 3.6 / automatic was 35PSI. MY identical 2020 RAM 1500 was 40PSI. So yes they are going up for MPG I'm sure.

Where the tires bigger on your 2020 compared to the 2018 ?

 

[VolkswagenFox21]

I haven't noticed a pattern with my cars. Both the FRS and Tucson recommend 35psi. Corolla is the newest car in "the fleet" which is 38 front and 36 rear, so maybe a tad higher than what I'm used to. But my oldest car, the Jetta, recommends 33 front and 39 rear, which is kind of interesting.

I don't think low-profile tires require higher pressures either. I upsized the wheels on my FRS (17 to 18 inch) and Corolla (15 to 17 inch) and using Toyo's load and inflation table, the recommended tires pressures turned out to be around 2 to 3 PSI lower for both cars. Looking at optional bigger wheels available from the dealer and/or higher trims with larger rims seems to confirms this, as lower pressures are also recommended in those cases.

 

[zfasts03]

My Mazda has this recommendation:

The recommended tire pressure for a 2020 Mazda CX-5 is 34 pounds per square inch (psi) for 17-inch wheels and 36 psi for 19-inch wheels.

 

[nuub]

My 2018 Legacy came with the optional 225/50R18 and as the door plate states it calls for 33 in front and 32 in rear, I run BF Goodrich advantage control tires as I have on every Subaru I have ever owned, if they don't age out they're good for 75K.

I have always run the fronts at 34 and the rears at 33, gas mileage is good and so is tire life.

 

[04silverado6.0]

A good selection of mid sized suvs call for 40+ lb now. Especially anything "sporty".

 

[camrydriver111]

It is possible. 2012 Mazda 3 with 205/55 r16 is 35 psi, but if you have the same tire on Skyactiv engine it is 36 psi.

Is it due to the extra weight of the engine or squeeze out some mpg?

 

[Jetronic]

I have noticed that most all tire pressure setting on cars and suv's are at 35 psi.
Looking back my old 07 SantaFe was 30 psi and the 17 SantaFe is 35. Approximately the same weight vehicle.
Also 06 Hyundai Sonata is 30 and newer is 35.

Is there a reason for this?

Heavier vehicles, with the same or lower weight rated tyres. Might come as a shock but low profile tyres cn hold less weight for their width. But you can up the pressures....

 

[Jetronic]

For some cars. Our Mazda 3 says 36 psi in 205/55r16, which is way too much for a 2800 pound log wagon car. TPMS gets angry at 30, so I try to do 32 but cool fall mornings get aggrivating.

No sounds about right as it's well over 3000 pounds when driving. Nearly all cars are 200 lb heavier than the declared weight also.

 

[dubber09]

I normally run +2-4 in the front and +1-2 in the back.

 

[DriveHard]

lower profile tires require higher pressure

this is because there are less interior square inches that the pressure can act upon when you have less sidewall

HUH? How does square inches pushing out (axially) do anything for load carrying capability?

 

[johnmyster]

No sounds about right as it's well over 3000 pounds when driving. Nearly all cars are 200 lb heavier than the declared weight also.

35psi rating is 1280 pounds per tire. No way I'm pressing the limits with that car.

I also went to a 60 series to improved ride, marginally. 32 psi is plenty.

You can also thank Ford-Bridgestone-Rollovergate for the trend.