tire pressure: actual vs recommended

[wbwanzer]

I used to run 2 or 3 lbs. over the placard but then I saw where (think it was a TireRack video) to stick to what the placard says. Then last night I watched a video and the guy (probably a self proclaimed tire expert) said that the placard was a bare minimum for 'average joe' driver, and 4 or 5 lbs. over is better. I would give more credence to the TireRack guys. When I bought new tires (Continental Truecontact Tour 54) for my wife's car last month, all four of the new tires were at 37 and the placard calls for 33. So I'm wondering if you folks stick with the placard pressure or do you go above by 2 or 3 or more?
( I don't tow and the situation is just normal car/suv combined city and highway driving).
Thanks

 

[dogememe]

I like a couple PSI extra. Nothing crazy but maybe 2psi above the sticker. Done it for many years and always got good life out of the tires with even wear.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

I run what the placard says on my Subarus and have no issues with tire wear, etc. On the one ton trucks, I ran below the max recommendation (mostly the same as the fronts) until I need to haul a heavy load

 

[Propflux01]

Depends on the tires. My CX-5 originally came with OEM TOYO tires. PSI had to match the placard pretty much. Tires have since been replaced with a set of LX-25's with stiffer sidewalls. If I run those at 35 PSI, it'll shake the fillings out of my teeth. 32PSI Max and tire is wearing evenly, and no issue with handling at all. Ride is way Smoother.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Link to one of our own actual experts https://barrystiretech.com/ also known as @CapriRacer.

I run placard or about 2psi over in mine. I also use a tread depth gauge with my tire pressure gauge frequently. I'll adjust my psi aroun that area based on flat even wear (or not even wear).

 

[rstsco]

My 2022 Audi Q5 had two specifications, one for normal loads, considered up to 3 persons, and another for above normal loads.

 

[Rand]

Depends but in the winter esp. I like to be a few over because the temp might change 50f in one day.

35 is ok but if you have 35 and it goes to 29-30 not so ok.
I also dont like 40+.. although being Ohio it the temp shoots way up
and there is 40psi cold for one drive.. I'll live with it.

I don't want to change the air pressure every 2-3days.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I usually run a few PSI above placard, just to give myself a bit of a buffer for temperature fluctuations.

 

[brillo54]

I'm in the + 1 or 2 psi above placard camp. I don't want to be under inflated and I've never seen air leak into a tire.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I used to run 2 or 3 lbs. over the placard but then I saw where (think it was a TireRack video) to stick to what the placard says. Then last night I watched a video and the guy (probably a self proclaimed tire expert) said that the placard was a bare minimum for 'average joe' driver, and 4 or 5 lbs. over is better. I would give more credence to the TireRack guys. When I bought new tires (Continental Truecontact Tour 54) for my wife's car last month, all four of the new tires were at 37 and the placard calls for 33. So I'm wondering if you folks stick with the placard pressure or do you go above by 2 or 3 or more?
( I don't tow and the situation is just normal car/suv combined city and highway driving).
Thanks

The automaker knows best in this regard so I would only diverge from their recommendation if you choose to run a different load rating. However, the reality is that unless your tire gauge is +/- 1psi or less you probably are running close to 2psi over or under and the difference isn't noticable.

 

[jadmt]

on my jeep, truck where I am running over size tires I go lower...on My current Mazda cx5 turbo with Michelin CC2 I run what the door placard recommends.. Mickey thompson has a 1-800 to call and they will tell you want they recommend for your vehicle running their tires. I currently have 37x12.5-17 on my jeep and Mickey Thompson recommends 27psi and that feels perfect for them. I also use this inflation guide.
https://www.toyotires.com/media/pxcjubjs/application_of_load_inflation_tables_20200723.pdf

 

[JeffKeryk]

Gas is expensive around here. I keep 'em aired up, 2-3 PSI higher. Nuthin' too crazy.

 

[barryh]

At one time you could trust that the car manufacturer would have determined the minimum placard pressure based on load tables so that the tyre was safely inflated for the load it carried. I have a concern that on some newer cars the placard pressure is biased considerably higher towards reducing rolling resistance and increasing MPG.

I'll give a specific example. Minimum pressure for a standard VW Golf is 30 psi. On my Blue motion model which is marketed to be very fuel efficient they recommend a minimum of 38 psi for the same size tyre. That's a 27% increase but trying to improve mpg with increased pressure is a law of diminishing returns. As far as I can make out a 10% increase in pressure provides only 0.8% improvement in mpg at best, with subsequent increases providing an ever smaller improvement. I'm not interested in such marginal gains in MPG at the expense of ride comfort and suspension wear so the last thing I'm going to do in this particular case is add pressure over and above the placard pressure. Instead I reduce the pressure closer to the figure for a standard Golf of the same weight and tyre size.

 

[JeffKeryk]

At one time you could trust that the car manufacturer would have determined the minimum placard pressure based on load tables so that the tyre was safely inflated for the load it carried. I have a concern that on some newer cars the placard pressure is biased considerably higher towards reducing rolling resistance and increasing MPG.

I'll give a specific example. Minimum pressure for a standard VW Golf is 30 psi. On my Blue motion model which is marketed to be very fuel efficient they recommend a minimum of 38 psi for the same size tyre. That's a 27% increase but trying to improve mpg with increased pressure is a law of diminishing returns. As far as I can make out a 10% increase in pressure provides only 0.8% improvement in mpg at best, with subsequent increases providing an ever smaller improvement. I'm not interested in such marginal gains in MPG at the expense of ride comfort and suspension wear so the last thing I'm going to do in this particular case is add pressure over and above the placard pressure. Instead I reduce the pressure closer to the figure for a standard Golf of the same weight and tyre size.

I think the mpg gain has more to do with drivers who never check their PSI and run around low... Just guessing...

Is your VW heavier than the std model? Our piggy Tesla spec's like 42 PSI.

 

[chainblu]

A couple/few psi over placard. Even though I have several air compressors (of all sizes), I'm just lazy about checking pressures.

 

[meep]

I don’t think I’ve run oem pressures since i started buying my own tires and gas. Typically they are probably 2-5 psi over door jamb. On some vehicles I’ve adjusted front/rear pressures to compensate for understeer. On other I’ll adjust for load. I’ve only been over 40psi on p-metrics when towing something large and tall.

 

[Oliveoil2]

4-5lbs over sticker, cold. Try to check once a month in the morning. Good tire wear and mpg.

 

[dubber09]

One thing to add, as tires wear out they get 'stiffer' and to maintain same comfort level while driving one may need to drop pressure a bit.
I normally run a couple psi above sticker.

 

[Patman]

In the winter I run 3 PSI over the specs in the door but the rest of the time I run exactly what it says. That has helped me get long tread life with nice even wear (except when the alignment was way off on a couple of my cars)

 

[oilboy123]

I normally run placard on cars SUVs. But I upsized my F150 from 23575R17 which calls for 38 psi. I replced them with 26570R17 tires. So I'm kind of wondering if I should run less like maybe 34-35 ish psi. So I'll be seeing what makes sense for it.