Tire Pressure Ford Ranger 2000

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Whats a good tire pressure for a 2000 Ford Ranger 3.0l Flex Fuel Extended Cab with stock tires? The door panel says 30psi and Ford had that big recall years back on the tires. I don't have Firestones anymore but I feel the truck would run with optimal performance and optimal tire life with a few more pounds like 32psi. What does Ford recommend now in there Rangers? Is that what Ford says to do any way is put a few more pounds in the tire anyway?
 
Go by the sidewall of your tire, most say max 35psi, a few may say 40 psi. I usually put the max in, 30 psi is too low in my opinion, I say put atleast 32-33psi. What ford recommends is for ride comfort, as the ride will be a little worse with the higher psi.
 
The tire pressure indicated in your door jam is the ideal pressure for overall performance and comfort. I have a Ranger and I when I've gone on long highway trips I put the pressure up to about 35psi in order to get a tad better mileage. It rides very harshly at this pressure, so when my smooth highway trip is done I put it back down to the recomended psi. Don't worry about safety with the lower pressure, Ford doesn't want any more tire blowouts, trust me. I just find that when I put more pressure in the tires it rides like a stone and has a tendancy to skip the rear end around in bumpy turns. I also think it is hard on your suspension to put a higher pressure than the door jam indicates.
 
I used to run it at 32psi for awhile I felt like it was riding smoother and had better handleing and a better quite ride. I don't know since then I have gone to the door panel which says 30psi. I mean they would say 32psi if it needed it right?
 
Tim,
Different tires ride better at differing pressures. Ford averages all the variables at hand and comes up with the most reasonable tire pressure, for the best all around performance and comfort. If you want to run just 2psi higher than what's on the door panel, it will be just fine. When you get to over a 5psi difference than what is recomended, you would then start noticing some handling/ride changes.
 
Do not go by what's on the sidewall of the tire. That's a maximum rating according to industry standards.

Do not use what's on the sidewall as a starting point or a factor to determine what to use.

Go by what is on the vehicle placard. It will be applicable so long as you are using the same size tire.

But a few psi over the placard value won't hurt, and there are some added benefits.

Hope this helps.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Ugly3:
80% of the max tire pressure is a safe place to be.

The average passenger car tire is 35 psi max. 80% of this is 28 psi, which just happenes to be the same pressure that got Ford and Firestone into trouble. Many cars call for 35 psi. I couldn't bring myself to run 28 psi in a tire when the vehicle manufacturer says I need 35 psi.

To answer the original question - 30 psi is fine. All of the explorer based vehicles with blow-out problems called for 28 psi. These vehicles were recalled and retrofitted with a new sticker that says 30 psi.

Hence, Ford believes that 2 psi CAN and DOES make a difference.
 
quote:

Hence, Ford believes that 2 psi CAN and DOES make a difference.

This is more due to the fact that Firestone made faulty tires than any real safety issue. Many, many, people run tires a couple of pounds low on air...with little serious problems. Ford is just adding a little "verbal/written insurance" so as to reduce liability. Firestone is the really guilty one here.
 
The sticker for my 04 with the stock size 235-75R15s is 30 front, and 35 rear.

35 was way to much for an unloaded rear. I was running them at 30 all around.

Now I've got 31" tires, and still run them at 30 all around. Wearing great.

Brian
 
quote:

Originally posted by CapriRacer:
Brian,

FYI

Your 31's need to be inflated 3 more psi to get the same load carrying capacity as your P235/75R15's. (assuming you mean 31X10.50R15LT)


Thanks for the info. I have to run them at 30 to get them to wear even. I have them mounted on the factory 15x7 wheels. 7" is the min width for these tires. I have a set of 15x8 wheels on order, I should then be able to run the recommended pressure.

Brian
 
quote:

Originally posted by CapriRacer:
Brian,

FYI

Your 31's need to be inflated 3 more psi to get the same load carrying capacity as your P235/75R15's. (assuming you mean 31X10.50R15LT)


Do you have an online source for tire pressure vs load capacity?
 
"Do you have an online source for tire pressure vs load capacity?"

Sorry, there isn't one.

The books are published by the tire standardizing organizations, They are fairly thick and they are updated every year. Besides, publishing these books is how the organization makes money - not a lot, but enough to keep the organization solvent.

For the foreseeable future, I will have an up to date copy, so if anyone needs to know, just ask.
 
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