What do you keep your psi at?

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Vehicles I've driven and their recommended pressures:

1989 Acura Integra RS: 195/60R14 tires - 26 PSI all-around.

1995 Acura Integra GS-R: 195/55R15 tires - 35 PSI front - 33 PSI rear.

2004 Subaru Impreza WRX: 205/55R16 tires - 32 front - 29 PSI rear.

I usually use the door jamb pressure as a starting point. For the GS-R, the factory settings were rather high, so that's usually where I tried to keep them. The '89 Integra weighed about 2300 lbs and the low pressure was wholly appropriate. I generally bumped it up to 28-30 PSI though. For my Subaru I sort of base it on road feel. Right now I'm inclined to bump my Bridgestone RE960AS tires to about 36/33 PSI front/rear. I find that a lot of aftermarket performance tires are geared for better response at higher pressures while many OEM tires feel "jittery" if you bump the pressure too high.

The most sensible thing I've seen is a 2001 Toyota Camry. The door jamb says for the 205/65R15 tires, 29 PSI (all 4) with a minimal load and 32 PSI (all 4) for up to the max rated load. They actually account for differences in loading, which should seem obvious but probably isn't in the attempt to simplify things into one number.
 
My vehicles and pressures:
'92 Wrangler trail rig: 6-7PSI trail 20 PSI street
'04 Malibu Maxx 35 PSI
'98 Chevy Tracker 4dr 35 PSI
'89 Cherokee 32PSI
 
Usually 4 pounds extra for the heavy end. Front drivers like that setup.

35-36 front in my GM front driver, 32 rear. Placard says 35 all around.

Ditto for my Chrysler minivan, except maybe 36-38 in the front. My current tire set, by Uniroyal, are wearing more at their outer edges.

My Miata gets 26-27 psi all around; the book setting is 26 psi.
 
My wife's '02 CRV-EX recommends 26 and I keep it around 28-29 psi on her Costco Michelins (the last set got 65K miles and were to the wear bars when replaced).

I just put a set of Bridgestone RE960 A/S tires on my '99 GS400 which recommends 33 psi but I plan to keep them at 35-36 psi.

Personally I believe that in most instances something in the neigborhood of 2-4 psi over the placard recommendation is the way to go depending on how much tradeoff you want between ride/handling and treadwear/mpg. It is really a matter of what is most important to each individual because anything from the placard recommendation up to a few psi over will keep you safe.....it is all about choices.
 
On the Ranger, I run 36 front and 29 rear.
On the SHO, I run 35 front and 30 rear.
On the Expy I'm still experimenting.

Contrary to what was stated in an earlier post, I find that there is a significant difference in wear pattern as inflation pressures go up and down, particularly on the front tires. My 'optimal' pressure is determined by continuing to raise the pressure in the front tires from what is on the door sticker, until I get even wear; and by reducing the pressures in the rear until I get even wear. On the Ranger, I need to go under 29 to get even wear, but I don't like the increased rolling resistance and increased squat when I do have a load in the box, so I've compromised somewhat on the even wear requirement.
 
'97 Rodeo with 265/75 16's = 38 rear/40 front, very even wear with about 22k on them now.

'02 Rodeo Sport 265/75 16's = 35 rear/38 front, too new to us to tell.

'04 Tacoma doublcab 265/75 16's = 35 rear/40 front, tires have about 13k on them, very even wear so far.

'02 Dodge diesel cummins quadcab 4x4 245/75 R16's = 75 rear/65 front for VERY good wear, ride, I was amazed how well these tires wore on this truck; but they're just about worn out now with 26k on them. Not bad for a heavy truck.

All tires are Yokohama Geolander A/T II's.

Looking for boat trailer tires now.
 
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My 'optimal' pressure is determined by continuing to raise the pressure in the front tires from what is on the door sticker, until I get even wear; and by reducing the pressures in the rear until I get even wear......




Rubydist,

After looking at many tires over many years, it appears to me that:

1) steering tires generaly wear on the shoulders
2) drive tires generally wear in the center.

So if you have a FWD, you get even wear front and rear, but the fronts will wear much faster than the rears.

But on a RWD, like your Ranger, these two types of wear occur on different axles.

So I think you might be trying to offset the natural wear patterns by adjusting inflation pressure - and I don't think that's a good idea. I think a better way cope with this is by rotating your tires.
 
I have a 95 Integra GSR with 205/40/17 tires...since they are not stock size tires, what PSI should I keep them at?
 
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I have a 95 Integra GSR with 205/40/17 tires...since they are not stock size tires, what PSI should I keep them at?




According to Tire Guides, the placard on your vehicle ought to say the vehicle came with P195/55R15 84V inflated to 35 front and 33 rear.

And if I have this right, a P205/40R17 has a Load Index of 76 if it is a Standard Load, and 93 if it is an Extra Load.

You need to verify the information above, because what I am about to post is based on this being correct.

So hopefully you have XL's and the pressures should be 38 psi front and 36 psi rear. However, since you are running very low aspect ratios, you might want to add 2 or 3 psi to protect the rims from damage.
 
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For example, a P205/65R15 has a maximum load carrying capacity of 1400# at 35 psi. One might INCORRECTLY conclude that the tire can carry 40 # for each psi. However, the load carrying capacity at 26 psi, is not 1040#, but 1113 # as per the tire load table published by The Tire and Rim Association - the US tire standardizing body.


CapriRacer, do you know of any online resource that has the tire load tables? Or do I have to go buy the TRA Year Book to get it?
 
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CapriRacer, do you know of any online resource that has the tire load tables? Or do I have to go buy the TRA Year Book to get it?




Occasionally I will run across excerpts of the load tables, but normally you have to get a Yearbook.

Unfortunately, they are pretty pricy. I just got my 2007 TRA Yearbook and the price on the invoice is $50.00 - and that's a discounted price because I ordered through an TRA member.

But the good news is that with a few exceptions, you don't NEED the load tables. The pressure listed on the vehicle placard is a good reference pressure.
 
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CapriRacer, do you know of any online resource that has the tire load tables? Or do I have to go buy the TRA Year Book to get it?




Occasionally I will run across excerpts of the load tables, but normally you have to get a Yearbook.





Here is one such on-line excerpt, for light trucks and for Euro-metric tire sizes. Load index table from Ohtsu Rubber (Falken tires). (The load capacities for Euro-metric tires are calculated slightly differently than those for P-metric tires; e.g., the measuring pressure for a non-"Reinforced" Euro-metric tire is the equivalent of 36psi, while the measuring pressure for a Standard Load P-metric tire is 35psi.) There is a good non-jargon explanation starting at .pdf page 7 (7 of 55 as it shows in the opened .pdf file) of this Bridgestone publication.
 
The Goodyears on my ATV run 4 in the front/3 in the back.

But, on my car, I have 235/60/15's in the front, and 245/60/15's in the back (stock is 205/70/15). I run 32 psi all around.
 
I fill mine from 32-35 psi all around on my Ranger. Tread wear has been very even on my tires doing that, but I also take advantage of free rotation every 5K from the Firestone dealer (excessive maybe, but the tires are wearing nicely).
 
On my 02 VW Jetta with the stock 195 65 R15 Goodyear Eagle LS, I run 32psi front and 30psi rear. The gas door placard says 26psi for half load, 30 front/41 rear for full load. The updated placard is 30 front/28 rear for half load and 32/41 for full load. I tried 32 psi all the way around and works good in terms of wear and handling.

My dad's 92 Camry with the 195 70 R14 tires, I run 30psi front and rear. Sticker in the glovebox says 26psi for up to 4 passengers and 29psi for load of the vehicle.

And just for fun on my mountain bike, I run 45psi front and rear. Tire says inflate 40-65psi. I don't have shocks on that bike so I keep it at the lower end.
 
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