What's your preferred tire pressure?
- Thread starter himemsys
- Start date
Generally around what the vehicles placard says +/- 1-2 psi
10% over the max SW pressure. In summer I get better mileage, in winter I never have to add air. Commence exploding heads 
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
@CapriRacer is more qualified to answer this than I am, but what the tire looks like is immaterial, it's whether you are matching the load carrying capacity of what the OE spec'd, which can be determined using the load tables.
Even if it "looks" flat, if it is grossly overinflated, it's going to be twitchy, wear the centre and generally perform poorly.
As I noted, the 245/40R19 has a 1,477lb load carrying capacity at 36psi in XL:
Which, if your OE tires were P215/55R16 in XL, they also had a 1,477lb load carrying capacity, but at 41psi.
Let's be frank here, the Tech at Discount Tire isn't checking the load tables to determine the proper pressure and then advising you accordingly. Guy has probably never seen the load tables in his life.
And yes, if you are bothered so immensely by the appearance, going with runflats (which are hard as hockey pucks BTW) will likely "solve" that problem.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
My Jeep has RFT's and yeah, they are hard and ride is harsh as a result. My winters ride a lot better. It will be getting non-RFT's when replacement time happens.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
What it says on the B post.
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So we've come full circle.. meaning that we started out with 245/40/R19 Nokian tires on the van and didn't like them only because the "one" tire did not handle very well on wet roads.. but I've bene told that we're needing a tire with a stiffer side wall which leans us to believe that we need runflats.. which is not the case. we've set up an appointment to have a different Nokain tire installed on the van. The WR G4's are known to have a better wet weather rating than the One tires we started out with.. I've been meaning to take a photo of what the tires are doing while on the van.. just so others know what's been happening..
So in another week we'll try a set of the Nokian WR G4's on the van and if my chance these don't work out.. we'll try another set of tires but this time runflats as this is our only alterative. it's obvious Discount Tire is working very hard to find the correct tires for us and their try it before you buy it policy has allowed us to swap 6 different brands of tires already. I'm sure they can't wait to get rid of us..
So in another week we'll try a set of the Nokian WR G4's on the van and if my chance these don't work out.. we'll try another set of tires but this time runflats as this is our only alterative. it's obvious Discount Tire is working very hard to find the correct tires for us and their try it before you buy it policy has allowed us to swap 6 different brands of tires already. I'm sure they can't wait to get rid of us..
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OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I bet you are right! LOL!
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Hey, if they're going to offer try it before you buy it policy.. I'll try every tire they have in stock on the van till we find one that fits.
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So after 4 months of trying 5 different brands of tires we finally found one that works on the van. The issue was, no matter what PSI the tires are inflated to, they kept wanting to over flex with their weak sidewalls. The only tires that did not over flex, but failed on wet roads was the Nokian One tires. We're willing to give Nokian another chance and it paid off. We tried a set of their WRG4's and what a difference the handling was far beyond anything we've ever hand on any of our vehicle.. these tires want to grip the road no matter the conditions. So for the record, the Nokian 245/40/R19 WRG4's at 44 F / 46 R work perfectly on our 19x8.5 AXE CS Lite wheels.
I have old Explorers, so 35. Why they even put 26 on there is beyond me. That is not even helpful in an SUV based off a Ranger.
I was taught in school to run 35 on car and smaller SUV tires. Larger pickup tires I usually check the door tag and sidewall and go with my gut. OTR tires are either 100 or 120 depending on what it's on. On my wrecker I sometimes back the drives down to 80 in the winter.
with E rated tires on a 4runner sized suv, i run between 30 and 40 depending on how I feel. 30 gives ok handling and super smooth ride, 40 feels like stone tires and only wears the middle but gives better handling and a little less drag imo
i don't care about wear, 10 year old michelin's seem to be unfazeable
and they aren't going to explode at the next pothole i tried that already.
i don't care about wear, 10 year old michelin's seem to be unfazeable
and they aren't going to explode at the next pothole i tried that already.
Usually 3-5 psi above door placard.
I look for a combo of wet traction, fuel economy and tire wear. Too much pressure and you usually loose wet traction. Too little and you loose economy. Either way can cause funky wear.
You hit it just right and you maximize all 3
When the tires wear down and its the last season for them in fall or spring which can be rainy I usually go closer to the door placard. When the tire is down to the last bit wear isnt a concern and a small drop in economy for 3000 miles is cheaper than tires.
I look for a combo of wet traction, fuel economy and tire wear. Too much pressure and you usually loose wet traction. Too little and you loose economy. Either way can cause funky wear.
You hit it just right and you maximize all 3
When the tires wear down and its the last season for them in fall or spring which can be rainy I usually go closer to the door placard. When the tire is down to the last bit wear isnt a concern and a small drop in economy for 3000 miles is cheaper than tires.
Exactly the same for me - 35 psi overnight cold - for all four of our cars. The one exception is my set of Michelin Cup 2 tire/wheel combination. When I have those on my E46 I run those a bit lower, 30 to 32 psi overnight cold.
Scott
