Ford F350 Tire Pressure

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My Grandson has a 2000 F350 and I drove it the other day. It was "all over the road" and hard to keep in the correct lane. I read the door sticker and it said 50 PSI in front and 80 PSI in the rears.

We put 45 PSI in both the front and rear (all the guage would read) and the handling got about 70 percent better.

What is the correct tire pressure for normal driving, no hauling, no trailer towing, no nothing.

I am guessing maybe 50 PSI front and 55 PSI rear.
 
The factory tire pressure ratings are probably to optimize rolling resistance, and thus fuel economy.

Also you will get better tire wear with more pressure.

If you are driving in winter conditions, a lower tire pressure would make sense, and would be safer if handling slick conditions.
 
There have in the past been threads here where an empty truck was allowed lower PSI than one fully loaded, especially with LT tires.

Ford is unlikely to touch that one
hornets_nest.gif
after the Firestone fiasco though.
 
I would run 50 in the front and about 60-65 in the rear if you are NOT pulling, towing.
 
Tire pressure is set to allow the full use of the truck as well. So with tire pressures on the placard you can go full load.

So do not expect to put a full load in the bed and tow something.
 
Don't think 50's enough with diesel 4X4 in front. Best bet would be to play with presures till you get ride, handling you want. Personally would care less what specs call for, long as tires stand up and ride,handle are ok.

Bob
 
I Have a 2000 F-350 Crew Cab 2WD Diesel. My unloaded pressures are 62 psi front/52 psi rear with stock size tires (265-75-16). It rides pretty good and the tires wear nice and even. When I'm towing I'll put the fronts to 65 psi and the rears to 70 psi.
 
I know it's not the same truck, but we have the Dodge diesel cummins 4x4 quad-cab, door specs 65 frnt/80 rear

I run 60 frnt/75 rear unloaded without issue.
 
Goodyear has a Service Load and Inflation Table for Light Truck tires...

http://www.goodyear.com/truck/pdf/databook/loadInflation.pdf

As a reference on my 2001 F-250 Crew Cab, V-10 I run studded Cooper Discover M&S LT265/75R-16 tires. I run 42 psi front and 30 psi rear when I commute with no load in the truck. These pressures provide a nice ride, reasonably uniform tread wear with exceptional snow/ice traction.

If I add more load, I increase the pressure appropriately.
 
When empty, the front tires should always have more air in them than the rear tires, since that's where most of the weight is. Have him take it to a public scale and weigh each axle. The 50 F / 80 R is for a fully loaded vehicle, not an empty one. With Load Range "E" tires (80 psi max), and a diesel, you'd want to run, say, 60F/45R.

And, your grandson should buy a good truck air gauge.
 
Quote:


When empty, the front tires should always have more air in them than the rear tires, since that's where most of the weight is. Have him take it to a public scale and weigh each axle. The 50 F / 80 R is for a fully loaded vehicle, not an empty one. With Load Range "E" tires (80 psi max), and a diesel, you'd want to run, say, 60F/45R.

And, your grandson should buy a good truck air gauge.




I would be very careful reversing the pressure split. Low pressures in the rear tend to make the vehicle oversteer, and that makes it more prone to spin out. BTW, as a part of the development of the vehicle, they are driven on a handling course both empty and fully loaded at the pressures listed on the placard. So at the very least, the vehicle won't do anything terribly weird at those pressures.
 
My '84 Suburban recommends 44psi front at ALL times. 51psi rear for "ride and comfort" and 80psi rear for maximum load (I have an 8600lb GVWR. 5200lb truck, 250lb me, 15-20 gallons of fuel, and a ton and a half of cargo and I'm at max.
 
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