Tires, tires, tires

kkl1 · October 2004

I just bought a set of Nokian WR all-weather tires for my 1998 Honda Prelude. I previously had Kumho 730 all-weather performance tires that I kept inflated at 32 PSI. The sidewall of the Nokian WR's indicate the maximum pressure is 51 (yes, 51) PSI. The store that sold the tires suggested the pressures should be 30-35 PSI. They did not have Nokian literature that discussed the recommended tire pressure and I could not find this information on the US Nokian website. Any thoughts on the ballpark pressures for this tire? I am willing to forgo ride quality for less tire wear and better grip.

Thanks!

Ken

kyfdx · October 2004

Maximum pressure listed on the sidewall of the tire has nothing to do with the pressure you should be running, unless you are trying to loosen a dental filling. That is determined by your car. Most cars have a sticker on the doorjamb with a recommended inflation pressure..

If 32 PSI was working for you before, that shouldn't change. Check your owner's manual or doorjamb.

regards,
kyfdx

wnichols · October 2004

I have the WR Nokians on my Grand Marquis and keep them at 35psi. Works fine. They are a great winter tire.

capriracer · October 2004

First, I think rotating the tires back to their original position is a bad idea. If the tire is separating, you'll want to know that the vibration is getting worse. In theory, if it is not a separation, it ought to get better now that it is in a different position and developing a different wear pattern.

Alignment OK? 2 thoughts - unless you've checked the alignment on a machine, you can't really be sure if it is OK or not. A misaligned vehicle might not show any symptoms (pulls, drifts, etc) except for tire wear. Plus, the specs listed by vehicle manufacturers for alignment tolerances are really wide. IMHO, they need to be reduced by half. So an alignment tech may say "It's in spec!", and you can still have problems.

Inflation pressure? I only show one type of Sierra (out of about a dozen) that uses 45 psi, so I wonder if your vehicle actually calls for that.

Look for the placard on your vehicle. The placard, among many things, tells the original tire size and the proper inflation pressure for that size. The placard is usually located on a doorpost or in the glove box.

2 last thoughts: Bad shocks can also cause irregular tire wear.

There is also some other "alignment" related stuff that can also cause irregular tire wear. Wornout tie rods ends, wornout ball joints, etc.

Hope this helps.

imidazol97 · October 2004

Capri you said it great. I had tires on a 93 LeSabre that went out of round or unbalancable at 20K. I got rid of them at 30K after much grief. Put on Michelins.

Later I found from my service manager that what was called belt 'shift' was a problem in that tire that year on lots of cars. I thought they had worn irregularly due to camber shift on the rear; my wife and some rode in the back on trips and that rear tires change camber with height change due to luggage and back seat weight.

wnichols, I suggest a bad tire or dangerous tire -- cut your losses. Replace it with something good (different brand?) and save yourself grief.

wellhall · October 2004

I live in a city and park on the street. My girlfriend and I disagree about parking close to the curb.
  She believes that parking with the tires touching the curb abrades the sidewalls and increases the risk of a blowout in highway driving. I think the amount of abrasion is likely to be minimal, with only trivial increase in blowout risk until well after the tires have been replaced.
  My countervailing concern is that when trucks (especially) double-park, this constricts the width of the open lane enough to increase the risk that a passing uncareful driver will sideswipe our parked car. She feels that a difference of only an inch or so from the curb makes only a trivial difference in the sideswipe risk. I parallel park pretty well, but I can't always distinguish when the tires are an inch away from when they are tangent to the curb.
  Am I underestimating the risks of tire abrasion and possible blowout? Or is she excessively concerned on this score?

driftracer · October 2004

can certainly kill it, make it prone to blowout, and make it off-balance due to damage in the belts.

You should NEVER use your tires as curb feelers.

pathstar1 · October 2004

I also just got these tires for my 2001 Pathfinder LE (WR suv). The shop that installed them didn't set the pressure (all tires were different pressure, and all were way above the doorjamb manufacturers number). I dropped the pressures to what Nissan recommends and immediatly noticed even "scuffing" of the tread. Prior to dropping the pressure it appeared the outside parts of the tread were not touching the road.

I would say definately go with the car makers values on tire pressure.

BTW, they work great in ice and snow - we've had snow on the roads here for a week now (early winter I guess).

carguy1234 · October 2004

My wife's VUE has these tires (Bridgestone Duelers). Looks like very few replacement tires are available in that size, and none are highly rated. I was hoping to put on Nokian WR's (like I have on our other vehicle), but they don't come in this size.

Can an alternative size be used, or are we stuck with the OEM tires for replacements?

Thanks

driftracer · October 2004

shows 6 tires in that size, and all are economically priced, including the Blizzak and Michelin LTX.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?startIndex=0&width- =235%2F&ratio=65&diameter=16&search=true&pagelen=- 20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&x=6&y=11

wnichols · October 2004

Yes, I decided to leave the tires on the front, not to rotate them out to the back again.

I have not had the alignment checked, but I had no drivability issues before now. My Sierra had the P metric tires replaced with LT tires before delivery, which need a higher psi than the placard specifies for the original tires.

I would not expect to have to replace shocks or other front end parts on a vehicle with only 35K. That seems unnecessary. The shop I normally go to regularly does this kind of work, but hasn't recommended any of it for my truck.

I will continue to drive the vehicle carefully for now, because replacement tires are not currently in my budget. If the condition worsens, I may have to just replace the two "worst offending" tires first. Thanks for the advice.

edh · October 2004

Toyota highlander
what are the pros and cons of Mich cross terrain tires vs Mich LTX tires?
anyone ever owned both?

bankeizen · October 2004

Would like to hear of people's experience with these tires. Am thinking to replace low mileage Michellin MXV4+ in the hopes of better handling, especially in wet weather.

bankeizen · October 2004

I looked on the website but could not find the phone number for the Nokian headquarters. What is it?

adp3 · October 2004

I've heard good things about the Nokian WRs. Someone on another site is using them on his XC90, and I am thinking about it (for a winter tire that goes to the snow on the weekend, but is in the SF Bay Area the rest of the week).

tntitan · October 2004

The Honda recommendation for air pressure is 30 psi for front and 29 psi for the rear tires. These recommendations are for the OEM tires and 15" wheels. I replaced these with 17" wheels and my tires are 215/50/17. Would changing the tire and wheel size have an impact on the proper tire inflation. I currently have 34 psi for all four tires and was wondering what would be best for safety and to promote longer tire wear.

capriracer · October 2004

As a general rule, when you change tire sizes, you have to change inflartion pressure in order to maintain the load carrying capacity of the tire.

You didn't give us the year make and model of your Honda, so we don't knoe what tire size your vehicle came with. When I looked up Honda's (and there are a bunch of them) I don't find any with 15" AND a 30 / 29 pressure spec.

But the easy way to tell if the pressure OUGHT to be different is the Load Index, which ought to be on your placard. A P215/50R17 has a Load Index of 90 (unless you have an Extra Load, which has a LI of 93.) If you are using a lower Load Index and it's not an Extra Load tire, you need a higher inflation pressure.

Hope this helps.

tntitan · October 2004

My Honda is an 2003 Accord LX 4 cylinder with M/T. The OEM tires were 205/65/15 and the load rating on them is 92. The tires I purchased (Yokohama Avid V4S) were an extra load tire with a load index of 93. I ended up lowering the PSI back to 30/29 since the load index was almost identical. However, I would be very interested in your recommendation. Thanks for your help!

sequoiasoon · October 2004

here ya go: http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/about.html

capriracer · October 2004

Here's the scoop!

Extra Load tires get this additional load capacity by allowing higher inflation pressures. In other words, they take a standard load tire and beef it up a bit so it can servive higher inflation pressures.

What this means is that the load curve is the same for an extra load as it is for a standard load, only extended.

So if you have a P205/65R15 inflated to 30 psi, it has a load carrying capacity of 1352 #. A P215/50R17 needs 37 psi to carry the same load. Note that 1352 # is beyond the load capacity of a standard load tire, so an extra load tire is called for.

Now considering you have a fairly low profile tire - susceptible to impact damage - you might want to add a few psi to prevent the tire from bottoming out.

Hope this helps.

tntitan · October 2004

I am still confused. Are you recommending 37 psi? That is what the installer at Goodyear put in but when I called the TireRack they recommended 30 psi. When I looked up the spec on the OEM Michelin MXV4 Plus at the TireRack it showed a load carrying capacity of 1400# and the Avid V4S showed a load carrying capacity of 1433#. I don't know (and don't need to know)what all of that means exactly .... I am just trying to figure our what the best PSI is for these tires.

ruking1 · October 2004

Upshot! Given the oem placard recommendations, fill your tires to app 85% of the max recommended TP on your sidewalls as a point of departure.

So in three cases of mine

1. front engine/wheel drive car 2950#s (2003 VW Jetta TDI)

2. front engine, rear wheel drive, 3050#s (2001 Corvette Z06),

3. front engine, 4WD, 4800#'s (94/96 Toyota Landcruisers)

44 psi max sidewall TP or .85%= 37.4 psi.

I don't think that you "NEED" to be confused. There are and can be a lot of nuisances. So until you want or care to dig into them, use this as a point of departure.

capriracer · October 2004

I think I am recommending more like 40 psi.

1) The 1400# for the MXV4 is for a P205/65R15 92 Load Index. This is at 35 psi.

2) The 1433 # for the Avid is for a P215/50R17 XL - 93 Load Index. This is at 41 psi.

I am not a fan of using what is on the sidewall of a tire as a reference point to determine the proper inflation pressure. This is particularly true given that a tire manufactuer can specify 35, 44 or 51 psi for the same load carrying capacity and this is all based on a 35 psi limitation for load carrying capacity.

Since I know that the vehicle information IS based on load, then I use that as the starting point to calculate what inflation pressure is needed to carry the load.

Hope this helps.

ruking1 · October 2004

Whether you are a fan or not, the fact of the matter is that the oems have to base calculations (load, tp,durability reliability etc) on ojective, observable standards, facts, whatever one wishes to call it; given the wide variability and operations parameters of any particular tire model/size etc etc. The fact of the matter is the max tire pressure is high enough to "cover" or encompass the recommended load index/s!!? The max tire pressure sidewall is a tool!

Is there a case (in your vast experiences) where the correct load index for ANY particular tire is in excess of the maximum sidewall TP?

So for example, it is seldom recommend that one operates at the max side wall PSI. Why? Too hard, too bouncy as an example.

Just to use an example, how can you objectively say 40 psi? Why not 45/55/65?

Another example for the OEM VW Jetta TDI. Again 2/3 oem tires have max sidewall psi of 44. In these examples 37 psi is a good point of departure. 1/3 is a Michelin MXV4 (?) that has a max sidewall psi of 51 psi. Again as a point of departure .85% of 51= 43 psi. In fact the folks who get long even wear from these Michelin tires (95,000 miles) on this type of vehicle almost to the person use the higher tire pressures(as one variable). (40-45 psi, ie close to .85% psi).

kyfdx · October 2004

Sorry to say.. but I also disagree with you.

Using 85% of the max pressure listed on the sidewall... When the tire could be used on different cars whose weight may vary by thousands of pounds? Very irresponsible.

You are really off base here.. better to leave the tire pressure advice to experts.. I'm not an expert, but I also know what I don't know.

regards,
kyfdx

tntitan · October 2004

First of all I want to thank both capriracer and ruking1 for being patient enough to help this tire moron figure out how to take care of his tires.

The sidewall of the Yokohama Avid V4S 215/50/17 XL shows a load rating of 93 with a maximum load of 1433 lbs @ 50 psi.

capriracer - you stated in post #4246 that the Avid maximum load of 1433# was @ 41 psi. I don't understand where that comes from but even I understand "I think I am recommending more like 40 psi".

ruking1 - your rule of thumb indicates 85% of the maximum sidewall pressure (which is 50 psi) and would result in a recommended TP of 42.5 psi.

Regardless of your methodology you both at least agree that I am grossly underinflated at 30 psi. I think I will go with 40 psi and see what happens.

ruking1 · October 2004

I disagree with your disagreement! If you looked at my own personal examples, it would/SHOULD be YELLING at you that the VW Jetta is no Corvette Z06 are not Toyota Landcruisers! While I would not use a Corvette tire on a Jetta and a Toyota Landcruiser tire on a Corvette (pick a combo any combo) the thing that is common to them are the max sidewall psi and very close to the .85% ie (the ACTUAL PSI). So it is one thing if this isn't clear, but it is another thing to say I am not expert or have not studied this in any detail to the point of being "irresponsible" If you are saying that ones recommendation psi recommendation at .85% or 43psi is "irresponsible" why is anothers recommendation of 40 psi or 80% "responsible"?

Let me also point to the so called experts on the Firestone tire and Ford Explorer combination!! The nexus for me (I have never owned or driven the Explorer/Firestone tire combination for any real length of time UNLIKE the examples I have cited, i.e., 66,000 miles on the Z06, 43,000 miles on the Jetta and 660,000 miles on various Toyota Landcruisers.) is that on one Landcruiser, I had the exact same sized tires as the Ford Explorer and was absolutely horrified to find out that app difference of 8 PSI was recommended on the same tire size and almost identical weighted vehicles!!!

ruking1 · October 2004

The other thing that is unfortunately way too common is under inflation. Perhaps those with more every day tire experience could estimate the % of problems due to over inflation?

One definition of OVER INFLATION is inflating past the MAX tire pressure on the sidewall. By inference AND definition, I AM NOT advising folks to OVER inflate. (especially at 85% of the max tire pressure!?) Another trick is to just flat out MEASURE the tread!! A set of calipers or a tire depth gauge and/or both. :)This will tell you if the tread is wearing evenly or in fact it is wearing unevenly, which would point to such issues as: tire alignment, intentional or unintentional damage, too much or two little tire pressure, overloading issues, etc.

So taking my own advice, the performace tires (GY E F1 SC's) on the Z06 wore to 3/32-3.5/32(starting with 8/32 in new) at 56,000 miles.(three measurements; outer, middle, inner,) The Toyota Landcruiser's Michelin's are on track for 80-90k. The VW Jetta TDI Goodyear LS-H's are on track for 85-95,000 miles.

If what I am saying is inconsistent, then I or anyone would reasonably expect me to have minor to GRAVE tire issues on any and all model tires! (barring road side hazards) I don't!

ruking1 · October 2004

Here are some interesting percentages given numbers such as: 44 psi max pressure side wall. 35 psi (SL or standard load)is 79% 41 psi (XL or extra load) is 93%. What is the statistical middle? (79%+ 93%=172/2= 86%)

capriracer · October 2004

What I am about to write is going to be confined to a US based standard as set by the Tire and Rim Association (TRA). There is also a European based organization called the European Tire and Rim Technical Organization(ETRTO) which has a similar but ever so slightly different version.

I am also going to confine my remarks to Standard Load tires (unless specifically called out differently).

First - each tire size has a load table - load vs inflation pressure. For standard load tires, the maximum load occurs at 35 psi (For Extra Load it is 41 psi.) For pressures less than 35 psi the load carrying capacity would be lower (I want to say proportionally lower, but the formula to calculate the load doesn't result in a straight line!)

Vehicle placards are set based off this load curve. This may include some adjustments the vehicle manufacturer feels are appropriate. Some call any capacity over the rated maximum load of the vehicle "Reserve Capacity". This is what the Ford / Firestone discussion was all about. Firestone was arguing that it is good engineering practice to have reserve capacity - I agree!

But the bottom line is that EVERY vehicle manufacturer calls out a pressure that AT LEAST will carry the maximum load the vehicle is designed for. In fact many placards will fill you in as to what that may include, such as the number of people, the weight of luggage, etc.

So where does the 44 psi thing come from? (Or the 51 psi thing?)

The Europeans have a provision to add inflation pressure for certain circumstances - high speed being one of them. So as part of the speed rating system they developed, they also added a provision for the use of higher pressures - either 44 or 51 psi. (It's actually 3.0 or 3.5 bar.)

As a first step in having one worldwide tire standard, the TRA adopted the European system. There will be some time while this gets completely adopted. So in the transition, you are going to see 35 psi, 44 psi, or 51 psi on the sidewall, even though the tire size and the loads are the same. It was always permitted to use these higher pressures, but it wasn't explicitly spelled out on the sidewall, and it created confusion when vehicle manufacturers started calling for these higher pressures- beyond what the sidewall said.

Unfortunately, A lot of folks weren't (aren't) clued in to this and think that the maximum tire pressure on the sidewall is tied to the maximum load also written there. If you read the sidewall carefully it will say something like: "Maximum Load XXX, Maximum Pressure YYY." It used to say " Maximum Load XXX at Maximum pressure YYY" - which would be true today, if the tire is a standard load and the max pressure is written as 35 psi.

I realize this is a lot to absorb, and I suggest reading through it again.

If there are further questions - I'd be glad to answer them.

ruking1 · October 2004

https://rma.org/publications/consumer_tire_information/index.cfm?- PublicationID=11009

Hopefully this will not be sanctioned!

ruking1 · October 2004

Your discussion is not incongruent with one of my original posts.

I, however, question whether or not this "over load" of information is going to help the average person responsible for tire pressure in his or her search for the appropriate/correct pressure!?

Pardon me for saying this, but I sense most folks eyes will just glaze right over!

Persons who frequent boards such as these will continue to use whatever methodologies to get the so called "appropriate/correct pressure" But I sense most folks will still ask "what pressure should I put? "

In a very real sense your discussion agrees with and amplifies what I have said. Standard loads (given 44 psi) happens at 35 psi which happens to be 79%. When you go to the XL of 41 psi that is 93%. 85% (37/38 psi)happens to be at the statistical middle point between these figures.

So my take is the RANGE is the real answer. In this 44 psi max, the range happens to be 35 psi-41 psi.

kkl1 · October 2004

This is long-delayed, but I wanted to express appreciation to all who responded to my post question about recommended pressures in my new Nokian WRs. The new posts about tire pressures in general were also very informative.

I have set the pressure to 36 psi in all four tires. Although Honda recommends 32psi for the '98 Prelude, the car rides and handles very well on these pressures. I can't wait to try out the Nokians in snow!

Thanks again,
Ken

kyfdx · October 2004

What if two different tires in the same size have different maximum pressures? One 205/55-16 has a max pressure of 51 psi and another has a max pressure of 44 psi..

With your reasoning, you would advise a person to run them at different pressures, regardless of what car they are on..

Another example... One of my cars uses different size tires front and rear... Both front and rear tires have the same listed maximum pressure.. Yet, the car manufacturer recommends 30 psi front and 35 psi rear. Again, by your reasoning, I should run all four at the same pressure..

If you want to use your "system" to determine tire pressures for your own vehicles, then good luck to you... But, to recommend that to others on this board?

I don't want to speak for capriracer, but I don't think he was agreeing with you, in any way, shape, or form.

regards,
kyfdx

ruking1 · October 2004

Perhaps in your haste to vilify, you missed or ignored this:

"Upshot! Given the oem placard recommendations, fill your tires to app 85% of the max recommended TP on your sidewalls as a point of departure."

You are misrepresenting what I have said.

Also the Z06 has different sized tires specifically 265/40/17 F and 295/35/18 R. The oem recommendation is 30 psi front and rear. Does that mean that the system that YOU are recommending mean I should be inflating the rears by at least 5 psi MORE?

toyotadriven · October 2004

I just replaced my oem's with Nokian Wr and calculated the psi based on what was on the car' Original tire were 101s at 44 psi or 1819 lbs at 44 psi car manufacturer recommends 30 [psi for this tire (.68%)which equals a load of 1248lb at 30psi
New tire is 103h(1929lbs) at 51 psi so at 33 lbs this tire would carry 1248 lbs.
Car handles well and no bulging of sidewalls.

capriracer · October 2004

I can see we have a problem.

Toyotadriven is using a proportion of the maximum pressure to get the load at that pressure. Unfortunately that is not the way it works. You have to go back to the load table for the particular tire sizes involved - and we don't know what sizes Toyotadriven is discussing.

Let me use TNTitan's situation as an example.

His placard calls for P205/65R15's at 30 / 29 psi front / rear.

The load table for a P205/65R15 goes like this:

Inflation Load
26 psi 1213 #
29 1279
32 1334
35 1400 (limit for Standard Load0

That means the load capacity of the tires is:

1297 # front / 1279 # rear (Opps! Looks like I made an error in my earlier calculation!)

A P215/50R17 has a load table that looks like this:

Inflation Load
26 psi 1146 #
29 1213
33 1268
35 1323 (Limit for SL)
38 1378
41 1433 (Limit for XL)

So to get the equivalent load, you need to use:

35 psi / 34 psi (Apologies to TNTitan for my earlier error.)

At this point, I usually make adjustments based on the situation.

1) I think using a little higher inflation pressure is a good idea, especially for low profile tires.

2) US vehicle manufacturers usually don't have a lot of reserve capacity, especially in pickups, SUV's and vans (with a notable example), so I advocate higher inflation pressures for these types of vehicles The Japanese vehicle manufacturers seem to use a substantial amount of reserve capacity, so I don't think the extra inflation pressure is warranted. The Europeans are sort of inbetween, but they tend to use very low profile tires, so I generally advocate increased inflation pressure there as well.

So in TNTitan's case I would add 3 psi, and my recommendation would be 38 / 37.

I realize all this discussion is a bit much for someone whose only interest is "What inflation pressure should I use?" But I think it is important that the recommendation have a sound technical basis. I've just explained my methodology. Anyone see a flaw with it?

tntitan · October 2004

you are saying that you would add 3 psi to get me up to 38/37. Is that going off of the inflation load 35 1323# (limit for SL). My tires are XL. Just this morning I had changed my fronts to 41 psi and rears to 40 psi....should I now go to 38/37 psi ?

kyfdx · October 2004

I don't have a "system". The 85% thing is all yours... If Chevy says to use 30 psi front and rear, then that is what you should use, if you are using the stock sizes... No matter what the sidewall reads.

My car manufacturer (not a Vette), says use 30 psi front and 35 psi rear... Even if I am running the same size tires.. I don't need a system, because I can read. By your system I'd be running 37.4 psi all the way around... Does that make sense, when the builder of the car specifies 30 front and 35 rear?

By your own calculations, you came up with 77% in one example, and 93% in another... What makes you think an average of those two numbers is the proper pressure?

If you have an opinion on something, you have every right to express it here.. But, if you are going to give bad advice on something technical, there will always be other people to correct it. I'm not trying to vilify you, but your system doesn't even make sense from a logical or mathematic viewpoint.

regards,
kyfdx

tntitan · October 2004

My recently put some Michelin Harmony (Costco version) on my wifes 2002 Honda CRV-EX. They are the same size OEM as the 205/70/15 and the door placard recommends 26 psi but I have been running them at 28 psi. What would your recommendation be for these?

Thanks...I truly appreciate your input on this since it really does make a difference in my wallet and my comfort level.

kyfdx · October 2004

Pop on over to the CR-V thread... You'll get some real-world experience from people that have the same exact car that you do...

Or you can search the CR-V discussion for "tire pressure". There have been many discussions there, and probably 95% of the owners run the stock size, so lots of good advice.

regards,
kyfdx

ruking1 · October 2004

The 85% thing is NOT all mine. If you have a problem with that perhaps you should take it up with the tire manufacturer. The math and logic might be confusing to you, but even you have said that the mid point between 35/41 psi=79-93% respectively is indeed what I have said. Why is that important? The RANGE of psi in a tire is what is the important gig! (in the case of the max pressure 44 psi 35-41 psi=79/93%) Because you have chosen to misrepresent and ignore what I am saying, the 85% is the figure that is in concern with the loading design of the tire and is/can be a good POINT OF DEPARTURE. So I am ok with you ignoring this but you need to stop misrepresenting what I am saying. So if you look at CapriRacers figures 35/41, on a 44 psi max sidewall you would depart from 37/38 (85%) if you had an average or half load, going to 35 psi or go to 41 if you have more of a full load, for two examples. Easy, quick, UN confusing ON SPOT! I am glad you know how to read! Now do it for understanding.

kyfdx · October 2004

Okay.. my front tires have a max psi rating of 44 psi, and the manufacturer recommends 30 psi..

Please explain how that "works" with your system.

Or, try it with your own Corvette information from above..

The same size tires can be used on very different vehicles of very different weights, requiring very different tire pressures..

As an example...the stock tire (205/70-15) for tntitan's CR-V has a max 44 psi.. yet, Honda recommends 26 psi for it.. Are there other pressures that could be used? Sure, but they sure aren't 85% of 44 psi.. That same tire is also the stock size for some Toyota Siennas, a much heavier vehicle.... and as a result, Siennas require very different tire pressures, yet use the same tires.

The thing that ties all this together? The maximum tire pressure on the sidewall has nothing to do with the recommended tire pressure for the individual vehicle.

regards,
kyfdx

tntitan · October 2004

I frequent the CRV discussion but do not want to base my decision on the real world experience of someone who knows even less than I do about tire pressure. I prefer to use the advice of someone with more experience and expertise in the area of tires .... not just the opinion of someone that stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. There are many good intentioned people on these forums but IMHO many are not nearly as knowledgeable as they think they are. When I want advice about oil I go to bobistheoilguy and when I want detailing advice I go to Autopia but I do not know a specialty tire site. I am only trying to make an informed decision with the best information I can obtain. I have received some very good advice on tires from this site and respect the opinion of several regular posters. My choice, right or wrong, is to go with that info and it has served me well in the past.

kyfdx · October 2004

I can agree with that.. but, if you are using the stock size, why not go with what Honda says? I believe they probably know more about it than bobthetireguy.

If you want expert advice from Edmunds (and capriracer is pretty expert, IMO), then try this link: Sylvia "Ask Connor at The Tire Rack" Oct 25, 2004 12:22pm

regards,
kyfdx

P.S.: I also have an '02 CR-V

ruking1 · October 2004

For sure, the max tire pressure IS NOT the same as the recommended tire pressure. But I think even a cursury look with your reading for understand skills will tell you that the recommended tire pressure DOES not exceed the max sidewall pressure!?

I will use the Corvette information, as I have 1 the placard, 2 tons of anedotal information (web sites discussion groups etc), 3 owners and 4 service manuals and 5 history.

As noted, the placard does recommend 30 psi all around.

Even adjusted for all the variation that Corvette owners tend to do to and with their cars; it became very apparent that my tire wear was way low.

(terminal point was with 8/32in new, I put in 56,000 miles with between 3-3.5/32 in left on the tread)

This was an oddity given the fact that most owners were reporting 12,000-15,000 max. Most put 30 psi all around. Early on after driving the car with 30 psi and talking to tire guys who actually SCCA race corvettes, most said the 30 psi was low. Most indicated a start at 38 psi to 35 psi as a start.

(funny, the max tire pressure on the sidewall is: yup you guessed it 44 psi)

Drag racers like to put 25-28 psi in the rears, but I don't do this activity.

So yes, if folks would like to comment how i can get better handling and or better mileage, etc, I'd be all ears! My life is literally "riding on my tires". But "proof in the pudding" is revealing that 85% of the sidewall pressure or 35-38 in the fronts and two #s less in the rear for 33-36 psi seems to be delivering the numbers( yes, as you can see there is a DEPARTURE HERE!?).

kyfdx · October 2004

Have you noticed? Almost all tires have 44 psi as their maximum pressure..

Go to tirerack.com

Pull up your favorite tire, or the tire that is on your vehicle.. Then go to the "specs" for that tire.. Look down the list.. almost every size will have the same maximum psi listed.

Which is exactly my point... If all of these tires have the same max pressure, then you can't use that as a guide to what the pressure should be on any individual car.

regards,
kyfdx

P.S.: Racers (track, street or otherwise), always run higher tire pressures... It helps with handling, but at a sacrifice to ride comfort.. The recommended tire pressure isn't the only one you can use..not arguing that.. just that it doesn't relate to what is listed on the sidewall.

ruking1 · October 2004

And have you noticed that the half load and full load is 35/41 psi? The placard is the OEMs two cents given a so called consistant tool-the tire! Did I say to ignore the placard!!?? No! YOU DID! If you were a paranoid leaning person, you might even say this is a conspiracy?

I am not sure why you are insisting the max psi on the sidewall has absolutely NO relationship!!??? I certainly acknowledge that it does! I think even you are acknowledging that is does also for you have assidiously ignored the question: are there any oem recommended tire pressures that EXCEED the max tp on the sidewall!?

kyfdx · October 2004

Or, you might think that the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall has nothing to do with what pressures you should be running on your car..

I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist.

Besides, all the talk of maximum tire pressures, etc, really only come into play if you are running non-stock sizes on your car... If you put an appropriate tire in the stock size on your car (and you aren't racing it), those sidewall markings might as well be in Greek.

And I didn't say ignore the placard on the car, just the maximum pressure on the sidewall... Oh yeah.. I did say to ignore your 85% theory... almost forgot that.

ruking1 · October 2004

I'd say: if safer operation, though lower heat stress, etc, better fuel mileage and longer tire life is ignorable; then by all means; bliss on!

Tires, tires, tires

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