Tire inflation question

[jhgr]

See all the postings here about over inflation at delivery. They come that way from the factory and the dealer is supposed to adjust them to recommended pressure, but it seems like most get delivered to the customer over inflated.

Edit: Tires should be inflated to what is shown on the door sticker (35psi in your case).

from context I assumed he had one of the trucks where the door sticker says 35. (different builds have different tires.)

That makes sense, different size tires

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[DHMag]

I believe my door tag says 35psi, but I already admitted that I under inflate. To each their own.

 

[NOVA_Ranger]

I read what it says on the tire and go with that. If they are over-inflated I let air out, if they are under-inflated I put air in. This approach has worked well for me over the years.

 

[VAMike]

I read what it says on the tire and go with that. If they are over-inflated I let air out, if they are under-inflated I put air in. This approach has worked well for me over the years.

The sidewall rating is the pressure the manufacturer guarantees that the tire won't explode, and had nothing to do with what's best for a particular vehicle. Many tire manufactures publish recommended pressures for specific vehicles, and these are almost never the max pressure.

 

[Rick - Saber]

Not to be picking on ya @NOVA_Ranger but I have heard a lot of people say as you did that they just go by what is on the tire. The thing is that the tire does not know what vehicle it is destined to be going on. It could be designed for dozens of different cars, SUV's or trucks. All with different ride characteristics, wants and needs.

Like VAMike says the PSI rating on the sidewall is what the tire manufacturer guarantees as safe for the tire. The vehicle manufacturer does know what tire pressure it prefers to have for it's best ride quality. That is why there is a door sticker with recommended PSI for the vehicle / tire size combo. I would go by the door jam sticker but each to their own.

 

[VAMike]

To be clear, overinflating often won't cause a lot of problems (possibly uneven tire wear, depends on how far over it is) but will degrade the ride quality. If you don't care about that then carry on.

 

[DrRoger]

To be clear, overinflating often won't cause a lot of problems (possibly uneven tire wear, depends on how far over it is) but will degrade the ride quality. If you don't care about that then carry on.

Have you ever seen a blowout on a car? It is not pretty.

 

[VAMike]

Have you ever seen a blowout on a car? It is not pretty.

to clarify, I mean overinflating vs the vehicle manufacturer's recommendation, not vs the sidewall rating.

 

[NOVA_Ranger]

Not to be picking on ya @NOVA_Ranger but I have heard a lot of people say as you did that they just go by what is on the tire. The thing is that the tire does not know what vehicle it is destined to be going on. It could be designed for dozens of different cars, SUV's or trucks. All with different ride characteristics, wants and needs.

Like VAMike says the PSI rating on the sidewall is what the tire manufacturer guarantees as safe for the tire. The vehicle manufacturer does know what tire pressure it prefers to have for it's best ride quality. That is why there is a door sticker with recommended PSI for the vehicle / tire size combo. I would go by the door jam sticker but each to their own.

I definitely adjust pressure if ride quality or performance isn’t what I think it should be. The only vehicle I ever really took the time to really get wrapped up on tire pressure was a M3 though, for trucks I usually just go with the tire rating and call it good.

 

[Geoff]

The door sticker tire PSI numbers are for an unloaded vehicle. Tire load ratings are dependent on air pressure as well and it's usually best to fill the tires beyond the door sticker numbers if the truck is loaded down (and it helps tire wear as well).

 

[VAMike]

The door sticker tire PSI numbers are for an unloaded vehicle. Tire load ratings are dependent on air pressure as well and it's usually best to fill the tires beyond the door sticker numbers if the truck is loaded down (and it helps tire wear as well).

nope, the door sticker number is part of the certification of the vehicle weight rating

 

[Geoff]

nope, the door sticker number is part of the certification of the vehicle weight rating

EDIT, I agree with this from a safety and rating viewpoint. It does not necessarily promote long tire life tho.

Tire PSI should go up as load increases for best tire life. There is nothing wrong with inflating tires beyond what the door sticker numbers state as long as you don't exceed the tire rating. But tire load ratings increase with PSI and with a loaded Ranger I would most definitely increase my tire pressure. I learned this the hard [and expensive] way.....I wore out a set of Michelin tires prematurely by not inflating them above the door sticker rating when I was hauling heavy loads with my last Ranger (and it made a big difference in wear when I increased tire pressure on my next set of replacement tires). For the record all tires were OEM size.

 

[DrRoger]

nope, the door sticker number is part of the certification of the vehicle weight rating

You are correct.

 

[VAMike]

It is worth nothing that the door sticker pressure is for the OEM tires. If you change the tires, especially if you change the size (height or width), then you're on your own.

 

[Geoff]

nope, the door sticker number is part of the certification of the vehicle weight rating

EDIT, I agree with this from a safety and rating viewpoint. It does not necessarily promote long tire life tho.

Tire PSI should go up as load increases for best tire life. There is nothing wrong with inflating tires beyond what the door sticker numbers state as long as you don't exceed the tire rating. But tire load ratings increase with PSI and with a loaded Ranger I would most definitely increase my tire pressure. I learned this the hard [and expensive] way.....I wore out a set of Michelin tires prematurely by not inflating them above the door sticker rating when I was hauling heavy loads with my last Ranger (and it made a big difference in wear when I increased tire pressure on my next set of replacement tires). For the record all tires were OEM size.

I edited this post for clarity. I was in too much of a rush the first time....

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