There’s a pressure rating on the tires themselves, but the door has a different pressure number. Which one is correct? How many psi should I have in my tires?
Having the correct tire pressure is extremely important for getting good gas mileage and the most life out of your tires. Your car has a specific tire pressure that will give the best gas mileage, handling and tire life for that car, and it’s written right on the door of the car. That’s the one you should follow when filling up.
On newer cars, the recommended pressure is most commonly listed on a sticker inside the driver’s door. If there’s no sticker on the door, you can usually find the specs in the owner’s manual. Most passenger cars will recommend 32 to 35 psi in the tires when they’re cold. The reason you check them cold is that as tires roll along the road, friction between them and the road generates heat, increasing tire pressure. For the most consistent tire-pressure reading, make sure the car has been sitting overnight, or at least has been parked for a few hours.
Do not inflate your tires to the pressure listed on the tire itself. That number is the maximum pressure the tire can hold, not the recommended pressure for the vehicle. Tricky, huh?
Over-inflating your tires will give you a bouncy ride and an ill-handling car, while under-inflated tires can develop premature wear from increased friction. Either way, not having your tires at their recommended pressure will negatively affect tire wear and vehicle performance.
Richard, as long as the tires are a direct replacement (size and speed rating), the tire pressure should be the same recommended pressure. If they are a different size and tire rating, consult the tire maker or the service center that put them on.
Why do the quick oil change places always want to inflate my tires to the max pressure listed on the tire? I have been to several different places and I always have to tell them to use the tire pressure on door.
Steve, It's likely a case of simply not knowing where to find the correct pressure. I worked at oil change and tire places for a number of years and you'd be surprised -- or maybe not -- about how much misinformation is out there.
if my tires have a max of 44psi is that what i put
I've just bought a 1999 Toyota Starlet Carat. I cant find the recommended tyre pressure coz my owners manual is in Japanese and so is the door sticker. Can anyone help?????????????
I have a 1997 ford F-150 and it vibrates everytime i go 40mph once i continue the speed and go over its stops. what do you think is the problem
nicky,
I had a similar problem with my pontiac a number of years ago, what I narrowed the issue down to was wheel balance. I got my wheels re-balanced a number of months after the vibrating issue and it subsided immediately.
It seems likely to me that either one of the balance weights fell off a wheel, or the garage did not properly balance your wheels when the new tires were installed on your rims.
So according to what you people are saying I should be running 35psi in the front and 41psi in the rear on my 2000 Dodge Durango "because that is what the door sticker says"? Well I hate to argue with you but I believe that the tire manufacurer knows a little bit more on what tire pressures to run than the car manufacturer does. After all they are in the business of building tires and spend 100's of millions of dollars on R & D on their tires.
DO I need to remind everybody of a little incident at FORD concerning tire pressures and all the problems they had with FIRESTONE tires because of running the tires underinflated (Fords specs not Firestones) I have only been working on cars since I was 14 but I guess that does not qualify me to know anything.
Today I was test driving one car, but I didn't know that the tires were 75psi on R/L 65psi on R/R, 45psi on F/L and 55psi on F/R...
It was a dangerous test drive, I will tell.. Tires could blow up.
Even when the tires have sises and speed rate, the advice pressures sometimes have to chance.
When the load index gets lower, or the maximum pressure of the tire is higher then the original tires, the advice pressures must go higher
So I dont agree with the answer of Jo Bruzek to Richard. Example: when I go from a Load index of 95 to 91 (max load 690 down to 615kg) and the maximum pressure of the tire go's from 3 bar to 3,5 bar .
the advice pressures go up to 0,7 bar higher.
see mij topic under the next link about calculating tire-pressure.
http://www.dodgeforum.com/m_1319950/tm.htm
Correction of the previous comment.
Even when the tires have the same sises and speed rating, the advice pressures sometimes have to chance.
When the load index gets lower, or the maximum pressure of the tire is higher then the original tires, the advice pressures must go higher
So I dont agree with the answer of Jo Bruzek to Richard. Example: when I go from a Load index of 95 to 91 (max load 690 down to 615kg) and the maximum pressure of the tire go's from 3 bar to 3,5 bar ( specifications of Michelin Energy 195/65R15)
the advice pressures go up to 0,7 bar higher(about 10psi)
see my topic under the next link about calculating tire-pressure.
http://www.dodgeforum.com/m_1319950/tm.htm
Some of you seem to be completely missing the point of the OP.
The pressure shown on the tire is the MAXIMUM pressure the tire can safely hold. But you don't always need the maximum, and it's not a good idea to always have it filled to the maximum.
You need higher pressure when loading up your vehicle with luggage or cargo or people or combinations of the above. For everyday driving you don't need the maximum, and if you always have it filled to the max it's going to cause the problems mentioned in the OP.
I bought used tires with good thread but the rubber is cracking all over. I do not believe cracking is a problem yet my wife does not want me to install them on her car. What should I do?
One thing here I think was missed. You can buy tires (replacement) for the OEM tires and the pressure rated on the tire is much higher by 10-15psi. So if the higher rated tire is run at the door sticker pressure you could be in trouble real quick. The door sticker is the pressure the car rides best at comfort setting if you look at it that way.The tire pressure on the tire is what the people who made the tire tested the tire at for safety,performance,and load. So if you do go with the tire pressure you will not be going wrong but your ride may suffer a bit.
One thing here I think was missed. You can buy tires (replacement) for the OEM tires and the pressure rated on the tire is much higher by 10-15psi. So if the higher rated tire is run at the door sticker pressure you could be in trouble real quick. The door sticker is the pressure the car rides best at comfort setting if you look at it that way.The tire pressure on the tire is what the people who made the tire tested the tire at for safety,performance,and load. So if you do go with the tire pressure you will not be going wrong but your ride may suffer a bit.
I sent a question about the correct tire pressure for toyota funcargo but I didn't receive an answer; please help.
I have a 2002 Escalade that was stolen when the car was retreaved all the stickers had been scraped of the car including the one with the tire pressure. The owners manual tells me to look at the sticker on the door post. So what do I do now?
Answer for Wayne.
i think you should look for someone who has the same car and ask the permission to seek for that label inside the door. That would be enough...huh ?
what's the correct tire pressure for a toyota funcargo? I looked on the door-sticker but it's written in japanese so can you help me?
I have a 94 GMC Yukon 4x4 and two sets of tires. The front are Wrangler Goodyear tires P245/75R16, The back are Radial A/S Dominators LT245/75R16. I cant find the proper tire pressure on the vehicle or handbook. I inflated them all to 40 psi. Are they properly inflated??
I have a 2008 HHR Chevy it is equipped with info center which will give me tire pressure on fly (can pull it up even running down the road). Door sticker states tire pressure on COLD TIRE be 35psi but I get anywhere from 30 to 34psi when checked cold, might have two showing same psi. After replacing computer module and going to NitoFill in tires (my expense) and replacing all 4 wheel sensors. Dealer now tells me that this is normal. Don’t understand the answer can someone please enlighten me on fact door sticker says 35psi COLD and dealer saying 35pdi after driving a few miles.
If you are not running the OEM tires.... that is the exact make, model and size that came on the vehicle, figuring the correct tire pressure is not as easy as reading a sticker. My Montero Sport came with Yokohama G039 tires which have a max psi of 35, but the door sticker says 26 psi for ride comfort. I replaced them with Yokohama G051 , which carry a max psi rating of 44. At 26 psi, as the door recommends, I am practically guaranteed a blow out on a pothole... The same percentage of inflation ( 26/35 vs 34/44) still felt soft and squealed through all asphalt parking lots. I have landed at 40 psi for these tires after trying increasing increments from 32 on up. It is not cut and dried, or as easy as it should be once you buy aftermarket tires.
But it's important to get it right for safety, performance and MPG's ... If you have aftermarket tires, spend 30 days really paying attention to them and save yourself a lot of grief.
My pickup is 1999 chevy silverado, ext. cab can you tell me what the tire pressure for it would be? There is no sticker on the door.
If the tire is the same size and load range it will more than likely take the manufactures recommended pressure. If you had a stock tire that held 35psi max for example and the new tire has a 44psi max the load range is probably different (sidewall stiffness)
I have a 96 F-350 diesel for work, front tires call for 65psi, rear is 80psi - High numbers right? Well the manufacturer covers their rear by recommending the max psi needed for the vehicles max potential load. Same idea if you bought a car with a potential top speed of 180mph you need a minimum of a Y or a ZR rated speed tire to accommodate the vehicles potential top speed. Back to Tire pressure now, when running my rears at 80 psi unloaded it causes the center of the tire to wear first. I run them at 55 psi unloaded - I found my number by drawing a line across my tire with a piece of chalk and rolling forward to examine the wear on the chalk line I drew across the threads. If the line is worn off in the center but not the edges it is over inflated. If the line is worn on the edges but still visible in the center they are under inflated. Worn all the way across means the entire tread is making contact like it should.
Regardless, truck, car, it doesn't matter. The manufactures recommended tire pressure is based on the vehicles GVW It’s how much weight a vehicle is designed to carry. The GVWR includes the net weight of the vehicle, plus the weight of passengers, fuel, cargo and any additional accessories. The GVWR is a safety standard used to prevent overloading which is listed on the drivers side door tag for most vehicles.
If the sole purpose for your vehicle is to commute without passengers or heavy load you could actually lessen the air pressure that is recommended on the door tag for a softer ride, only way to determine the correct pressure is to let your car/truck sit over night in a cool shaded area so the tire is at ambient temperature and use a piece of chalk as I described. You just need to remember to inflate the tires back to recommended psi if you plan on loading the vehicle again.
I used to have Goodyear Wranglers on my 4x4 half ton. Load range C. I always used 32 psi but 40 when I put the snow plow on. Now I've replaced them with Goodyear Trackers, Load range D. I have 40psi in them now and they look really underinflated when I raise the plow. The truck is bouncy like I need new shocks. How much air should be in the Trackers. Wranglers and Trackers are both LT 225 75 R 16.
THE RULE OF THUMB IS YOU SHOULD INFLATE 8-9 PSI LESS THAN WHAT THE MAXIMUM OF THE TIRE. IT DONT MAKE FOLLOWING THE MANUF. SPECS SPECIALLY IF YOU'VE CHANGED TIRES, OR IF YOU LOAD THE WHOLE FAMILY IN THE CAR. TRY INFLATING SOME 40-30 SERIES TIRES TO THE MANUF. SPECS....LOL
the police dept airs there tires up to max press to get less tire role and the car holds the road better.
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I have replaced the original tires on my vehicle with Michelin Harmony 89S, P195/65R15. I was advised that the recommended tire pressure in the door frame does not apply to the new tires. How do I get the recommended tire pressure for my new tires?