Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Originally posted by: TwoBills
Originally posted by: TwoBills
OK, let's see if I can bottom line this thread. Hm, hydroplaning, inflation pressure, alignment, rotations, front/rear w/the new tires, dry rot, oversteer/understeer w/a blowout. I think that'll cover it.
Inflation pressure: Inflate 'em until they wear even. Forget max sidewall pressure and the door sticker. Go by the tire wear. Nothing else.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Not to change the subject, but here's point #2. Now, does anybody want to tell me why that statement is wrong?
If you go by the tire wear, just exactly why do you need manufacturer's door stickers? Maybe as a starting point, until you find that your tires are wearing on the outer edges. Max sidewall pressure, same thing, as long as you don't exceed the max by more than a few pounds, what's the problem?
When your tires are wearing even, then you've got maximum patch on the road. That's the idea, right?
If tire wear was the only thing to be concerned with, you'd be right. However, you also have to be concerned with weight of the car vs. strength of the tire. Not to mention traction.
If the manufacturer recommends 35psi, but your tires wear better at 30psi, for example....you should still run the 35psi.
If your manufacturer recommends 35psi, and the sidewall says max is 40psi....but you find that 45psi wears better.....hell no, don't run them that high.
Reasons?
1. Safety. The max is there for a reason. They aren't designed to run pressures that high, just like they're not designed to run with 20psi, either.
2. Safety again. Tires have LESS traction with very high pressure. They need to be able to flex some, and the recommended pressures take this into account. You will have a worse-handling vehicle the higher the pressure.
3. Ride. It will ride terribly rough the higher the pressure. 5lbs makes a big difference.
Granted, that's not a safety issue, but your kidneys won't agree.
Edited....there was no #4, just forgot to erase it.
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Weight of the car vs strength of the tire: This will be reflected in the wear pattern.The strength of the tire (sidewall) is directly related to the weight of the car. Heavier car, stiffer sidewall.
The manufacturer never would recommend 35 when 30 wears better. The car would ride too rough. It's usually the other way around, as I stated. They recommend it to be too soft, for the ride. If the tire wears better at 30, why would you overinflate them to 35, regardless of what the manufacturer states?
As to the max inflation pressure: If the man. recommends 35 and the tire wears better at 45, but the max is 40, then you need different tires. The sidewall isn't stiff enough. In that case, you put some max 44s on it and run it at max.
1, 2, and 3: I still don't see anything that convinces me that you have to pay attention to anything other than the wear pattern. Wear pattern tells you that your tires are neither too soft or too hard. If you need more than the max pressure, then you need stiffer sidewalls, thus, higher max pressure.
So I have to repeat: The wear pattern reflects it all. The man. stickers are generally too soft and if you have to exceed the max sidewall pressure to get even wear, then you need a stiffer tire.
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