I bought new tires. It has a max. psi rating of 44. However, the label on my car says to put 32psi. At the moment, I put 42psi up front and 40psi at the rear. What do ya think?

akshay
89 RS

 

TOO MUCH AIR!!!!!

The MAX pressure is how much the tire can withstand before blowing up

Get it back down to 32 PSI

 

YOU'RE KIDDING!!!!
Who suggested that idea to ya?
SHOOT THEM!
Serious.
PRESSURE TOO LOW, heat builds up as the tire is used on road, YET sidewalls too soft, so ya can roll tire & flip (SEE EXPLODER!).
I rented an Exploder and I WAS SCARED AS THE VEHICLE WAS SO UNSTABLE!
I checked pressure & IT WAS BELOW 30!
I raised it to 36 & PERFECT! I then drove for almost 2100 miles (CA PCH Coast to Oregon) that was without a worry.
BACK TO YOU NOW.
My 1985 Firebird is at 34 ALL FOUR TIRES.
It's stable and strong feeling.
NOT TOO HARSH YET
BE AWARE
To harsh a ride equals very worn suspension parts, QUICKER! ESPECIALLY IF THE CAR IS AGED! (over 100,000 miles!).
SO in that case, lower the pressure to 32 & enjoy.

My 1974 Corvette all rebuilt supension & polyushings?
I have Goodyear Eagle GA 225/70/15.
They ride at 36 LBS all over, plus I use Koni Oil Dampened 5 way adjustable shocks.
HARSH?
LIKE A BAKED WORM IN SUMMER?
Nope, not exactly. In SoCal the roads are kinda smoother so...., but yeah, it is fun on those mountain backroads & those instant lane changes.
IF I did this combo in Eastern PA, well worlds apart! And I have designed this ride as the 1974 FE7 suspension option I had ordered on my Dads new 1974 Corvette (he wasn't into it, yet I won races with that car!-actually 2nd by .6 Seconds! DAMN!)

Be kind to your aged FBody suspension with HD shocks & HIGHER Tire presures. Adjust accordingly. And be aware what ya add quick beats up what ya haven't replaced quick, too!
I'm at point where I'm needing new shocks & new bushings, the HD labor stuff & time consuming stuff.
I'm personally debating if I want rubber bushing (factory) or poly (how long will I keep this car vs cost). Yet I'm going with factory style replacement shocks (I have poly on bushings, KYB on Blazer & it's OK, not truly pleasant) & poly on the sway bars.

PERSONALLY I'd suggest ya start at 32 in all four tires & see how it feels
NEVER ALTER FRONT & REAR ALWAYS ALL FOUR SAME PRESSURE! YA SPIN RIDE REAR TO FRONT QUICK IF AlTERED! I know I killed my 1966 Corvette this way in the damp fog road going only 25 MPH or less. Pea soup fog & unmarked 90* turn did me in along with low rear tire presure.

 

That door label is for the factory make and model tires that came stock on the vehicle. I actually run those exact psi readings on my car for years 42psi front/40psi rear. It depends on the quality and rating of the tire you purchase. Sorry but you obviously have never owned high pressure tires.

 

That is correct. Excuse me for opting to get a stock equivalent tire and using the factory specs.

If his tire has a MAX pressure rating of 44PSI, do they qualify as "high pressure" tires? Seems to me he may be running close to the limit there

 

Your first clue is he stated his new tires have a max. 44psi rating.
Now you should have picked up on this and realized that yours are most likely only 36psi max. (or maybe even 35psi max. or 32psi max.). Now with that fact- It would suggest that he is asking for an answer from someone that has experience with 44psi tires. It is common around here for people to blunt out an answer when they don't analize the facts and don't have the experience with a certain product or setting. Just because your tires are fine at 32 doesn't mean the rest of the world should run this.
Edit: Now I know I just made another enemy-but you are giving bad info-sorry.

 

Yeah... I got that

Okay, I slipped up here and didn't check to see what my tires max pressure was. I looked at the max tire pressure rating and figured he may want to lower it since it is within 2-4 PSI of the max.

His response said "what do ya think?". To me, he is asking for opinions. I gave him mine, Karl gave his. Then you come along -- say what you've been doing for years, and bash me for giving my opinion. There was a lacking of educational content in the post. Maybe if you elaborated on the tire pressure ratings and what are safe limits? I'm usually open minded to being educated. However, your form of "educating" is about as pleasant as my 8th grade english teacher.

Where did I imply this?

Nah, not another one. Just refreshed my memory as to what rubbed me the wrong way. I never said my info was gospel.

 

Just the driver most of the time Iwould go with 32 PSI all around.
44 Max air pressure means just that MAX and not the driving pressure.

 

I always go by what the tire manufacturer recommends, since they know the most about their own product. On passenger car tires, they usually recommend you stay within about 5 or 6 PSI of the maximum. I usually run mine at about 3 or 4 less than the stated maximum on the sidewall. That,to me, gives the best blend of performance, ride, and handling with the least amount of fretting and hassle.

 

[Qquote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by AGood2.8
Just because your tires are fine at 32 doesn't mean the rest of the world should run this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


UOTE]Originally posted by MDv6man

Where did I imply this?

[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
Your words, not mine: Get it back down to 32 PSI

Proper tire pressure: Talk a bottle of white shoe polish and mark the inside and outside edge of the tire tread (with tires at operating temps - not cold) Then drive the car a few blocks and stop and check the scrub marks of the shoe polish- this will show you if the pressure is too high or too low (scrub mark should be approx 1/2" up from the side of the tire tread on most lower profile performance tires) This has everything to do with the stiffness of sidewall/quality of tire.

Here's a racing tip- if the inside mark is high and the outside mark is low- then you need more neg. camber, and vica versa.

By the way- you in the picture above do realize that your tennis shoes don't need air pressure, and your car #197 should also be labeled on you sides.

 

ONE QUESTION, What company made these so called HIGH PRESSURE TIRES???????

 

You could always put Light Truck tires on there! The ones on my Chevy 2500 are 16 inch, 10 ply, and have 80 PSI listed as the max pressure.

 

That was MY label smartass. Its pretty simple to figure out that most standard passenger tires were always made with 36 psi max pressure over the last 40 years ( course you kids don't know this) and in more resnt years there has been a bump up to 40+ psi tires-

...hence I dub them high pressure tires.
I've shared my input and am done with this post-thank you.

 

Before I had a chance to lower my tire's psi, an emergency came up, so I had to drive my car 25 minutes away from home.

Man I was pissing in my pants, since I learned that the max pressure stands for...well you know...kaablooy.

Tire set at 42/40psi (front/rear):
I noticed the ride was stiff ...ouch..whole lot of thumping.
Handling, I think was better, but the tires squeeled when I made u-turns. Braking was worse.

I came back home and let the tires chill for awhile. Then I set the psi to 35 front and rear (factory specs). I have yet to test drive it.....I'm so excited!!!

Check out this article I found.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/435/908952.html

Sorry about causing such a heated debate. Didn't realize there would be difference of opinions. The article states that too.

Thanks for your help.

Akshay
89 RS

 

Still NO reply who the MFG of this HIGH PRESSURE tire?????
And ABad2.8 I have used more different brands of tires over many years and never heard such a Dumb A-- statements as you have made.

 

Oh I almost forgot. I have BF GOODRIDGE pass. tires all around. They were like $60 each, 205/60/15. Very nice tires for the price. It's quiet and handles great. It has 65,000 mile warranty on them.

Akshay
89 RS

 

bought it at SAM's Club.

Akshay

 

Akshay
You have a very standard BFGoodrich passenger tire used on thousands of cars and there is nothing special about them. You have the standard DOT warning on them for Max tire presssure only.
And for your application what is listed on your door jam for that size or 30/32PSI which ever you prefer.

 

30/32 sounds a bit low, but 40/42 sounds high! Find a balance between the two. I hang out around 34-36... watch your treadwear. If the middle tread is wearing much faster than the outer edges, it's overinflated. If the outer edges wear faster than the middle, you're underinflated.

 

My older tires had like 38 or something as the max. psi rating.
The BFGOODRICH has max. 44psi rating.
Yeah, I'll stick with 32-35psi. I'll try 38psi sometimes soon and see how that goes

Thanks guys.

Akshay

 

Now that I've read this,
I always assumed it's wisest to keep tire pressure all the same.
THAT SAID,
34 - f, 32 - r can't be too much of a difference.
YET what's the unwisest pressure rating between front & rear.
I just recall how I killed my old Corvette & how unwise a decision I made.

"Tires" these days, "are" racing tires compared to tires from 10-20 years ago, I'd say.
The quality & compound design & technology, even for "common" passenger tires. Am I totally wrong?
YET NOT SUGGESTING ya go a few laps at Indy with them!
Except FIRESTONE-crap from them always!
Anyone else ever hear of the "721" Firestone? That Firestone tire is the reason the Japanese bought them-try FIRE SALE!


I still say be aware the harsher the ride the quicker ya wear out older suspension parts you haven't replaced. All stuff should compliment your final car project or plain ol common sense says adjust accordingly.

I really can't imagine how much advantage to running a F Body street tire at 44 LBS pressure, on the street.
I would imagine the ride would to be very skittish/jumpy! IF doing autocrossing, sure why not try?

 

With the tires at 35psi:
When the car goes over bumps the thump is louder, but not jolting anymore. Also, the car doesn't keep 'hopping' anymore.

Car accelerates and brakes better. Seems to take corners better too. I don't know about mpg though.

Akshay

 

I used to keep pressure all the same, until I started putting larger tires in the rear. But like ya said Karl, does 2PSI really make a difference? Kinda like the throttle body coolant mod...

 

Well you guys could all just check your tires hot in the summer time or winter time that way you know your build up. I like 35 psi when hot. I always check them when i've been driving around using the brakes and cornering so i know what the build up is. Anything over 35 makes a Camaro ride like a brick on crapy roads.

Any body who is running on the max pressure of a tire, get ready for a blow out because it's going to happen!

Thats a mean picture and comment about special olympics is VERY distastful.

 

Only if the manufacurer says so I guess. In older compact cars (like the cavaliar), where the psi was at 32 psi (front) and 29 psi (rear). I haven't seen different psi levels in newer compact cars though.

Like someone posted earlier (i don't remember who). The manufacturer recommedaton should be the starting point. Work your way up from there. But stay 6-8 psi below max. psi. :hail:

Akshay

 

I will say this about running max pressure... it will decrease your rolling resistance and should help your fuel mileage some. It won't make that much of a difference, but it will help some. If you want the best fuel mileage, get the skinniest tires you can get to fit your car with the proper weight rating, and pump them up to max pressure.

Some tires are designed with stiffer or less stiff sidewalls. The ones with sidewalls that are designed to give more in the corners usually require a slightly higher pressure than your typical passenger car tire. Low Profile tires also start requiring more pressure because there is less sidewall to push against and hold the beads of the tire out against the rim. Running low profile tires at regular pressure might cause them to de-bead under hard corners. That is why I always go 3 to 5 pounds under what the tire manufacturer lists as the max pressure. They have done all the engineering work and testing and know their own products.

Just some things to chew on.

 

I'm just laughing at how naive some of you kids are

You guys make continual comments without any experience in running true upper end performance tires. Have fun with your inferior tires at lower pressures- I'm not knocking you guys- thats what you are suppose to run- but you know nothing when it comes to true high quality tires. If I ran my tires at 35-36 psi, they would wear on the edges- I talk from EXPERIENCE- I have run two sets of Firehawk SZ50ep's on this car and numerous sets of BFG Comp t/a's(5-6 sets) including A set of R1 BFG roadrace skins(40f /37r psi). They run best at 42F/40Rpsi on my car with perfect wear and traction. This car also pulls 1.07g's with that tire psi- you guys have alot to learn- it all depends on the tire/ not the size.

 

AGood2.8 what's your licencse plate number and car color and state. That way i know its you sitting by the side of the road changing the tire. Or wait it will be the guy who lost control and flipped.

"inferior tires " hardly, the Goodyear Eagles that are on there now say 44 max BIG WOOP, do I like the ride over 38 hot, nope, rides to hard, personal preferance NOT "inferior tires".

As for the rounding of edges, that has to do with corning hard. (I can tell somebody here never had physics) I can bet you never got any where near the expected mileage out of your tires.

I can tell you didn't read my post and that you don't under stand that air expands when heated so if your running in the 40's cold then your exceding the MAX pressure when hot, thats how i can say your going to suffer a blow out.

Extra grip doesn't come from air pressure AGood2.8, it comes with running a softer compound tire (performce tire for dummies) thus increasing the cofficent of friction with the road. I believe the BFG reads Traction A, Temp B, treadwear 3XX. The higher the treadwear number the harder the compound the lower the softer. Higher the number longer it will last. As far as air pessure, the OPTIMAL pressure ISN"T the max, rather inbetween making the tire (excuse the word) mushy allowing more contact with the road but not to a point thats unfavorable. Key word here is Optimal, something they are always working with in racing.

 

Ryan_Alswede's right. Check out other article below. It states not to go below the manufacturer recommended pressure, nor should you go beyond max. psi. You have to take account for the heat buildup as well.

http://www.coopertire.com/tire_coope...ety.html#item1

For example, your tires have a 44 max. psi rating. The manufacturer recommends 35psi, but the tire currently reads 25psi cold. You drive to the service station. At the service station, your tires read 32psi because it's hot. So, you would fill it up to about 40 or 42psi hot.

AGood2.8 does make a vailid claim though. Since the high performance tires tend to have a max pressure of 55 psi (245/45/16)

Oh great, I'm back to square one

Akshay
89 RS

 

No you are right on the money.
The performance tire may need a higher air pressure due to softer side walls. To little will clapse the side wall on a cheap tire too.

Again the point here is OPTIMAL pressure, NOT the max pressure and max air pressure has nothing to do with inferior tires or dumb arguements like that. Each tire has an optimal temperature giving it the best of all worlds: wear, MPG, ride, handling. It's driver choice, but to run maxed out like that is dangerous.

If your judging your tires on how much air pressure they can take then I feel sorry for you. Go get some 777 airline tires if you like high air pressure numbers.

 

Again you guy show your naiveness-

Who sets their tire pressure cold?

Please don't try to explain tire compounds to me- you're teaching tires101. I don't think you realize who you guys are talking to when it comes to race suspensions and driving- you guys have no idea my credentials and years of experience. I come in here I give some advice and you kids think you know the world. Do you happen to know what an CART indy car runs for pressure at Calif. Speedway- I do- Thankyou. P.s. I can completely tune/setup any race car suspension as well as the best of them. Have even taught Mr. Dick Guldstand a thing or two on a few Corvette suspension tricks over the years.-You guys don't want my advice- your loss.

P.S. (To Ryan A)Goodyear Eagles are hardly worth bragging about- they are just a step up from average

 

In case you guys missed this in my above post, there is no better way for you to set tire pressure than this method- every car weight bias and tire quality is different.

 

Why is everyone arguing with AGood2.8? He seems to know what he is talking about, besides, I have never heard of a car losing control, flipping over, or having a blowout from running near or over the max tire psi rating. My friend autocrosses, and there are a lot of people who run at up to 5-10psi over the max pressure ratings of their tires. I tend to believe that if the tires can handle that pressure for that type of driving, I don't see how running 40 psi in a 44psi max rated tire will cause any problems. Did you even read that article that Akshay lined to?, The guy who wrote it mentions running his BMW tires at 40-45psi at the track. Sure that may not be the best for everyday driving, but i wouldn't freak out and panic if i were running close to the max pressure of the tire. You should try listening to the people with experience (which wouldn't be me), they are the "experts" so to say, and sometimes know more than the people who make the products etc. Just my opinion.

As for the original question, the pressure listed on the label on the door jam is usually okay, but you will have to experiment with different combinations to figure out what you like best and what works best with your tires, suspension, etc.

 

Who said I was bragging? Thanks for proving my point! Tire pressure has nothing to do with superior tire.

"shoe polish tricks", (AGood2.8 thought this one up all by himself....), "AGood2.8 corrvette suspension tips" (read them in Car Craft and told everbody they where his), "CART indy car runs for pressure at Calif." (looked it up on the net and thinks he knows all), next thing your going to tell me is your the tire specilist for Jeff Gordon. Opps my BS shovel just broke...

If your going to pull out some valid aguements and big guns put some science to it, not just "I know it and it is so"

Did you fail the course when you didn't say cold or hot on the exam??

 

I'll show you a peek at one of my cars with some real rubber- Just a side note: Between you and I, we know who has the nice fast cars and who has the piece of crap and talks big- doesn't that bug you to think that, Who's the big man now kid. oh thats gotta hurt :0 Want to keep throwing trash my way bigshot?

(those are 335 35 17's on 13" wide rims @ 31psi [hot] because of the width and profile. too much air in these will bulge the center tread.)
Before the smack clan calls b.s.( because I know its coming) I'll be over at my garage/shop this week to change the Clutch out on it- I'll take some updated pics of the car, these are 10 yrs old.

You are close on the Jeff Gordon part. I have driven a NASCAR that Ray Everham owns back in 1999. No B.S kid! (Gordon's ex-crew chief)