Tire Pressure

[DamnPapi]

Whats good everyone I'm new to the forum but I just wanted everyones opinion on my tire pressure.

Ok I have a 1994 Camry LE 4cyl. with Sumitomo HTR T4 tires and I just checked my PSI and it's currently at 33. So I was wondering if I should increase or decrease it to get the BEST performance out of my tires. Any feedback would be great guys.

[Dave's]

^^Here we go again... yup! (But to answer the question-the 'experts' say you run with the pressure listed by the car maker. Here you will get opinions to justify pretty much anything you want to do. Try a search.)

[touringcamry]

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t7365.html

[nodrogkam]

great thread!

But i find that with my new tires no way something as low as 35 or 33 would cut it. It has max pressure 44 and i put about 40 in front and 39 in rear. They are kumhos so they are softer and with low psi the wall is way to close to the ground.

Ive been playing around and so far thats whats worked best for the set of tires i currently have on my car. I typically prefer a firmer ride because i feel i get better steering response. Dont over pump your tires in hot areas/highspeed driving.

If you're ever unsure u cannot go wrong with 35PSI on any tire for fully stock cars.

[Cyorke]

go by waht the manufacturer recommends on teh door sticker or glove box sticker. Especially if you are running stock size tires. You will get the best fuel economy and mileage out of the tires using this pressure rating.

On Camry's it is not as important but on performance cars the handling can be affected by running the wrong pressure. I have seen some cars recommend running 32 or more int he front and 28 or lower inthe rear for best handling performance.

[Gary_602Z]

Sorry Chris but I would have to disagree on this one! I would go on the TIRE manufacturers recomendations and not the car makers. Go to the makers website or ask where you bought the tires to see what thay say since they built them they should know.

Gary

[Cyorke]

well if you are saying to ask the tire manufacturer that is fine but there are many peole that think you should jsut put the pressure that is listed on the side of the tire. If you do taht you are running at max pressure. Max pressure is for when you load the vehicle down excessively. There is a big difference between running 32 PSi that the vehicle manufacturer recommends and running 45 or 50PSi that is listed on the side of the tire since that pressure is max like I said.

[touringcamry]

Max pressure of the tire is generally the max safe pressure you can inflate the tire. You usually only go above that to seat the bead. Above that, you risk the tire blowing off the rim.

But even then with higher profile tires like the 195/70-14 or 205/65-15 that Camrys come with you probably don't have to go very high. For my 215/50-17 tires, I think I inflated the tire to 65 PSI before the bead completely seated. 50PSI I was fine with but I was scared to even look at the tire when before the last section of the bead popped into place...Then some guy told me I should have just inflate to about 55, put some grease on that portion, and set it out in the sun (120 deg F outside that day).

[nodrogkam]

i find i get better gas mileage with higher psi...but if i go to the max, what ive found is worse traction, a real bouncy feeling and uneven tire wear. This is even with alignments etc. So i think there really is a soft spot that every driver needs to find in their tires that gives them the safest handling that hopefully will prolong the life of the tires and car.

[willchugs400]

It all depends on set-up. For a more performace oriented, I would probably go with anything between 38 psi and 42 psi. You also got to realize the pressure increases as the temp of the tire increases, so putting the psi around the max will be very risky.

[Super Kaioken]

yeah the max on my tires is 44....so i pump 40 to be on the safe side. 4 psi to inflate with heat.

[touringcamry]

Originally Posted by nodrogkam

i find i get better gas mileage with higher psi...but if i go to the max, what ive found is worse traction, a real bouncy feeling and uneven tire wear. This is even with alignments etc. So i think there really is a soft spot that every driver needs to find in their tires that gives them the safest handling that hopefully will prolong the life of the tires and car.

Higher pressure will cause the middle of the tire to wear out faster because it makes the tire crown in the middle. Tire pressure and contact patch are inversely related. Higher pressure means less rubber on the road and also makes the tire harder, meaning less rolling resistance. However, because the weight of teh vehicle remains unchanged, but you increase the tire pressure, you are decreasing the ammount of rubber you put on the ground.

For every sq in of tire you have on the road, the tire pressure is how many pounds of vehicle you have on the road.

If your car weighs 3200 pounds and your tires are inflated to 32PSI, you will have 100 sq in of contact patch. Now with the car unchaged and you inflate to 40 PSI, you now only have 80 sq in of contact patch.

[Dave's]

Like I said in the 2nd post- do what you want. If you're running different wheels/tires then maybe pressure should be adjusted accordingly. But for normal conditions the experts say go by the car maker's pressure. Believe this became an issue with the Ford SUV rollovers with Firestone tires blowing out. High-priced studies were done as well as gov studies because of the $$$'s involved in the lawsuits. Ford and Firestone both blaming the other. Bottom line was the tire sidewall is recommended max. Car's listed pressure is what you're supposed to use. I usually split the difference (car 26 vs tire 32 so about 29) and watch how the tire wears. Better mileage, stiffer ride, etc. Works for me. To each his/her own. BTW, tire pressure should be set with tires cold.

[ghettosled]

ive always heard tire pressure is more critical for suv's and not for passenger vehicles. since most of my driving is highways with smooth roads, i have stock 14" rims and i run my pressure at around 45 all the way around. i know its high, but ive gotten up to 37.1 mpg (2.2 4-door LE) and can usually squeeze more miles out of a set of tires and still have them wear evenly.

[RICO8458]

if you change the tires, then the new tires pressure guide is the way to go. not the door panal.