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Car Tire PSI question


DaveK

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The FIT has 195/55/15 tires with a pretty low profile and reverse treads. The tire says inflate to 51 PSI on them but the sticker on the doory jam says 195/55/15 tires should be inflated to 32 PSI.

What do I do here ?

They look a bit low at 32....but 51 vs. 32 is a huge difference.

Thanks for the help.

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I always go by what the tire says. After all, Honda has no idea what type of tires you may end up putting on there as replacements.

When my tire is rated for 36, I put them at 32 cold.

when rated for 44psi, they get 41psi.

I've done this for about 10 years, from back when I worked in a tire shop.

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I've asked that question many times. Unfortunately, everyone I ask gives me a different answer. One of the things I've kind of discovered though is the tire says "max pressure at max load" So that means if your vehicle is fully loaded, you increase the PSI. That's what I do with my truck. Otherwise, my PSI is set somewhere between the door jam and max tire pressure. If anyone else has an answer, I'd love to hear it.

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The pressure given on the side of the tire is not the recommended running pressure but rather, the maximum safe infation pressure. It is also, the pressure at which the tire will carry its maximum rated load. If you want to fool around with a calculator, you could estimate the weight on your tires both front and rear, take that as a percentage of the maximum rated load and inflate your tires to the same percentage of the maximum.

You can't really trust that sticker on your door frame or glove box either as those pressures are usually for best ride, not handling or tire life.

You might want to find a compromise, starting at about half way between the two.

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Use the recommended pressure from the sticker in the door jam. Like said before, the tire says "max pressure" and "fully loaded", meaning don't inflate them beyond the "max pressure" no matter what.

Sure Honda knows what tires you're running.......providing you're running the stock size. The weight of the vehicle is what is more important here.

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The tire doesn't tell you what grade of oil to run in your engine, so why would you let the car dictate tire pressure?

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From a professional vehicle tester's perspective... stay within 10-15% of the max psi rating printed on the sidewall, but don't exceed the max psi. For a 44 psi tire try 37.5 as a minimum cold pressure, and adjust upward accordingly to maximize grip, longevity, and ride (in that recommended order). Put it through its paces at different pressures until it meets your performance standards. Different brands, models and compounds will render different results.

The car tire one is likely to buy as a replacement for the OEM tire is probably a better engineered and developed tire than what was "settled on" by the vehicle manufacturer several years ago... That's why it is wise to consult the tire manufacturer for the latest data and recommendation. I would never rely on the vehicle manufacturer's sticker - that data is generally found to be on the "soft" side of a given tire's performance envelope; cushy ride, reduced handling characteristics, and abbreviated longevity... and of course, it's been sanctioned by the corporate legal office to minimize liability...

:icon_think:

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From a professional vehicle tester's perspective... stay within 10-15% of the max psi rating printed on the sidewall, but don't exceed the max psi. For a 44 psi tire try 37.5 as a minimum cold pressure, and adjust upward accordingly to maximize grip, longevity, and ride (in that recommended order). Put it through its paces at different pressures until it meets your performance standards. Different brands, models and compounds will render different results.

The car tire one is likely to buy as a replacement for the OEM tire is probably a better engineered and developed tire than what was "settled on" by the vehicle manufacturer several years ago... That's why it is wise to consult the tire manufacturer for the latest data and recommendation. I would never rely on the vehicle manufacturer's sticker - that data is generally found to be on the "soft" side of a given tire's performance envelope; cushy ride, reduced handling characteristics, and abbreviated longevity... and of course, it's been sanctioned by the corporate legal office to minimize liability...

:icon_think:

OK....So if the tire says 51 PSI...go with 46 ?

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I've always ran my tires at the pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Tires can be installed on many different vehicles so how can their recommendation be accurate. I always get good even wear out of my tires along with good ride and handling. As far as replacement tires go as long as they are being replaced with a similar tire to OEM I see no need to deviate from the auto manufactureers recommendation.

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Use the recommended pressure from the sticker in the door jam. Like said before, the tire says "max pressure" and "fully loaded", meaning don't inflate them beyond the "max pressure" no matter what.

Sure Honda knows what tires you're running.......providing you're running the stock size. The weight of the vehicle is what is more important here.

+1 :icon_clap:

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Dave,

your pressure you run will depend on alot of things. How much weight you carry in the car, the type of roads (bumpy, smooth, etc) and if you have snow, ice, etc....

The 32PSI on the door should be about the lowest presure you run in the car, the number on the tire is the highest. You want to be somewhere in between. If you comute alot on highway that is nice and smooth you'll get better gas millage going higher on the presure as you have less of a contact patch. The down fall to this is the ride is usually bumpier as your tire is harder doesn't absorb so much of the bump.

If the roads are rough you want to run your tire presure close to what is on the door so your tires help absorb some of the bumps. I assume you don't load your car very heavy, if you normally carry one or two passengers and no luggage don't go over 42lbs as it will be like driving on steel wheels...

I don't know how the roads are there but they are pretty rough here and I found 32-35PSI works pretty well. If I'm diving on nice smooth highway in the summer I usually bump it up to 40-42lbs cold, as on the highway the tires tend to warm up more and probably run closer to 45-46PSI.

On Ice you want your tires to have a higher PSI about 42-45PSI as this reduces the contact area and gives your more pound per squ inch of pressure giveing slightly more traction. In snow I usually drop the tire presure down to 35PSI for on the road to give more surface area to get a little extra traction.

In winter in the truck (bigger tires) if I'm in alot of snow I'll go down to 20-25PSI but this is too low for highway use...

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Sure Honda knows what tires you're running.......providing you're running the stock size. The weight of the vehicle is what is more important here.

So Honda knows if I'm running Dunlops, Avons, or BFGs? Tire Rack lists 25 different tires in the 195/55/R15 size. How does Honda know which one I'm running.

A Conti winter tire is a whole different tire from a high performance summer tires. I highly doubt that the tire pressure for one is exactly the same for a differently designed one.

Yes, car weight is important. However the design of the tire, and it's intended usage are more important in dictating what pressure to set them at. Honda doesn't take that into consideration when they put that on the door jam. Those pressures are based on the crap all-season tires that the manufacturers supply on the car as OEM.

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Damn, there is sooo much mis information being posted here :icon_doh:

Who gives a damn what the tire sez, your vehicle manufactuer sets proper pressure,,,, period,,,folow it!

If you sticker sez 32 cold then do it! For normal driving. For highway driving mabye, mabye run 35. Autocrossing, run 38 front only.

Read it, or gor to your specific tire manufacturers web site and read their warnings on tire inflation!

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncap/Tires/pages/...ssureFAQ.htm#q5

http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip1.html

http://www.tiresafety.com/maintenance.asp

But what the hell Dave, run 51 cold in your tires, I'd love to see the outcome in the obits :icon_nono:

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I usually run 5 or 6 psi below the max tire press. Its worked for me, had not had a flat in at least 10 years. Although luck probably had something to do with it, and the fact that I buy HP tires , I guess you get what you pay for. And check your tire press esp during seasonal changes temp is a big factor. IMHO

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Damn, there is sooo much mis information being posted here :icon_doh:

Who gives a damn what the tire sez, your vehicle manufactuer sets proper pressure,,,, period,,,folow it!

If you sticker sez 32 cold then do it! For normal driving. For highway driving mabye, mabye run 35. Autocrossing, run 38 front only.

Read it, or gor to your specific tire manufacturers web site and read their warnings on tire inflation!

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncap/Tires/pages/...ssureFAQ.htm#q5

http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip1.html

http://www.tiresafety.com/maintenance.asp

But what the hell Dave, run 51 cold in your tires, I'd love to see the outcome in the obits :icon_nono:

Nice...here I am looking for advice and I am now being listed as dead ? WTF ?

The tire says 51 max pressure....the door says 32....all I am asking DAVE is for some advice because I don't know. SO....I called my friend that works for BF Good....he says that I should go right in-between at 42-45 just like Dwayne says.

So that is what I will try.

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Damn, there is sooo much mis information being posted here :icon_doh:

Who gives a damn what the tire sez, your vehicle manufactuer sets proper pressure,,,, period,,,folow it!

If you sticker sez 32 cold then do it! For normal driving. For highway driving mabye, mabye run 35. Autocrossing, run 38 front only.

Read it, or gor to your specific tire manufacturers web site and read their warnings on tire inflation!

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncap/Tires/pages/...ssureFAQ.htm#q5

http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip1.html

http://www.tiresafety.com/maintenance.asp

But what the hell Dave, run 51 cold in your tires, I'd love to see the outcome in the obits :icon_nono:

Nice...here I am looking for advice and I am now being listed as dead ? WTF ?

The tire says 51 max pressure....the door says 32....all I am asking DAVE is for some advice because I don't know. SO....I called my friend that works for BF Good....he says that I should go right in-between at 42-45 just like Dwayne says.

So that is what I will try.

Just watch the wear pattern on the tires. As long as the wear is even across the tire your pressure is fine. Center wear = too high, edge wear = too low

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I agree with Brett on this.

Manufactures set a low pressure to allow the tire to absorb shock.

As fuel prices go up, watch the same for tire pressures. A tall, narrow tire rolls better. This means better fuel mileage. Of course that same tire will not corner as well, and will give a harsher ride.

Watch the wear pattern and set the pressure for good mileage and acceptable handling.

My car is always fully loaded with tools. A sales rep, who rides by himself would need a different pressure than I do.

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Damn, there is sooo much mis information being posted here :icon_doh:

Who gives a damn what the tire sez, your vehicle manufactuer sets proper pressure,,,, period,,,folow it!

If you sticker sez 32 cold then do it! For normal driving. For highway driving mabye, mabye run 35. Autocrossing, run 38 front only.

Read it, or gor to your specific tire manufacturers web site and read their warnings on tire inflation!

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncap/Tires/pages/...ssureFAQ.htm#q5

http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip1.html

http://www.tiresafety.com/maintenance.asp

But what the hell Dave, run 51 cold in your tires, I'd love to see the outcome in the obits :icon_nono:

Nice...here I am looking for advice and I am now being listed as dead ? WTF ?

The tire says 51 max pressure....the door says 32....all I am asking DAVE is for some advice because I don't know. SO....I called my friend that works for BF Good....he says that I should go right in-between at 42-45 just like Dwayne says.

So that is what I will try.

Just watch the wear pattern on the tires. As long as the wear is even across the tire your pressure is fine. Center wear = too high, edge wear = too low

I'll take weekly photos for ya bro !!

Thanks for all your help on this one...believe it or not...the tires on the FIT sport...low profile and reverse tread.....=....expensive.

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Nice...here I am looking for advice and I am now being listed as dead ? WTF ?

The tire says 51 max pressure....the door says 32....all I am asking DAVE is for some advice because I don't know. SO....I called my friend that works for BF Good....he says that I should go right in-between at 42-45 just like Dwayne says.

So that is what I will try.

Humor Dave, just humor. Sorry. :icon_confused:

But, your friend who works at BFG must be a janitor or something as BFG's website says that 45 cold would be WAY over, causing handling problems and excessive wear in the center of the tire:

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/serv...ch.SearchResult

The Fit can outhandle a Corvette in the slalom, at 32 cold psi, on OE tires. You really think you will make it better puting an extra 13 pounds in it?

You asked, got lots of different answers, but I gotta tell you,,,, beleive what Honda and all the aftermarket tire manufactures tell you. Period!

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Another thing to try is what I do when installing different tires on a car.

Put reccomended car pressure in your tire then on smooth flat concrete roll your car through some water then measure your contact patch width. Do it again with 5 over and under.

Your mark should be no more or less than the tire manufacturers stated tread width when inflated properly.

Dave

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I've got a 98 Lumina LTZ and 99 Monte Carlo Z34.

Both came from the factory with Goodyear Eagle RSA tires in size 225/60-16. The sticker under the trunk wants 30 psi (which I think is low) Which is figured for a soft ride.

Max on the tires is 44 psi.

I've currently got 2 different brand tires in use on each car, same factory size. On one the max on the tire is 35 the other the max is 44. So now what???

At 44 it IS too much, slides too much on rain soaked roads.

Currently Im running 35 on both cars and seems fine, but I still don't like the different psi on the sidewalls.

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Nice...here I am looking for advice and I am now being listed as dead ? WTF ?

The tire says 51 max pressure....the door says 32....all I am asking DAVE is for some advice because I don't know. SO....I called my friend that works for BF Good....he says that I should go right in-between at 42-45 just like Dwayne says.

So that is what I will try.

Humor Dave, just humor. Sorry. :icon_confused:

But, your friend who works at BFG must be a janitor or something as BFG's website says that 45 cold would be WAY over, causing handling problems and excessive wear in the center of the tire:

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/serv...ch.SearchResult

The Fit can outhandle a Corvette in the slalom, at 32 cold psi, on OE tires. You really think you will make it better puting an extra 13 pounds in it?

You asked, got lots of different answers, but I gotta tell you,,,, beleive what Honda and all the aftermarket tire manufactures tell you. Period!

OK...then back to the original question.....Door says 32 and the tire says 51...which is correct ?

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