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tire pressure

The tire should have a stated maximum cold tire pressure on it. I use this as my guideline.
 
My father in law listened to the same B.S. that a mechanic told him to over inflate his tires on his SUV, to at least 36 -38 psi for a smoother ride. I was following him in my SUV and at ~ 65 MPH on a dry sunny Interstate highway, the left rear on his SUV, tire EXPLODED (the SUV was new with less than 7000 miles on the odometer) ..... tearing up the fender, fender well, body molding, chrome styled wheel......to the point of almost loosing control of his SUV, b4 coming to a stop on the side of the road. Did approximately $5k BODY damage to the SUV.......MORAL OF THE STORY......DON'T LISTEN TO THE B.S. proclaimed by others, including your best "buddy".....for they know nothing....and inflate your tires to the placard on the door jamb of the owner's manual or FSM.....BUT NOT TO EXCEED THE STATED PRESSURE ON THE TIRE'S SIDEWALL.....or do so at your own risk and suffer the consequences.......
BOB RENTON
Personally......I'd be looking for a new tire vendor. I use what the tire manufacturer recommends not the supplier or installer .....
BOB RENTON
First is follow placard on the door jamb.
Next is use what the tire manufacturer recommends.
 
I have 44 psi on sidewall and run 80% of that, 35.2, so 35 psi all around.
 
going start out 32 from the 26-27 lbs i had. want to see how the ride is and if the steering is a little less harder to turn at very slow speeds not worried about high speed wandering until i have the toe in checked and see where camber and caster specs are at.
 
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Everyone wants more caster for control at speed, but that makes it harder to turn at slow speeds. So you have to find a middle ground with manual steering.

Try several different pressures and go drive it. See what you like and what you don't like. Don't have the number in your mind when driving just feel what it's telling you. Feel the difference. 32 is still a low pressure for the tire. Your tires won't explode with 44 in them.
 
going start out 32 from the 26-27 lbs i had. want to see how the ride is and if the steering is a little less harder to turn at very slow speeds not worried about high speed wandering until i have the toe in checked and see where camber and castor specs are at.
Steering will be much easier with some air in the tires. Tires will run cooler too.
 
I think i will live with the camber and caster where they are. i don't want to open a can of worms if they start messing around not sure if they know what their doing. tires are wearing even and going around curves is not bad. i can live where ever camber is at and for caster i don't think i want any more positive because of the manual steering.one shop years ago ruined my adjusters by trying to adjust the camber with the weight on the wheels. the wheels should be off the ground right ??
 
Yes wheels off ground is better for the ease of adjusting. But wheels on ground they can read camber while adjusting. Camber needs another sweep of the steering wheel.

You watch people drive today, they just turn it lock to lock with the car sitting still on pavement. Try will that just once with my old man around as you get swatted upside the head!
 
drove to the shop 32 lbs in all 4 up from 26-27 a hair harder ride a little easy to steer and a hair better handling at lower speeds. on the way home from the shop with the toe back into specs was toed out before. steering is a little easier, better handling and no wander at 105 mph and got there faster now. I have a long drive way for testing high speeds not on public roads. lol
 
That's kind of a mixed bag of questions and goals. The best tire pressure for handling depends on spring rates, what kind of driving and handling, etc. ... lots of factors. In general, I start at 32 in the summer and up it to 34 in the winter. I check tire wear and adjust up or down over the lifespan of the tire depending on how the tires wears.

For easier steering, up the tire pressure in the fronts to 38+. Check the tire sidewall for max pressure and stay 3-4 psi under that to allow for heat pressure build. A side effect is that your tires will wear more in the center and you won't get as much life out of them.
I can always tell when my tire pressure is getting low because my gas mileage starts going to hell. Always wind up finding one or two tires down around 26 psi instead of the 32 that I usually run.
 
With manual steering, I would put the maximum cold pressure as stated on the tire.
In the rear, I'd run 75-85% of the front pressure.
Imo, whatever the original recommendation for bias tires, NO MATTER WHAT IT WAS, is worthless.
 
From Pirelli tire:


Running your tires at the correct pressure is important because it keeps you safe, cuts down your gas bill, and makes your tires last longer. Each vehicle has its own specifications for tire pressure, but most fall between 28 and 36 PSI (pounds per square inch).
The 275x16s on my gf's Dakota can run 51 cold (runs low 40s)
The 275x17s on my diesel pickup can run 80 cold. (runs 65-75)
The tires on my box truck can run 110 cold (22.5s?, don't recall for sure)
The tires on my Opel run 40 on the front, 15 on the rear on the street, 8lbs at the track.
My late model muscle car screams at me if any tire gets below 30 lbs. (36, all around)
 
I work with every tire company in Iowa. Of any of the big box tire stores, Discount Tire is far superior to any of the others. Not by the knowledge of the individual person but by the company standards and procedures. Everything is about safety of personal and customer.
I am not slamming and other companies or people just personal experience.
I have also worked with tire manufacturers spent time with engineers and the Ford and Firestone issues.
Under inflation of a tire is your enemy, especially at a load. When a tire is under inflated it creates it’s own heat at a much higher rate. The sidewall flex will cause the it to overheat and destroy itself.
A tire with a properly seated bead will easily support 15% over inflation.
One other thing I would lime to mention is, have your tire pressure gauge tested. I used to give my customers tire gauges, I was able to get company logo gauges for $12 bucks. I would buy 30 at a time. I tested to a calibration gauge and about 20% were off. Some as much as 25%.
Just some advice no one asked for.
 
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