Dialing up to 50 PSI for improved efficiency

[ODWms]

+1 on the plug/rubber cement remedy. I swear by it too, and as many have mentioned, have had decades of success with it. I just plugged a front tire on my MP3+ while on vacation in Sarasota with that exact combination over the 4th of July weekend. The time from realizing I had a flat until I drove away, tire repaired, was less than 15 minutes. No muss, no fuss.

 

[RidinTheWave]

Just sharing an experience - I daily 19" Michelin PS4Ss in 265 all-around. Today I decided to crank all my pressures up to 50 PSI (maximum labeled on the sidewall) just to see if that would change anything. Efficiency improved dramatically. Average Wh/mi never went above 300, even with a few episodes of 75+ mph highway & "spirited driving" - although the car definitely felt more skittish. Will be doing this on longer trips going forward vs. swapping back to the hateful MXM4s.
4s

Be careful with this, efficiency does improve, but you lose traction as the tires get harder with more air. Also, in reality, you are going over the maximum PSI if you are filling to that range because when you drive your tires heat up, and so does the air inside. The air inside expands and causes about a 5-psi increase.

This will cause excessive wear as well. Putting more air in the tires causes the middle of the tire to rise higher than the outer edges. This will cause premature wear in the middle of the tires, and you'll end up buying new tires sooner.

Source: Worked at a tire shop when I was younger

 

[RidinTheWave]

Also please bring your tires to a shop to be fixed. America's tire (discount tire) offers free flat repairs. It is not only a plug on the outside, but a patch inside covered in a rubber sealant. Tires are expensive, and plugs only fail much more easily. It is good to have one as a "just in case" if there are no shops nearby.

 

[LBM4]

Run nitrogen in your tires. I'm willing to bet you see better Wh/Mile.

 

[Knightshade]

Run nitrogen in your tires. I'm willing to bet you see better Wh/Mile.

You know regular air is already 78% nitrogen, right?

Should You Use Nitrogen in Your Car Tires? - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports uses tests and research to explain the benefits of using nitrogen in car tires and advises whether it is worth putting nitrogen in your car or truck.

www.consumerreports.org

The lab report from NHTSA also found that “inflating with nitrogen in place of air had little or no direct effect on tire rolling resistance performance.”

 

[LBM4]

You know regular air is already 78% nitrogen, right?

Should You Use Nitrogen in Your Car Tires? - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports uses tests and research to explain the benefits of using nitrogen in car tires and advises whether it is worth putting nitrogen in your car or truck.

www.consumerreports.org

You know regular air is full of water molecules, which produces heat and oxidation when temperature increases, while also causing PSI loss, compared to 95% pure nitrogen, right?
I didn't bother looking at your link, because it's likely the one where they just set two tires out for a year and then looked at PSI loss. That was a useless test.

 

[Knightshade]

You know regular air is full of water molecules, which produces heat and oxidation when temperature increases, while also causing PSI loss, compared to 95% pure nitrogen, right?
I didn't bother looking at your link, because it's likely the one where they just set two tires out for a year and then looked at PSI loss. That was a useless test.

yeah not really in a way that matters though.

In fact the tests in the link I provided check that EXACT idea.

Over an entire year the "PSI loss" from air vs nitrogen was... 1.3 psi.

And that's if you ignore your tire pressure for a full year without checking or topping it off- which is a incredibly irresponsible thing to do anyway, especially in an era of TPMS where the info is literally at your fingertips anytime you're in the car.


If you get nitrogen for free anyway- sure, it's barely measurable better in a consumer vehicle for this... but it's not going to change your wh/mi unless you entirely neglect your tire pressure for LONG LONG LONG periods of time.

 

[LBM4]

yeah not really in a way that matters though.

In fact the tests in the link I provided check that EXACT idea.

Over an entire year the "PSI loss" from air vs nitrogen was... 1.3 psi.

And that's if you ignore your tire pressure for a full year without checking or topping it off- which is a incredibly irresponsible thing to do anyway, especially in an era of TPMS where the info is literally at your fingertips anytime you're in the car.


If you get nitrogen for free anyway- sure, it's barely measurable better in a consumer vehicle for this... but it's not going to change your wh/mi unless you entirely neglect your tire pressure for LONG LONG LONG periods of time.

Those tires weren't on a car bro. They literally just left them sitting in the sun for a year. No driving was done. That was the most useless test you can do.

 

[Knightshade]

Those tires weren't on a car bro. They literally just left them sitting in the sun for a year. No driving was done. That was the most useless test you can do.

Sorry bro, you're still wrong.

The NHTSA testing was also referenced- that testing included lab testing, actual under-load roadwheel testing (how ELSE could they have gotten rolling resistance data?) and also measurements on in-service vehicles over a 3 year period.

They all found the same rates of loss in all those different conditions.

Nitrogen loses pressure SLIGHTLY slower than air- in a way that only would matter if you ignore your tire pressure entirely for excessively long periods of time.

And makes no difference to rolling resistance.

So no, you won't see a measurable benefit to wh/mi using it.

 

[LBM4]

Sorry bro, you're still wrong.

The NHTSA testing was also referenced- that testing included lab testing, actual under-load roadwheel testing (how ELSE could they have gotten rolling resistance data?) and also measurements on in-service vehicles over a 3 year period.

They all found the same rates of loss in all those different conditions.

Nitrogen loses pressure SLIGHTLY slower than air- in a way that only would matter if you ignore your tire pressure entirely for excessively long periods of time.

And makes no difference to rolling resistance.

So no, you won't see a measurable benefit to wh/mi using it.

You say I'm wrong, then proceed to say you won't see a measurable benefit. Now, quote my original post. Reading comprehension is fun.

 

[Knightshade]

You say I'm wrong, then proceed to say you won't see a measurable benefit. Now, quote my original post. Reading comprehension is fun.

I agree, you should develop some

Your original post:

Run nitrogen in your tires. I'm willing to bet you see better Wh/Mile.

Actual studies on the topic:
“inflating with nitrogen in place of air had little or no direct effect on tire rolling resistance performance.”


Bonus points for admitting you didn't even bother to read the evidence you're wrong-

I didn't bother looking at your link

 

[LBM4]

I agree, you should develop some

Your original post:



Actual studies on the topic:
“inflating with nitrogen in place of air had little or no direct effect on tire rolling resistance performance.”


Bonus points for admitting you didn't even bother to read the evidence you're wrong-

#eyeroll Again, reading comprehension is fun. Let me put my whole quote here, since you apparently try to edit information to fit your narrative.
"I didn't bother looking at your link, because it's likely the one where they just set two tires out for a year and then looked at PSI loss. That was a useless test."

You see that 2nd part of the sentence, after the comma? Use it.

Anyway, arguing with people like you is pointless. I will simply put you on ignore. Bye.

 

[Knightshade]

I didn't bother looking at your link

#eyeroll Again, reading comprehension is fun. Let me put my whole quote here, since you apparently try to edit information to fit your narrative.
"I didn't bother looking at your link, because it's likely the one where they just set two tires out for a year and then looked at PSI loss. That was a useless test."

You see that 2nd part of the sentence, after the comma? Use it.

Yes, I see it.

It's still wrong

As was explained to you, multiple times now.

The link did have the test you mention, but it also had results from a different test where NONE of the "useless" bits were in play.



You'd know that if you had any of the reading comprehension you keep ranting about

Anyway, arguing with people like you is pointless. I will simply put you on ignore. Bye.

I'm sorry you're so upset by facts and evidence you feel compelled to hide from them.

 

[afadeev]

Run nitrogen in your tires. I'm willing to bet you see better Wh/Mile.

Well, that came out of the blue, and makes no sense at all.
But then again...

You know regular air is full of water molecules, which produces heat and oxidation when temperature increases,

Actually, no, and it doesn't, and it doesn't.
The "air" on this planet is a mix of gasses: nitrogen (78%), oxygen (about 21%), and argon (almost 1%). Other molecules are present in the atmosphere as well, but in very small quantities. Water is not a normal ingredient in the mix.

Humidity may be present in any gas, as you inject into your tire, including all mixes and concentrations of nitrogen.

Also, water/humidity do not produce heat, in and of themselves. All gases inside the tire heat up as the tire surface heats up.

Lastly, neither rubber nor wheel surface oxidize. Oxidation has nothing to do with this discussion at all.

while also causing PSI loss, compared to 95% pure nitrogen, right?

There is no "PSI loss".
All gasses expand when they heat up, and contract when they cool.
Nitrogen volume varies less with heat than that of oxygen, but it still does vary. Which, in and of itself, is not really a problem.

What was the question, again?
Oh, does bumping PSI change tire patch (size and shape), rolling resistance and comfort levels. Yes to all of the above!

a

 

[Phlier]

It is not only a plug on the outside,

Tire plugs aren’t an exterior fix; they go all the way through the thickness of the tire, whereas a patch is a thin layer applied to the inside.

Tire plugs are a permanent repair. Tire shops just love to patch them for the additional income.

 

[Phlier]

Back in the '70's (and I'm sure before that, too), plug kits often came with a tube of rubber cement. Now it most likely wasn't the same as what you think of when you think about today's rubber cement. It's VOC content was *huge*, and it partially melted the tire plug and the rubber surrounding the tire, too, once it was placed. You needed to wait ten minutes after plugging a tire with a plug and the included cement for the rubber cement to chemically melt the plug a little bit, and also to melt the surrounding tire rubber a little bit. After the solvents flashed off, the rubbers would be literally fused together; they were chemically "welded". In these kits, the plugs were literally little strings of tire material. And I do mean little... they were very, very thin strings that you just bunched together in a size big enough to be a tight fit in the hole you were plugging. The included "cement" welded the whole bundle together into a solid blob of rubber after it was placed in the tire.

It turns out that a cement of similar function (it "vulcanizes" the rubber... think chemically welds it) is still available.

Here is a NON AFFILIATE link to it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QF2ZYXJ

Also, for those of you curious about tire plugs, how they work, and a review of quite a few available kits, the YouTube channel "Project Farm" has a fantastic video on tire plugs, and should be considered required viewing prior to purchasing a tire plug kit:

 

[ODWms]

Excellent video! I watched all the way through. It lines up with my real world experience with plug kits over several decades. Tire shops try to minimize the effectiveness and safety of plug usage. They have their reasons. But for me, and for many, many of my friends over decades, they have proven to be a very good remedy for tire punctures.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I inflated my tires to 100PSI, I've been seeing about 135 Wh/mile range ... thinking of trying 150PSI, see if I can break the 100 Wh/mile barrier ...