tire pressure

[nvesprini]

is it common for people to inflate to pressures higher than the door sticker? saw a few posts from people going with 44 or 45psi instead of the door recommended 42. does it make a noticable difference for range or life of the tires? is the 44/45 psi the common target to aim for? also this is cold pressure i assume? TIA

 

[NJM3]

Yes, people do it. Better range, varying degrees of increased tire wear, less comfortable ride quality. The tire has a “max sidewall pressure” listed on the sidewall. I usually pump up 1-2 PSI below the max.

 

[nvesprini]

Yes, people do it. Better range, varying degrees of increased tire wear, less comfortable ride quality. The tire has a “max sidewall pressure” listed on the sidewall. I usually pump up 1-2 PSI below the max.

just to confirm...INcreased tire wear? i thought the boost in psi helped to extend the tire life?

 

[Lindenwood]

just to confirm...INcreased tire wear? i thought the boost in psi helped to extend the tire life?

More that if you go to far you are more likely to wear out the center of the tread, which can be unsafe from a water-shedding standpoint or, at worst, lead to getting down to the belts in the center sooner than you would with a more even pressure.

 

[jackmott]

just to confirm...INcreased tire wear? i thought the boost in psi helped to extend the tire life?

As with many things in life, there is an optimum point, above or below which, things get worse.

Raising pressure above the optimum point will accelerate wear because the center of the tread ends up taking more load than the edges.
Raising pressure to improve range may also not work for similar reasons, going too high leads to more losses from bumpyness than you gain from reduced tread deflection. Unless you plan to do scientific testing I would just leave it at 42psi, you will get good range, good wear, safe handling.

 

[Motion122]

265/40/18 Conti running 45 psi. Even wear after 3K miles. Had the same size PS4S before also running 45 psi even wear as well.

 

[Lindenwood]

265/40/18 Conti running 45 psi. Even wear after 3K miles. Had the same size PS4S before also running 45 psi even wear as well.

Good to note! In my experience with other vehicles, +/- a few PSI from ideal (which will change slightly with average vehicle load and tire model / class) wouldn’t likely manifest as uneven wear until perhaps [order of magnitude] 20k miles.

 

[UncleCreepy]

45 psi won't cause any ill effects. The tires on the Model 3 were originally supposed to be inflated to 45 psi. Only when some people were complaining about the rough ride they lowered it to 42 psi.

 

[Motion122]

Every time I get my car back from the service center my tires are lowered to 42 psi. I just pump them back up to 45. I do see up to 3 psi difference between my my tire filler guns(One analog and one digital) and my fancy longacre tire pressure gauge.

 

[jackmott]

Yeah agreed that 45 will be fine, and if you don't mind the rough ride you might get a little more range from it.