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Tire pressure?

DCRANER

SM 2003
Full Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2002
Messages
609
Location
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, N.J.
I have an 03 Av. and I put 275/55/20 highway tires on it. Can you tell me what tire pressure the factory calls for for this tire combination, like on the newer models with 20's?
 
If you read the side wall of the tire it should say 50lbs.  The tire should be filled to 44lbs.  If you read the drivers manual then 32 lbs.  32 lbs smother ride, 44lbs better fuel economy and improved tire ware. 

Good luck
 
On my 285/16 Mickey Thompsons, I spoke to their tech rep and the recommended using 60% of the max tire pressure. Forgot to add no additional load in/on truck.
 
Chalk Test
or
calculate based on tire loading/PSI and weight on each tire...
or
Anything else is a GUESS
 
No one answer. It depends on the tire and the weight it carries, esp. truck tires. Mfgrs, like Michelin & Goodyear publish charts showing pressure - load matches. Never exceed the sidewall ratings. Go to a public scale and weigh front, back & total loaded, and unloaded. In the case of my 2500  LR E tires unloaded I keep my front and rear at 55 lbs. Towing I up rears to 75  lbs. If your load distribution hitch adds significant weight to front - modify slightly. My wear patterns have been very even. Tires with more wear in center have too much air; wear on the edges have too little air.
 
Holy CRAP! I always just go by the tire pressure label, usually located on the inner door pillar...

Have I been doing it all wrong all these years??? ???
 
This method was posted here, years ago. Works for me.
Tire Pressure


Here's a way to find a starting place for testing....

Your Av has a GVWR rating.  That's the weight of your fully loaded AV.
Your tires have 2 federally mandated pieces of information on the sidewall. Max Pressure, and Max Load. (BTW the max Load is rated at Max Pressure). Please note that the Max Pressure is NOT the pressure you ever want to run a tire at, if you can avoid it. It's the Max Pressure you can put in a tire without it exploding.
________________________________________

Take the GVWR of your AV and                          7,000
divide it by 4 times the Max Load (2535)      ?    10,140
of your tire (because you have 4 tires).                  .69

The answer should be a fraction and you don't need to fully resolve it yet. If the answer is greater than 1, then under no circumstances should you put those tires on your AV.

Now multiply that fraction                                          .69
by the Max Pressure from your tire's sidewall.          x 44
The answer is the theoretical pressure                        30 psi
you should run your new tires at.

From this starting point you should then test, by driving your AV.
If your handling feels 'squirrelly', then increase the Pressure by 4 psi and test again.
If after a 10-15 mile Freeway run at about 65 - 70 mph your tires are warmer than hand hot (if it is uncomfortable to hold your hand on the sidewall for more than a brief touch) then increase the Pressure by 4 psi and test again.
If your ride feels like it's on rocks, you could decrease the Pressure by up to 4 psi. No more than 4 psi!
________________________________________

(New Tires Only)
Draw a chalk line across the tread and drive a few revolutions of the tire.
Look at the chalk line.
A: If it is evenly scuffed, you're fine.
B: If it is more scuffed at the edges, increase the Pressure by 4 psi and retest.
C: If it is more scuffed in the center, the situation is this - At the Pressure you want to run them at, your new tires are over-inflated (essentially you bought a somewhat inappropriate tire). You then have 2 choices - 1. Decrease the Pressure until the scuffing is even (and accept poor handling, but maximize tire life) but never to less than 4 psi below that original calculated figure.
2. Leave them at that Pressure and accept that you will not get as long a life as you could have out of those tires. (Note that this could still mean you get very long life, if the tires are 'over-engineered'.)

In the morning, when the tires are cold again, check and note your new tire pressures.

After you get a close approximation of tire pressure using Treehugger's method, make a note of your cold tire pressures. After warming up, you should see an increase in pressure of approximately 10%. If you have more than a 10% increase, the tires are flexing too much and should inflated several more psi and rechecked. Less than 10 % would indicate an over-inflated tire. The Av is very close to being balanced F/R, and correct pressure should be close to equal for all four tires.

EJ
 
Just look at the tires you have on the side wall. :dunno:

Just let me know when you are in my area so I can stay away from that area.


Long story bad idea. HTH
 
I consider 32 psi a bit too soft. Been running the stock Bridgestones at 35/36 since new. Handles better...wear has been even.
 
I had to have new front tires yesterday because the dealership had sold me a 2007 LT with 275/60/20 tires. [have the 20'rims]
The tires were unevenly worn because they were rubbing the wheel arch.
Anyways, I had been told to put in 33lbs by the dealers.
The tire fitters put on Nexen Roadian HP tires with 40lbs pressure. [It has 50lbs on the rim] The fitter told me that 10 below would give me the best performance between tire wear, ride, and mpg.
 
door pillar calls for 32...dont like the handling.  I keep mine at 37.  It feels better, and my sidewalls dont have the road rash from turns.  Chalk?  I like that idea.  I may have to try that.  I have two other cars with non stock wheels tires.  A honda with 205/45R16 and sonoma with 30x9.5
 
i had mine at 32 as per manufacturer spec..
now am running 38 psi, much better feel and doesn't like look i have a flat all the time
 
I run my Bridgestone P275/55/20's at 32psi (using my tire gauge), but it measures 35psi on the DIC.  No problems, rides great.

 
I just got new Bridgestone Revos 265/70/17 last week. I picked up the Av and the tires looked flat. I asked the guy what pressure he was running. he told me 30Psi. So I drove the 2 miles home and pulled out my compressor and gauge. He had them at 22Psi. I inflated to 30 and they still looked way to soft. So I went to 40. I drove 2000 miles last week on them. I got great MPG at 22.9, the tire felt OK, but nothing like my Silent Armors. So today I want back down to 35Psi to see how that feels. That is what the manufacturer recommends and 44 is the MAX. My Silent Armor MAX at 80Psi, I run them at 45-50 depending on if I am carrying a load or not.

So what I am say is drive them and see how they feel and look. If the sidewalls are bulging a lot add more air. Watch your MAX Psi, so you don't go that high.
 
I have ProComp Mud Terrain tires. They are 285/75/16. The sidewall states a max of 65 psi, cold, no load. I have the rears at 42 psi and the fronts are running at 43.5 psi.

M
 
i have 18s on mine and i go by what the tire says,
i put them all at 45psi, i like the way it handles at that psi.
 
I went with the Chevy 22" rims and I'm running 40# in each (Max is 45 #). I'm going up into Canada and thinking of dropping the pressure a bit. Wise move? Anyone running the 22" Goodyears and can recommend a tire pressure?
 
I just got a 2010 LTZ with the 20" wheels.  Went driving and was getting almost 23 mpg according to the DIC.  Then I cycled to the tires - one was at 38, one was at 40, one was at 41, and the last one was at 42.  The next morning when I tested them cold they had each dropped 3 psi to 35, 37, 38, 39.  I adjusted all to the 32 (cold) recommended on the pillar, but my mpg dropped to 20.

I have always run my vehicles at the recommend psi.  After reading this thread it is obvious most run at higher settings.  How did GM come up with 32 as the recommended pressure?
 
For a comfortable ride, just check the side of the tire for max PSI and never go over that.
 
Exactly the post I copied the formula from.
I've been using this as the starting point for all our vehicles, ever since.
If the ride is too hard/bouncy for your taste, drop the pressure 2 psi at a time, and try that.
Or, if it's too soft/mushy for your liking, add 2 psi.
However, as it says in the formula, don't go more than 4 psi, either direction.

EJ

p.s. BTW, What's up with, "Left in Disgust"? What did I miss?
 
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