New Tires Have Higher Load Rating - Effect on Recommended Tire Pressure?

I would not think any adjustment would be needed since those are maximum weight ratings. But to be sure I would ask Honda and the tire company.

At first glance that seems to be the minimum pressure. If your owners manual allows it I would consider going a few PSI above the minimum to improve handling and tire milage. For instance my car has a range from 32 to 38 psi and I run it at 35 psi.

As far as I know, the top end load rating for the tires isn't relevant unless you are carrying a load and need to use the full capacity of them pumped up full to 44 psi.

I had a pickup truck that 'could' use the full load rating and I did use it as well as a pressure adjustment when using it only.

For normal driving, the sticker is still the valid pressure.

Now if you radically change the tire 'size' then the pressure can be adjusted to get the best footprint back and we use the chalk method on our Jeeps for ding this. We chalk the tread, drive straight and see how much chalk wears off and adjust the pressure accordingly.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > Here is the data; does anyone here know how to perform the calculation? >

I would think that the load ratings being so similar and the max pressure being the same that I would start with the factory recommended pressure as a baseline and you will probably find that it is OK. if you really want to nail it absolutely right you could try chalking your tires.

nate

The recommended inflation pressure does not change.

You have load ratings for the tire and the car. If (big IF) you inflated the original tire to 44 psi, each tire could carry 1400 lb. But the GVWR of the car is only 4235 lb, or 1059 lb/tire. At 30 psi, the load rating of the tire would be greater than 1059 and less than 1400. (In fact, you may have a recommended inflation pressure for maximum load. This would be higher than the normal inflation pressure.) Inflating the tires to maximum ratings would result in potentially dangerous handling, as very little rubber would be touching the road.

The fact that the new tire has a slightly greater load rating has no bearing on inflation pressure. It does mean that it is a good fit to your needs.

Inflation pressures are determined by the factory to balance handling, fuel economy and ride comfort. Years ago, the recommended pressure tended to emphasize comfort over handling, and was lower. Today, safety has a higher priority, and recommended pressures are higher.

As others have mentioned, you can experiment with inflation pressure to determine an optimum for your driving, but for most people, the recommended pressure is a good compromise. Just remember that pressure must be checked when the tire is cold.

Dan

(This account is not used for email.)

Thanks to all for their considered advice.

I've never tried chalking the tires, and don't really know how. Seems to me the tire would have to be severely over or under inflated for that to show results, no?

But I used 2 psi above the factory recommendation on the last set of tires and the wear on them after 65,000 miles was very even.

So with the new set I'll continue that practice.

Thank you all again.

- Don