I have a 2004 Tacoma double cab. I try to keep the tire pressure between
32psi and 35 max, more towards the 35. I'm trying to get the best gas mileage out of it but only have been getting 17mpg max. That is combo driving, more city though. So is it better to run more towards the 35 mark? The sticker says something like 26psi front and 29 rear. Wouldn't my mileage go way down if I followed those numbers? The tire says 35 max. Thanks!I think the rating on the tire is for the max. safe psi and the vehicle rating is the acurate one to follow. The lower pressure will create more drag/traction which will use more fuel.
"Facts are stupid things." -- Ronald Reagan, 1988, a misquote of John Adams, "Facts are stubborn things."
You will wear your tires out prematurely by over inflating them, not to mention the safety factor, (less traction)
So what if you buy new different tires? Would you still follow the truck manual or follow the tire instructions?
I just settle for 30 psi all around and I've never done worse than 19 mpg in my 4x4 extra cab w/ manual trans. I get 22 mph on the highway. I'm running Bridgestone Dueler Revo's.
That doesn't apply anymore to modern radial tires, only to old school bias ply tires. You should have no uneven treadwear if you run them up to the max pressure on the sidewall, and even if you over-inflate them a little, you won't get a center buldge.
The recommended psi is usually a compromise between gas mileage, ride comfort, and handling. Play around with different pressures to find out what you like best. I prefer my LT tires on my Tacoma at 40psi front, 35psi rear.
Wrong. It has nothing to do with tire construction. It is a function of air pressure and load capacity of the tire.
You should have no uneven treadwear if you run them up to the max
If you over-inflate any tire it will wear out in the center first. You will also lose a little traction because you only have contact in the center of the tread.
You may not notice this if you buy cheap tires for your car. Most tires are capable of supporting much more weight than the vehicle is rated at. This is the main reason why you don't need to inflate your tires to the max pressure on the sidewall. Unless you are using the vehicle fully loaded all the time you should not need to inflate to max pressure. You should inflate your tires to a pressure that gives even tire wear across the tread. If the tires are wearing in the center they are overinflated, reduce the pressure a little. If the tires are wearing on the edges the are underinflated, add a little air.
Tire pressure depends on tire size and load rating. I would say that the pressures you are running sound too high. I have a Tacoma Xtra cab with 31 x
10.50 - 15 tires. The max pressures I can run are about 35 front and 30 rear with just a slight wear in the center on the tread. I usually run 33 front and 28 rear. These tires have a max pressure rating of 50 lbs.
Not necessarily so, I did an "experiment" with a set of tires on my daily driver and found very little difference on inflation pressure and tire wear in the two pressures I used:
Change "won't" in that last sentence to "much less pronounced". You can still get some excess center tread wear from overinflation, but the steel belts almost force the tire to keep the optimum shape. And if you go for rock hard tires (60 PSI instead of 32) you'll blow the sidewall out first.
Check with your tire dealer and get the Loading and Inflation chart for your exact tires.
You can always go higher (up to the limits on the sidewall) but do not go under the minimum pressure for the load, or the tires can overheat and fail catastrophically - ask Ford Explorer owners (or their heirs) about that one. Ford specified a way-too-low tire pressure to deliver better ride comfort, and then people didn't check their pressure regularly and let them go even lower...
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