Where to find an accurate tire pressure gauge???

I'd have to go back and re-read my posts to be sure, but I don't think that is what I said. I said that I didn't think that staying WITHIN the manufacturer's recommendation of 5W-30 viscosity oil would shorten your engine life. I don't think I said anything about not using oil outside that range. Personally, I don't for the simple reason that an engine is an expensive component to experiment with, whereas tires are relatively cheap. I can get fairly good tires for my van for less than $400 a set and even if my experiment increases my wear by 25%, I'm only out a hundred bucks or so. For me, that is a reasonably amount to risk on an experiment. The cost of replacing an engine isn't within my range personal range! :-)

Although, I am experimenting now with my 96 minivan. At the 150K mark I decided to switch from 5K oil change intervals to 10K, still using Mobil 1. The van owes me nothing so it is now within my experimental range! :-)

I did the same with a 79 Chevette when it reached 100K miles. I'd used Mobil 1 (actually Delvac 1) since 50K when I bought it from my parents. I really didn't care if I ruined it after 100K (actually was kind of hoping it would die!), so I decided to go 10K between changes. I sold that car with something like 130K on it and the person that bought it wrecked it just shy of 150K and the engine was still going strong.

So far, my minivan is doing the same and is just about to roll over 170K.

I'm an engineer. I can't help it! :-)

Matt

I agree with you Matt. I put tires on my minivan that are 44 psi max and 205 instead of 195, tiny bit wider but more choices to choose from. I run them at 39 psi, so with highway speed, +4 mph, they are around 43 psi when hot. It may be cutting it too close but I get a better ride and better handling. Recently I made a mistake or the dealer did and I noticed a very bad ride and handling. I thought it was because I had too much air in the tires. Turns out they were low at around 31 psi cold. The actual sticker says 35 psi so I figure the 39 psi is a little over, 10+%, but seems just fine for me, especially since I run the van light. That is, no rear seat, not much weight in it at all - and I'm losing weight! So I would agree with you here. And less tire wear also.

Actually you're right - you didn't say that directly, but I do notice that your response to posters with questions about such things is "What does the manual say", and I guess i can't argue with that too much.

But I was just reminded by another poster that manufacturer's recommendations are sometimes absolutely wrong. My example for that would be a 7000 mile oil change interval for the 2.7L engine - absolutely the wrong practice with that engine.

I said that I didn't think that staying WITHIN the

I may disagree *IF* that 5W-30 is a non-synthetic. Synthetic? Maybe - but I have my doubts - nothing catastrophic, but some incremental loss.

It's a curse we both live with. That and our classic good looks!

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

Except that I have the 2.7L engine - in which case *not* experimenting with oil and such would probably be the risky and potentially expensive thing to do.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

The max on the sidewall is a cold inflation pressure and usually will say that on the sidewall. So you don't need to worry about the pressure rise with heat as that has already been factored in by the tire maker.

Matt

Does the manual really day 7,000 mile intervals for the kind of driving that most people REALLY do? Doesn't it have a severe schedule? Doesn't the "severe" description cover how most people really drive? :-)

And svelte figures!

Matt

When you go up in size to a larger load group you can actually lower the pressure a bit. Also, something not mentioned yet, snow tire venders and car venders usually recommend going +4 psi cold over the OEM tire recommendation, but not over the max pressure stated on the tire. It is gross under or over inflation that can cause tire damage, but tire pressure differences, front to back, also impact handling and some vehicles are very sensitive to this, but that is another discussion.

Richard.

'Most' is not 'all'. I don't think a very high percentage of 2.7's would survive past 75k on shcedule A under schedule A conditions, and I've read first-hand accounts (yes - anecdotal) of absolute refusal to honor the warranty under what was claimed to be Schedule A conditions with documented Schedule A maintenance. The dealers retort was not that they checked into the conditions under which the car was actually used, but that they refused to acknowledge that there was such a thing as Schedule A driving conditions in the real world. You may say that they are right, but I'd call that false expectations to publish such a schedule and then claim that it doesn't exist in the real world. Burden of proof would be on them to prove that that vehicle was not used under Scehdule A conditions. It wouldn't take much of a lawyer in today's leagl system to win that one.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

No, it is also true for those cars. I have always run about 5PSI lower than max inflation pressure (mainly to account for variations in tire guages) and never seen this wearing out in the center thing on a passenger car.

Frankly, I've seen tons of tires in wrecking yards and very few show wearing out in the center first. Just about all of them the center of the tire has the deepest tread. With the age-o-lawsuit that we are in I strongly suspect that max inflation pressures stamped on the tire sidewalls are SEVERELY derated anyway. Every one of my old tires has worn from the edges first, but if I inflated them any more I'd be exceeding the tire rating.

And, I have NEVER seen an automaker inflation recommendation that wasn't a minimum of 10 psi lower than max inflation, and a lot of them are even lower than that.

Ted

How true. I forgot about that. But it's a too harsh ride at 44 psi I find with my particular minivan. Might be okay if all turnpike highway speeds and a long drive.

Right from the manual, it says: If going more than 75 mpg, you must inflate the tire to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall. Yup, could hardly believe it:

For speeds in excess of 75 mph or 120 km/h tires must be inflated to the max pressure specified on the tire sidewall. Page 22-2 of 1994 Chrysler minivans.

The manual also says one must not go above 35 psi for P-Series or passenger tires of standard load. But since mine were 44 psi max I gather they are not standard load passenger tires.