Tire Inflation Levels

You are very lucky that you are still alive.

Deflate the tires to about 32 PSI (if tires are warm) or about 30 PSI if tires are cold. Your tires are likely warm if you have driven your car in the last 2-4 hours.

50 PSI is way over-inflated. The possible consequences of having your tires over-inflated that much are premature tire wear, harsh ride quality, decreased traction and braking performance, especially in wet and snowy weather, and a tire blowout. 44 PSI is the maximum recommended tire pressure, but the best pressure for your tires is 4 or 5 PSI over the recommended cold tire inflation pressure listed on the driver's door or glove compartment.

I am glad I read your reply Ray. Exactly what I've done since they've been putting the door labels on. Darned good balance between tire wear, mileage, handling and ride.

Ron in CA

Although I've known that trick for about 30 years, I didn't put it into practice until '93, when I had to start paying for cars and their upkeep again ;-)

Some issues to consider are that the recommended pressures listed on the door sticker are the vehicle manufacturers recommendations. Those pressures are what the car was tested, certified, and sometimes used for marketing points as for "better handling specs". The tire manufacturer molds into the sidewall a maximum pressure allowed under a specific load. You can inflate and operate the tire to that maximum pressure and load without carcass failure. The tire manufacturer tests and certifies just the tire. The vehicle manufacturer tests and certifies the vehicle using that tire. Ray O and Ron are correct IMHO for most driving conditions. If you load the vehicle to maximum gross weight you may want to inflate the tires to the max spec pressure. If you encounter water or slush on a regular basis, hydroplaning is an issue that is directly related to tire pressure. The greater the inflation pressure, the higher the speed you can travel before hydroplaning. It's an easy formula to remember. 8.7 times the square root of the tire pressure. If you play around with the numbers you will readily see that pressures of five pounds can greatly affect hydroplaning speeds.

You seem one love-sick puppy lapping up everything that Ray (the champion of Toyota Dealer service) tells you. Ray doesn't know anymore about tires than anyone else.

I remember when my new Camry was delivered, the wonderful Toyota Dealer gave it to me with about 45 PSI in each tire.

Yes it was a mistake by the dealer. I guess that is why they charge me extra for "dealer prep".

I believe that they do ship the cars from Japan (mine is a J) with higher pressure in the tires so that they can squeeze more on the ship that way (they also remove the side view mirrors), and the dealer is supposed to adjust the pressure when they receive it.

However, since my car had about 125 miles on it when purchased, and it was used for a few test drives, it is certainly possible (knowing what kind of idiots the dealers hire to do dealer prep and oil changes) that the dealer actually inflated the tires to 45 PSI just for me. I noticed the extremely harsh ride with 2 blocks of leaving the dealer, and I find it hard to believe that they had that much pressure in their for test drives.

And YOUR credentials are?

Assuming your tires are the original size and type that came on the car, you should inflate your tires to the pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. There will be a placard somewhere on the car (door jam, glove compartment door, fuel filelr door) that lists the correct pressures. If you drive mostly on smooth roads, going a few pounds high (3 or so) won't hurt anything. Since most manufacturers already recommend a pressure that achieves the best mileage (becasue they are trying to meet CAFE requirements), increasing the pressure is not likely to result in measurable fuel economy improvements (at least witrh the OE tires). Increased pressure will stiffent the ride some - if you like that. It might also reduce over-all grip, and make the tire more vulnerable to damage. The last is particualrly applicable if you do a lot of driving on gravel roads.

"Recommended Pressure

"Always inflate your tires to the recommended pressure listed by your vehicle's manufacturer. This information can be found in the owner's manual and often on a placard located in the vehicle's door jamb, inside the fuel hatch, or on the glove compartment door."

"How much air should I put in my tires?

"Proper inflation is the single most important part of tire care. The inflation pressure on the side of the tire is the MAXIMUM operating pressure. It is not necessarily the right inflation for your vehicle. Always use the inflation recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. You can find it in your owner's manual, posted on the edge of the driver's door, on a door post or on the inside of the glovebox door. Always check inflation when tires are COLD: when the vehicle has been driven less than a mile or one hour or more after driving. Use a good quality tire gauge. Note: It's natural for radial tires to have a slight bulge in the sidewall at their proper inflation pressure. Check or adjust inflation every few weeks, before any long trip or if traveling with a heavy load. And don't forget to check the spare...."

"To properly check tire inflation pressure:

"Check tire inflation pressure at least once a month "Use the correct inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, not the pressure listed on the tire sidewall "Check tires when they are cold or haven't been driven for at least three hours "

"It's important to have the proper air pressure in your tires, as underinflation can lead to tire failure. The "right amount" of air for your tires is specified by the vehicle manufacturer and is shown on the vehicle door edge, door post, glove box door or fuel door. It is also listed in the owner's manual."

"Recommended Inflation Pressure

"Many people ask "what air pressures do you (meaning tire companies) recommend for cars under normal conditions?" The answer is "we recommend what the vehicle manufacturer recommends." "

This Firestone site does recommend - "For continuous high speed driving, tire pressures should be increased by 3 to 5psi above the normal cold inflation recommended." They don't indicated what high speed driving is. In general I think this would be greater than 75 mph.

Ed

If you paid extra for "dealer prep," you got taken. The automaker reimburses the dealer for PDI.

The cars are shipped from the assembly plant (regardless of where the factory is) with high tire pressure to prevent flat-spotting and damage to the tires when the vehicle is tied down to the deck of a ship, on a rail car, on truck. High or low tire pressure has nothing to do with how many vehicles will fit on a ship. Tire pressure is suppoed to be adjusted during the pre delivery service, not when it arrives at the dealership. Of course, the pre delivery service is supposed to be performed before the vehicle is driven for road tests or between dealerships. Unfortunately, most dealer sales departments know little about the consequences of driving a vehicle that has not had the PDI performed, so sales staff take them on test drives or dealer trades without having the PDI performed and let the service department take the heat later.

The exterior rear view mirrors are not removed, they are merely left off at the assembly plant to prevent damage to the mirrors during shipping to the dealer. This is true whether the vehicles are transported via ship, rail, or truck.

I have NO problem with liberals jumping on ME (because I bait them on purpose) ....but there is NO reason for jumping on Ray O.

Ray has helped more people on here than anyone else (combined)....

Ray is a jewel.

However, driving a tire with too little air can also reduce traction. Dealers sometimes lower the tire pressure to give the car a better ride. So it is important to check the tire pressure when you get a car and regularly there after.

Jeff

We all pay for dealer prep because Toyota pays for it and it is factored into the cost of the car.

That is possible, but I noticed the very harsh ride right away so I find it hard to believe that a sales person would not notice this during 125 miles of test drives with customers. Another possibility is that the dealer prep idiots inflated the tires to 45 PSI.

I take exception to that purely on statistical grounds (although some of the Toyota techs have left the group in recent years).

Although Ray has helped some people, his comments are about how great Toyota dealers are providing oil changes is damaging to consumers.

Toyota dealers consistently (more than 50% of the time) use the wrong viscosity oil, and sometimes completely screw up the oil change (forget to put oil in, leave off the filler cap, etc) as has been well-documented in this newsgroup. Ray's support and excuses for Dealer oil changes is not acceptable.

Ray, can I ask you a question?

Do you really think that it is important for people to know that when the cars are shipped without the mirrors, that they were never installed in the first place, instead of being removed right before shipment (as I mistakenly posted)?

Do you really think that is an important and relevant distinction to take the time to point it out to everyone?

How can someone who refuses to admit that most Toyota Dealers use the wrong viscosity of oil when doing oil changes, spend so much time nitpicking about such irrelevant and trivial matters?

Depends, do you drive a car or a bicycle? ;)

mike

That is simply bull sh*t.

I've had both of our Toyota's oil changed at dealers since we bought them.

That is 300,000 miles.

They NEVER put the wrong viscosity oil in either car.

What kind of tire?!?! If it's a big honkin' SUV tires, 50 PSI might be OK. If it's a 175/75-13, I hope your insurance is paid up!

Look on the Driver's side door jamb or the glove box lid. That will give you the proper inflation for STOCK tires.

I, for one, appreciated reading it. Then again, I like to find out stuff. Tomes