Tire Pressure!?

[David Suesz]

If you want to know what Ford says...

I called Ford when I got my 97 (my brother in law is a Ford dealer). The original Firestones were supposed to be set at 26 psi. When they started failing, the tire recall was issued, and the Firestones were supposed to be upped to 30 psi until replaced, to decrease tire heating. The replacements were to be set at 26 psi. I have run mine this way for years, on the "recall" Goodyears, and now a set Falken AP, with good mileage, good tire wear, and excellent handling. I have the EE front and rear sway bars, with the truck lowered 1".

The whole "rollover" thing was a crock, eventually was proved to be caused by driver panic when the tread started peeling off the Firestone tires.

Nevertheless, they were built as family cruisers, not performence vehicles, which is why they would roll when panicked drivers would jerk the wheel and slam the brakes. The beefy EE sway bars will totally change the way the truck handles.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Replacement tires were NOT to be set at 26 psi, but 32 psi as the door jam stickers that were supposed to be replaced say. Your brother in law must be just as knowledgable as any other dealer, which is to say not very much.

 

[CowboyPenner]

I keep mine at 35psi in the summer and 30-32 in the winter.

 

[FROADER]

30-32 at all times on the road for me.

 

[TTG]

I actually had someone tell me to set my pressure lower(from 30) on my tires to reduce the risk of rolling... Time to go and fill the tires up to like 32 psi.

Someone should sticky this.

 

[Mbrooks420]

The thinking on that is it slightly lowers the vehicle so you center of gravity is lowered, but the tires overheat and tend to lean over in turns which is no good.

 

[alexefron]

Then again too high a pressure causes other issues.

 

[FexplorerV8]

my tires are at 40 psi, ride its rough.

 

[aldive]

I actually had someone tell me to set my pressure lower(from 30) on my tires to reduce the risk of rolling... Time to go and fill the tires up to like 32 psi.

Someone should sticky this.

Please, please do not listen to that idiot.

 

[sapacif]

Tire Pressure Increase

I just increased my tire pressure from 32 psi to 38 psi. Average gas mileage went from 16 mpg to 19-20 mpg. It seems to handle okay.

 

[Dave02EX]

Awsome

So Ive had my 2003 explorer xlt sport for 2 months now and I saved my gas reciepts for 2 months and figured out my MPG on the weekend which my average around 12 MPG. I happened to check my tire pressures after reading this post, My truck has 255/75R/16 The door jam says 30, Both fronts were at 20 PSI and the rears were around 22 PSI, I just pumped them all up to 32 PSI, Truck actually seems to ride nicer too hopefully gas mileage increases a tad!!

Dave

 

[Mbrooks420]

And you won't overheat your tires, have a blowout and possibly die. 12mpg seems awfully low for a SOHC.

 

[cfd911]

Well Personally I Wouldn T Go Any Higher Then What S On The Side Of The Tire , Theres A Reason Why They Don T Want You To Over Inflat Them ,
I Guess There S A Reason Why Tires Are Speed Rated Also.....

 

[gijoecam]

The simple fact of the matter is that there isn't any one pressure you can set every tire to on any given vehicle. I did some research a few years ago... the OEM recommends a specific pressure for the OEM size, make, and model of tire your vehicle originally came with. Deviate from that, and the sticker is now nothing more than a starting point.

Each tire manufacturer does extensive testing on their tires, and they develop load/pressure tables for every model tire they sell. The markings on the tire indicate the recommended max pressure when the tire is under the max load. However, who drives around with the tire fully maxed out all the time?

To get the proper recommendation from the tire manufacturer, you can estimate the load by taking the GAWR of the axle and dividing it by two, then contacting the tire manufacturer with the make, model, and max load on the tire, and they'll be able to give you a pretty good estimation of the recommended inflation pressure for that make and model of tire with that load on it. For a more accurate load, a truck scale will provide actual axle weights, and those numbers with the make and model of tire will provide the best estimation from the tire manufacturer.

-Joe

 

[cfd911]

gijoe your absolutly right tire companies do testing on their tires for the safe use of their tires and the max load psi is on the tire for a reason why someone would pump 40+ psi into an passenger car tire on and explorer is just rediculous, and if someone wants to put LT( light truck ) tires which the tire pressure can be as high as 80psi on max load just to make it ride firmer is just a waste of hard earned money when you consider even the tow capacity of and explorer do you even need light truck tires?????
if all ya want is a firm ride go waste your money on some low profile tires like EAGLE RSA V SPEED RATED TIRES!!! or just set the pressure at at the max psi for max load and be done with it .
keep it simple 32-35 psi set it and forget it. BUT THEN OPIONS ARE LIKE AZZHOLES EVERYONE HAS ONE!

 

[Mbrooks420]

A P radial doesn't belong on a 4,500# vehicle with a 4,000# tow rating in my opinion. Why the national chains refuse to put anything on but a P radial makes less sence than the Firestone/Explorer rollover propaganda.

 

[gijoecam]

I disagree. Every tire, whether it's labeled a P-radial or an LT, is rated to carry a maximum amount of load at a particular inflation pressure. Whether that tire is on an Explorer, an F-150, or a Focus is immaterial. The tire doesn't care what kind of vehicle it's on. All it cares about is how much load it's carrying and what air pressure it's inflated to.

-Joe

 

[aldive]

I disagree. Every tire, whether it's labeled a P-radial or an LT, is rated to carry a maximum amount of load at a particular inflation pressure. Whether that tire is on an Explorer, an F-150, or a Focus is immaterial. The tire doesn't care what kind of vehicle it's on. All it cares about is how much load it's carrying and what air pressure it's inflated to.

-Joe

Joe summed it up nicely.

 

[gijoecam]

Oh, and just for an example, Goodyear makes a P 265/70-17 Wrangler ATS, as well as an LT-265/70-17 Wrangler ATS. Both are C-load range tires, and both are rated to carry within 50 lbs of each other at 50 psi. However, both tires are capable of carrying nearly 1500 lbs more than the truck itself is capable of carrying (based on the GAWR). IIRC, the tires are capable of carrying somewhere in the neighborhood of 5500 lbs, where the truck's GAWR is only 4000 lbs. So, why is an LT or P rating an issue?

 

[cfd911]

THERE YA GO joe is right again that s why they put a max load psi on the tire , thanks joe